Ultimate Stress-Busting Hacks

When searching for the ultimate stress-busting hacks to help busy moms simplify their lives, I discovered that science confirmed why my own routines have worked for years. Now we just need to figure out what works for you.

As a busy mom of three that also worked outside the home, I understand what it’s like to live with stress. For years I thought I worked more efficiently under stress (that was my young 20-something self). Then as life got busier and we added more kids to the family, I discovered that I needed a way to help reduce my stress.

The ultimate wake-up call for me was my first anxiety attack. I thought I was having a heart attack and my husband was in panic mode as well. The kids were freaking out and none of it was good at all. Thankfully we have a few nurses in the family, so a quick call confirmed that it was “just” an anxiety attack (not a heart attack).

Anxiety attacks are not anything you want to mess with either. They are very real conditions and many people suffer from them chronically. For me, my anxiety attacks stemmed from stress. I was managing everyone’s needs, except my own: work, home, and “all the things”.

Does this sound familiar?

Since then I’ve strived to redefine supermom by finding ways to simplify life and actually enjoy the life we want.

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I have a few routines that help me reduce my stress, but I found a study recently that proved why they work. I’m not going to bore you with too many details about the study done by Mindlab International at the University of Sussex. Keep reading to find out the ultimate stress-busting hacks they found in their study.

1. Reading

This is my ultimate go-to for a morning or evening routine. I will open my Kindle and try to be whisked away into another world for just a few moments a day. During a busy period recently, my Kindle was dormant for a longer-than-normal period of time. It had been days since I had opened it. Finally, when I did take a quiet moment to relax one evening, there was a message waiting for me that reading 6 minutes a day reduced stress by 50%.

I was intrigued so I started doing more research and found that the University of Sussex study proved that it reduced stress by 68%! That’s right. It only takes 6 minutes of reading to reduce your stress by 68%. Dr. David Lewis claims that it doesn’t matter what book you read. The key is letting yourself get engrossed in the book and escape from the worries and stresses on your everyday life.

“It really doesn’t matter what book you read, by losing yourself in a thoroughly engrossing book you can escape from the worries and stresses of the everyday world and spend a while exploring the domain of the author’s imagination.” – Dr. David Lewis

I’m a big self-help and personal development book reader, but when life is particularly stressful I will open other authors that take me away to the world they are creating with their words. My taste in books and genres vary depending upon the season in my life.

One of the mom hacks I can give you though is to use an e-reader like a Kindle. You can store endless books and carry it in your purse, then you can pull it out when waiting to pick up your kid from their activity. It is also handy to hide that romance book from little eyes or judging observers that may not agree with your taste in reading material.

To find out what Kindle is best for you, click here for the complete guide.

2. Music

Crank the tunes and dance it out! The study proved that listening to music reduces stress by 61%. For me, this works when I’m working in a quiet atmosphere and need to reduce my stress. I tend to get stressed preparing for company, even though I love having people over (it’s the battle between my inner introvert and my need for connections). Anywho, I will often crank some tunes during this so I can enjoy the experience a bit more.

Going to work is a different story. My self-care routine includes a podcast instead of music. You see, I’m surrounded by music daily so the podcast changes up the “background noise” and I force my brain to become more mindful of what I’m listening to.

3. Tea or Coffee

Hot drink anyone? The study showed that drinking a cup of tea or coffee reduces stress by 54%. I don’t think it is the tea or coffee that is reducing the stress, but more the mindfulness of enjoying that hot comfort-seeking drink.

One of my favorite morning routines is enjoying a quiet cup of coffee before the crazy day starts. In those moments, it is more about the quiet mindful moment than the coffee. The coffee just adds to the hygge of the moment.

Just yesterday, during a stressful period at work I forced myself to take a break and get a Chai Tea Latte. My favorite tea. I call it “pumpkin pie in a cup”. It is my comfort drink and in this situation, it did help reduce my stress.

4. Walk

Going for a walk reduces stress by 42%, according to this study. Is it the physical exercise or getting out into nature? Either way, you apparently don’t need to add budget stress with a gym membership, just to reduce your stress. Although my ladies’ only kickboxing gym was extremely helpful in beating out anxiety over some very stressful times.

5. Video Games

Now, most people will be cringing at this fact, but the study showed that playing video games reduces stress by 21%. Is it effective? Not as efficient as the 6 minutes of reading, but why not play a video game with your kids or with your husband as a date night? Change this into a hygge moment and intentionally create connections with your loved ones why playing a game.

When our boys lived at home we played family video games like this often. Now that they have moved out the video games don’t get pulled out as often. After reading this study though, I might just intentionally add them back into the family game night or date night routine. After all, I’ve got great memories of Tetris and Mario game marathons during our University days.

5 Scientific Stress-Busting Hacks

I know what you are thinking! “I don’t have time for this!” This is extremely common for every busy mom. Here’s some tough love though.

You need to take care of YOU so you can enjoy YOUR life.

I’m not saying you need to do all 5 of these stress-busting hacks every day. I only want you to try and do one of them as often as you can. You deserve to give yourself permission to have a quiet moment or two. Pick one of these 5 scientific stress-busting hacks or explore the Hygge Lifestyle and learn how to slow life down!

Here are the ultimate stress-busting hacks one more time, in case you skipped to the bottom:

Reading for 6 minutes reduces stress by 68%
Listening to music reduces stress by 61%
Drinking a cup of tea or coffee reduces stress by 54%
Going for a walk reduces stress by 42%
Playing video games reduces stress by 21%

Each one of these activities helps you escape your stressful life temporarily when you mindfully allow yourself to enjoy that moment. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t avoid the stressful situations, but taking that time to calm yourself so you can start to figure out small ways to improve the situations will help simplify life bit by bit.