Everyday life can be pretty stressful in a variety of different ways, ranging from issues with work deadlines, to financial concerns, interpersonal disputes, and all sorts of other things.
Combined with certain other features of the modern landscape – including constant bombardment from advertising and a variety of different media sources – many people find themselves stuck in a state of more or less chronic stress, on a daily basis.
As is widely known, however, being habitually stressed comes with all sorts of detrimental side effects, ranging from serious health repercussions, to dramatic reductions in overall sense of well-being.
Today, there are all sorts of modern gadgets and bits of tech that can help to streamline and simplify life in a large variety of different ways. Getting a smart dog door for sliding glass door, for example, might make life a fair bit easier for the discerning pet owner.
Here are a few other ways to use modern technology to reduce your daily stress levels and enhance your sense of well-being.
Utilize a good task and project management tool, so that you don’t have to plan and remember everything in your head
David Allen’s famous “Getting Things Done” method for task and project management has enjoyed tremendous success in a wide range of different domains, including business and education.
Part of what makes the methodology so successful is that – as David Allen himself has pointed out – it is based on the idea of getting ideas, obligations, and projects out of people’s minds, and into an external system where they can be properly organized and then virtually forgotten about until they become relevant.
What this does, among other things, is that it allows for a significantly greater amount of mental relaxation, as you aren’t going to be struggling to try and remember everything off the top of your head, or else plan on the fly.
While the GTD methodology Might not be for everyone, you should certainly investigate a good task and project management tool, whether that’s in the form of the Omnifocus app for Mac, Nozbe, or any number of other things.
Use light boxes, dimming lights, and other such tools to train your circadian rhythm correctly
When you listen to what leading researchers on sleep and circadian rhythm have to say about things today, you will find that they are frequently pretty distraught about the poor quality and quantity of sleep commonly enjoyed in modern society.
The leading circadian rhythm researcher Satchin Panda, for example, points out that circadian rhythm disruption is endemic – which is terrible considering the fact that the circadian rhythm appears to be tied to overall immune function, well-being, and multiple dimensions of health as a whole.
Sleep researcher Matthew Walker has made similar observations, pointing out the essential role of sleep in stress management, health, cognitive function, and all sorts of other things as well.
Part of the problem behind our modern issues with sleep have to do with the fact that we are frequently exposed to bright, blue spectrum light in the evenings, and don’t get enough of it in the mornings.
Using lightbox products to illuminate the first couple of hours of your day, and using dimmer lights with red hues in the evenings, can really help to set your circadian rhythm back onto the right track. Be sure your devices have an evening light-shift setting turned on, too.
Use meditation and yoga apps, among other things, to reduce your baseline stress response
One of the big challenges with stress management as a whole, is the simple fact that stress tends to be a compounding and self-reinforcing thing.
If you’re really stressed and some frustrating situation arises, you will likely become highly stressed in a hurry, and will then struggle to break out of the loop and regain a sense of calm.
Various apps and services have been rolled out in recent years partly with the aim in mind of helping to reduce our baseline stress responses in the first place – notably meditation and yoga apps.
If you’re interested in becoming more present on an everyday basis, and reducing your baseline stress response to things, you may want to look into using a service such as Headspace, and its associated apps. Or, if you prefer centering yourself in a more physical manner, the Yoga Studio app may be just the thing to help you to maintain a greater baseline of balance and composure.
Kori
Latest posts by Kori (see all)
- Car Battery Insights: From Basic Models to High-Tech Types - April 26, 2024
