There is no escape.

Stress affects everyone.

Even if you are a conscientious meditator, you still cannot escape stress creeping into your life. The trick, however, is to intervene as soon as possible before negative feelings become cumulative. Research shows that in just 60 seconds, you can recalibrate your body and mind to dramatically reduce your stress levels.

Being in tune and sensing when your body is stressed is key. Small things throughout the day such as impatience, anger, wanting things to be better or done a different way, all contribute to increased stress hormones. If you catch yourself in one of these situations, irrespective of how justified you feel in being stressed, take the moment for yourself.

Whether you suffer from anxiety or are just having a challenging moment, a moment’s worth of self-care can completely shift your energy and change the course of your day. We do not tend to realise the power of disconnecting and clearing the mind can have. When your body starts to tingle with negativity, the first method of recovery is to pause. You need to make sure you stop and remove your mind, and potentially body, from a place of stress.

Taking yourself physically away from a tense situation can have an instantaneous effect on your stress hormones. It may not be impossible at times to move from a specific area, therefore, closing your eyes or looking at something else will also have the same effect.

Until you stop and tell the brain you do not need to be in fight or flight mode, there be will no change. The act of stopping your movements and thought processes allows you to switch from higher to lower brain frequency waves, stimulating different parts of your brain. This means you will be able to access the areas that help you think rationally.

Alongside this, practising breathwork will change the trajectory of your day and mood in seconds.

1. Close your eyes

You have paused and recognised that you need to leave a situation. Now transport your mind to a calmer, happier place. If you prefer to have your eyes open, choose an area in the room to focus on and make your eyes stay there.

2. Focus your mind

Hold that place of peace and serenity in your mind. It might be a memory, object, or emotion. The aim is to have nothing in your head apart from that. Nothing else matters in this moment.

3. Breathe in deeply through your nose

4. Breathe out deeply through your nose

Repeat this cycle at least 3 times.

It takes over a minute to boil a kettle for two cups of tea or coffee. We make time for these activities during the day, so you should make time for your mind too. Taking time to recognise you need time to adjust and refocus, will make you happier, more productive and reduce accumulated stress.

All it takes is 60 seconds.