You've probably heard that reducing your stress is important for your hormones, fertility, when trying to conceive and your pregnancy.
But most people I work with have days filled with trying to hold down a job, a social life, eating well, taking vitamins and exercising.
On top of that there can be:
stress at work
emotional stress of trying to conceive
coping with the changes and ups and downs of being pregnant.
And just life.
All of this is a recipe for stress. So it's pretty frustrating to hear "you need to reduce your stress" right?
The good news is, I've been supporting busy, driven people to reduce their stress for years. So I've got a bunch of tips that you can realistically fit into your schedule.
Instead of trying to stick to a 30 minute meditation and only doing it once a month, the key is to build small habits that pay dividends and mean you stick to the habits.
So try these 5 (realistic) stress relief tips into your daily life; boost fertility and support your healthy pregnancy.
Dim the lights after dinner- Improving your sleep quality is one of the easiest ways to reduce your stress. Because terrible sleep has a cascading effect of eating terribly the next day, drinking more caffeine, feeling more anxious, overthinking, sleeping terribly again and the cycle continues. Bright lights in the evening send a signal to your brain to keep you energised, alert and awake. Bright lights are messing with your melatonin and circadian rhythms. So one quick win is to just keep as many lights off as possible, and put a dim light in your bedroom. As a bonus get a pair of blue light glasses to help with the light from the television or your phone. And you can even set your phone, computer and television into 'night mode' to also reduce the bright light.
Reduce alcohol and caffeine intake - Doing both of these will boost your fertility in so many ways. One of them is reducing stress and anxiety. The World Health Organization have published a statement to say "there is no safe amount (of alcohol) that does not affect health." The other thing we don't consider with alcohol is that it's actually a depressant. A lot of people use it as 'stress reliever', to feel good and sleep. The truth is alcohol is classified as a central nervous system depressant, it can induce anxiety and increase stress. As for sleep, it can help you fall asleep yes, but the quality of sleep is affected. Studies show that just one serving per day for women decreased sleep quality by 9.3%. As for caffeine, it too can interrupt your quality of sleep, but it's also shown to impact your hormones, increase your stress and cortisol (your bodies main stress hormone) levels. So wherever you can reduce your caffeine intake, and even switch to decaf.
Process your emotions - Did you know crying reduces cortisol? So watching your favourite rom-com can be a quick (and fun) way to reduce your stress levels. The fertility and pregnancy journey can be extremely emotional. To top it off, there might be the added stress of having to keep your emotions in check at work, with friends and family as you try and keep your journey private. Bottling in emotions can be contributing to your stress, so make time to chat to your partner, close friends or a professional. One of the easiest things you can do is journal. Set a timer for 2 minutes each night and just write everything you're feeling. It's a guaranteed stress reliever
Skip the 30 minute meditation. Yep, I'm a meditation teacher telling you not to go there. Unless you've already established a daily 30 minute routine, your best bet is to start with either mindfulness activities or a 5 minute meditation and working your way up. This way you'll actually stick to the habit. Mindfulness activities can look like:
Opening the blinds in the morning and taking 5 deep breaths.
Walking to the bathroom and noticing your feet connect with the ground
Taking deep breaths, in through the nose, out through the mouth every time you pee (this one is a bonus support for your pelvic floor - thank me later).
Eat or drink at least one meal, snack or drink per day, mindfully. So slow down, notice the temperature, textures, colours and flavours.
5. Book an energy healing session - An energy healing is like a massage for your energy and soul. You'll feel lighter, bright and less stressed. The bonus is we'll do techniques to boost your fertility. You can read more about the sessions here. And listen to this episode of The Louise Fitzgerald Podcast where I deep dive into energy healings for fertility.
Bonus tips to help you make the new habits stick
And to help you stick to these new healthy habits, let's talk about habit stacking. This is where you take an existing habit and add a new healthy one on top is a great way to introduce new stress relief habits. Here's some examples:
Open your eyes in the morning (existing habit), and take 5 deep breaths (new habit)
Finish cleaning up after dinner (existing habit), and dim the lights in the house as this will improve your sleep quality (new habit)
Turn on the TV (existing habit) and put on your blue screen filter glasses as this will improve your sleep quality (new habit)
Walk to the bathroom at work (existing habit) and introduce the mindfulness technique of noticing your feet connecting with each step (new habit).
Stopping at red lights in the car or when walking (existing habit, I hope!) and take three deep breaths.