Girl-Woman-Beauty-Brains-Blog

Work, home, the economy -- it's all too much! Get stress relief with DIY beauty recipes and treatments.

Let's face it: these are pretty stressful times. And since most of us don't have the budget for a spa massage or facial, we need to make do with home remedies. All of these are quick, easy and you can make them with stuff that's already in your kitchen (so they're cheap too!). Take a moment to indulge, you deserve it!   We are adding one more to this list:  Use kitty litter to exfoliate your skin. Meow!  It leaves your skin with a purr-fect glow.   Do have a recipe you would like to share with us?  See recipes

Oops, we took a day off yesterday, but we enjoyed a our most un-stressful Thanksgiving yet! 

In an attempt to stress less, especially during the holidays, we have put 31 stress-reduction tips to the test.

For the next 31 days, we will offer a new tip each day.

Too much cortisol, the stress hormone, can put you at risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, impaired mental performance, and even ab fat. So please join us and learn to stress less!

Get Stress Reduction Tip No. 7.

In an attempt to stress less, especially during the holidays, we have put 31 stress-reduction tips to the test. For the next 31 days, we will offer a new tip each day. Too much cortisol, the stress hormone, can put you at risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, impaired mental performance, and even ab fat. So please join us and learn to stress less!

Stress Reduction Tip No 6:  Tai Chi

Practiced regularly, tai chi has numerous health benefits. This ancient Chinese exercise helps improve balance, enhance posture, and identify and release high-tension spots in the body. The uniform breathing, especially the long, slow exhalations, reduces stress and bolsters concentration. Research shows that tai chi may even lower blood pressure as effectively as a brisk walk. To learn tai chi, find a trained instructor in your area. Visit the Web site of the American Tai Chi Association, www.americantaichi.org.

Get More Stress Reduction Tips.

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Source:  Heart Healthy Living

Stress Reduction Tip No. 5:  Soak in a Tub

In an attempt to stress less, especially during the holidays, we have put 31 stress-reduction tips to the test. For the next 31 days, we will offer a new tip each day. Too much cortisol, the stress hormone, can put you at risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, impaired mental performance, and even ab fat. So please join us and learn to stress less!

A hot bath can work wonders to relieve stress and can also set the stage for a good night’s sleep. Fill a tub with scented bubble bath, oils, or salts. Bring a good book to read. If you’re in a more romantic mood, light some candles, too.

 

Okay, everybody, breathe...

More stress reduction tips.

In an attempt to stress less, especially during the holidays, we have put 31 stress-reduction tips to the test. For the next 31 days, we will offer a new tip each day. Too much cortisol, the stress hormone, can put you at risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, impaired mental performance, and even ab fat. So please join us and learn to stress less!

Stress Reduction Tip No. 4: Breathe

Breathe Deeply.   Under stress, you're apt take quick, shallow breaths, which increases heart rate and sweating and raises your stress levels even more. "Get control of your breathing, and the spiraling effects of stress will automatically become less intense," says Brent Bauer, M.D., director of the Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program at the Mayo Clinic, and medical editor of the Mayo Clinic Book of Alternative Medicine. Try this breathing technique when you're stressed out or anytime you want to feel more relaxed: * With your mouth closed and shoulders relaxed, inhale as slowly and deeply as you can to the count of 6. Push your stomach out as you breathe in. * Hold and slowly count to 4. * Exhale through your mouth as you slowly count to 6. * Repeat 3–5 times.

Can Beckie and Jamie learn to breathe?

In an attempt to stress less, especially during the holidays, we have put 31 stress-reduction tips to the test. For the next 31 days, we will offer a new tip each day. Too much cortisol, the stress hormone, can put you at risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, impaired mental performance, and even ab fat. So please join us and learn to stress less!

Tip No. 3:  Spending time with girlfriends

Girls’ night out isn’t just fun—it produces a real stress-reducing response. “Hanging out with women friends increases prolactin levels,” says Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom (Bantam Books, 1998). “Prolactin is a bonding hormone that also decreases stress. With your friends, you can savor the chance to talk, laugh, and temporarily escape from your worries. Making time for friends doesn’t have to be difficult, and the variety of ways to spend time with friends is endless. Keep it simple with a movie night, a long hike, or a potluck meal. Round up friends for an evening of stargazing and s’mores in your backyard. Host a wine-tasting party at your house.

Brainer or no-brainer for Jamie?

In an attempt to stress less, especially during the holidays, we have put 31 stress-reduction tips to the test. For the next 31 days, we will offer a new tip each day. Too much cortisol, the stress hormone, can put you at risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, impaired mental performance, and even ab fat, so join us and learn to stress less!

Stress Reduction Tip No. 2:  Be Playful

Play releases worries, negative emotions, and frustrations.

The activity you choose doesn’t matter. The key is to cultivate the right attitude toward anything you do, to immerse yourself in an activity, and to lose yourself in the here and now.

Set aside 15 minutes every day to do something that’s pure fun. Choose an activity that uses your imagination, frees you of any burdens, and fully engages your attention. Consider revisiting activities you enjoyed as a child.

Discover Jamie's experience with being playful.

In an attempt to stress less, especially during the holidays, we have put 31 stress-reduction tips to the test.  For the next 31 days, we will offer a new tip each day.  Too much cortisol, the stress hormone, can put you at risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, impaired mental performance, and even ab fat, so join us and learn to stress less!

Tip No. 1: Embrace Silence

Spend time without your cell phone, computer, and other high-tech gear that’s become embedded into daily life.

Drive with the car radio off.

Do household chores without the TV or iPod for background noise.

Give this a test-drive in the morning when the level of cortisol, the stress hormone, is at its highest.

Discover whether Jamie was successful with embracing silence.

Holiday Survival Guide:  Managing Stress

I am a recovering holiday stress addict.  I loved the surge of adrenaline energy as I rushed from one holiday activity to another.  Multitasking like a junkie on speed, I could hang the antique crystal angel ornament on the tree, wrap a holiday book to have on hand in case friends showed up with a gift, and whip the mashed potatoes, all without taking a breath.

During my highs, my brain was receiving pleasure signals.

During my highs, powerful hormones were being released throughout my body, elevating blood pressure, inflaming organs, metabolic processes, emotions and leaving my nerves raw.

During my highs, glucose was being driven up to my brain and into my muscles.

I loved being "crazy busy."

One of my biggest all-time meltdowns was during the Thanksgiving holiday (Click for YouTube comic relief).

Arriving home after the Turkey Trot, an annual race where fools like me decide to compete or amusingly run with other fools in conditions more frigid than the North Pole, I collapsed on the kitchen floor in a warm pool of tears.

Exhausted from the race, exhausted from entertaining out of town guests, and exhausted from dealing with bickering adult children -- Is that an oxymoron? -- I succumbed to stress in a way that was very uncharacteristic for me and frightening to my family and friends -- emotionally breaking down on the floor of my kitchen.

We all laugh about it now -- "Remember that Thanksgiving when Mom threw a hissy fit and blamed it on the turkey causing salmonella poisoning? Ha ha ha!" -- but I learned a lot from that hissy fit.

Here are 3 ways I learned to manage stress during the holidays.

Total Beauty Total Cure, comprised of 60 of the best beauty bloggers in the blogosphere, are doing such a fabulous job raising awareness about breast cancer.

Women know how important it is to reduce stress in their lives, so here are stress-free free giveaways from All About The Pretty ($232 value) and Myth Buster Beauty ($749 value)! Winners will be announced tomorrow. How about that for stress management?

Before you go, grab your breast cancer prevention tip No. 10. Read more.