Stress
LATEST STORIES
Can You Measure Vagal Tone?
Yes. You can measure heart-rate variability, do the palatine-arch response test, and more.
A Place Between
Experience Life’s editor in chief on how to slow down and just be when life feels hectic.
How to Reset Your Vagus Nerve — and Find Calm
Stimulating the vagus nerve can relieve stress and anxiety, as well as depression, physical pain, inflammation, digestive distress, insomnia, and more. Discover tools and strategies that make relief accessible to anyone.
5 Strategies to Try When You’ve Been Triggered
If you’ve been triggered, don’t panic. There are still some things you can do in the moment to help soothe your body and bring you back into the present.
How to Do Resonant Breathing
Resonant breathing — also known as coherent breathing — is a simple breathing technique that may help regulate your nervous system. Here’s how to do it.
How to Do Alternate-Nostril Breathing
Learn how to do Nadi Shodhana, a traditional breathing technique that has been practiced for centuries.
How to Manage a Trigger Response
You don’t have to be hijacked by strong reactions. Learn how to manage them — and how to recover your cool when you’ve already lost it.
What Is Social Rest?
Do you feel alone or worn down by certain people? Discover the signs that you need more social rest and with whom to find it.
What Is Sensory Rest?
From strong smells, artificial light, and loud work environments, our senses can become overwhelmed. Here are strategies to give your senses a much-needed break.
What Is Creative Rest?
Learn why taking a deliberate break from creative work may allow your creativity to regenerate.
What is Spiritual Rest?
Discover the signs that you may need more spiritual rest and opportunities to find it.
What Is Emotional Rest?
Are you feeling emotionally exhausted? Discover the signs that you need more emotional rest as well as simple practices to help you recover.
The 7 Types of Rest
If you’re feeling run-down, you might be deficient in one of the seven types of rest. Learn how you can recharge your physical, mental, emotional, creative, social, sensory, and spiritual self.
What Is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?
The gold standard in psychotherapy, CBT can help with a range of mental disorders, including anxiety, obsessive–compulsive disorder, depression, addiction, insomnia, and PTSD.
5 Stretches to Promote Recovery and Stress Relief
A stretch specialist demonstrates a few moves that can relieve muscle tension and counter stress.
How to Thrive With Anxiety
Anxiety has been on the rise for the past several years — and it’s something that can range from feeling uncomfortable to debilitating for those who experience it. David H. Rosmarin, PhD, helps us understand why anxiety is a normal bodily response and how we can change our relationship with it to turn it into something that can actually help us thrive in our lives.
All Is Calm: 5 Ways to Incorporate Feel-Good Moments into Busy Days
Quick ideas for resetting during the holiday season.
What to Do When a Panic Attack Occurs
Try these seven strategies to help you manage and alleviate a panic attack.
How to Stop Dreading Family Gatherings
Social psychologist and author Amy Johnson, PhD, offers advice for dealing with those family members who often threaten to ruin the mood.
Why Anxiety Is Not Your Enemy
A case study in how to live — and thrive — with anxiety.
How Do I Rest — Really? Understanding the 7 Types of Rest
Rest is essential to our health and wellness, yet it often gets pushed to the side in favor of other things that require our time and attention. Importantly, it’s not just physical rest we need: There are six other types that contribute to our overall well-being.
In this episode, Barbara Powell, MA, NBC-HWC, joins us to first explain the signs and symptoms of under-rest to watch for. She then delves into the seven versions of rest we need, and for each, the micro, macro, and habitual ways we can get more rest so we can perform better and live life more fully.