Feeling stressed at work has become common in recent years. No matter where you work, you may get stress due to a variety of reasons. Long hours, heavy workload, strict deadlines, over-supervision, harassment, discrimination, lack of autonomy belong to the most common reasons of feeling stressed at work. How is stress created in the body? What are the most common physical reactions to it? And is it possible to avoid stress at work? Today you will find all the answers to these questions.
How does stress hormone work?
Have you ever thought about it? In fact, the process of body’s response to stress is very interesting. Everything happens in the brain. Your eyes and/or ears send information about stress to a special emotional processing area in the brain. The name of that area is amygdala. There is also another part in the brain that acts like a command center. Its name is hypothalamus. Amygdala sends a special signal to hypothalamus, and the latter starts to communicate with the body through an autonomous nervous system.
What are the most common physical reactions to stress?
Stress reactions can be of a different nature. The most common ones are headaches, fatigue, low energy, aches and pains muscles, frequent colds and insomnia. Some people may be prone to different types of infections. Others may get stomach issues such as diarrhea, nausea and constipation. Loss of appetite, dry mouth and difficulties in swallowing, shaking in hands, legs and feet can also occur anytime as a side-effect of stress. Worrying too much without any obvious reason is another effect of having stress for a long time.
How to avoid feeling stressed at work?
There is a great number of various ways of copying with stress. In this article we will share the most common and the most effective ones.
• Organizing Things
Scheduling your day is one of the key things that helps you leave stress behind. You can get a planner and write down all your tasks. For those who like digital things, special time management platforms like Trello or Asana will keep you organised.
Eliminating interruptions is an important step in forgetting about stress at work. Leaving a smartphone somewhere far away, blocking media channels and setting time limitations on Instagram are strict but very effective methods of being concentrated only on work.
Eating and sleeping well is crucial in the long run. Skipping a lunch or a few hours of sleep is okay for a few days. However, in a few weeks a constant feeling of being stressed and tired will not leave you easily. Try to listen to your body and mind. Take some rest regularly, organise your meals and sleep for 8 hours every day. Another tip is to add some fruits and vegetables to your snacks and try to limit the amount of coffee you drink. Both your body and mind will be very thankful to you very soon!
• Creating Positive Relationships
Try to talk to your colleagues. Some simple questions such as “How are you?” or “How was your weekend?” may create wonders. You get happy when you know someone cares about you. Offering some food to your coworkers may create happy smiles. You are not alone, and it is absolutely okay to ask colleagues for help of any kind. Do not think you are silly or weak, you are a human being like all your coworkers. Today you are asking your colleagues for help and in a few days they may ask you the same. You get happy when helping anyone. The same happens to people around you. Happy offices tend to have very low stress levels.
• Getting Emotions Under Control
This is not easy. Try to find you own way to cool down your emotions. Some people eat something sweet, others listen to their favourite songs. Finding an individual way to calm down is a crucial thing in many office situations. Try to keep in mind one thing: do not sweat over things you cannot control. Negative moments will go away in a bit. However, your nervous system may suffer in a long run because of a constant overload of negative emotions.
• Doing Sport
Doing sport on a regular basis is a healthy way to get rid of feeling stressed at work. Working extra hours and having no time for sports is a common thing. Have you ever thought about doing sports right in the office? A standing desk is a unique office equipment that will let you do sports right at your working spot! Sitting and standing, making movements from time to time in regular clothes does not feel like running a marathon. However, working at a standing desk will constantly keep you healthy in many ways.
Feel free to drop us a message if you have any questions about your benefits of using a standing desk. We will be more than happy to consult you!