“The Stress Solution” Rangan Chatterjee – 10 Tips on how to Relieve Stress

The Stress Solution Dr. Chatterjee Review

Dr. Rangan Chatterjee’s books do not disappoint. “The Stress Solution: The 4 Steps to reset your Body, Mind, Relationships, and Purpose” helps you to understand that a healthy mind is the result of a balance of attention on multiple different facets of your life.

The book offers an advanced viewpoint on how to improve your mental health in 2019. Backed by the latest science, but at the same time delivered from Rangan’s standpoint, it made a really enjoyable read.

I would recommend the book to anybody determined to relieve stress in their life. The tips below are just to give you an idea. The book covers each of these much more extensively and offers many many more powerful insights.

How to relieve stress according to The Stress Solution?

1. Get into Hot Yoga or spend more time in a sauna or steam room

“Hyperthermia” research has found that if you raise your core temperature to 38.5 degrees Celsius – for approx one hour, it can simultaneously reduce overall stress and improve mental function. Research in Japan found that one sauna a day can reduce stress and increase the thriving state.

A study of Bikram yoga found that it reduced depression symptoms drastically. It looks like heat and exercise combined induce the release of beta-endorphins which help relieve pain and elevate mood.

2. Declutter

Did you know that clutter is a form of stress? It tells your brain that you are in a place of disorder and worry.

Brain activity studies reveal that being surrounded by mess is physically taxing. The brain uses up valuable resources and energy to ignore/surpass distractions and untidiness. You will find that you will have far less focus.

Choose to keep only the things that make you feel happy. When you come home, you want to feed your brain only with positive emotions.

Chatterjee gives equal importance in weight to decluttering your mind as he does to decluttering your space and gives some great tips on how to achieve this also.

3. Go for a 12-hour window every day without food

I have read a lot of research lately about the many benefits of time-restricted eating. So, I was not remotely surprised when Dr. Chatterjee promoted it. What was interesting for me though was its connection to positive mental health.

Leaving a significant fasting gap (at least 12 hours) improves your gut health which sends positive messages up to your brain.

Chatterjee recommends that if you finish your dinner at 8 pm, then not have breakfast until at least 8 am. (9 pm, 9 am, etc).

Rangan highlighted time-restricted eating as one of the most important things anyone can do for their health. Outside your eating window, he recommends sticking to water, herbal tea, or black tea, or coffee.

4. Schedule your evening meal for earlier in the evening.

Research is accumulating on this one and for various health reasons, it is best to finish your evening meal at least 3 hours before you go to bed. Eating late is a stressor on the body.

I read this also last year in “The Alzheimers Solution” as a key tip given for how to improve sleep quality.

5. Prioritize your sleep

Learning how to prioritize your sleep and get more of it is one of the most powerful ways to increase your stress threshold.

Get some bright, natural light first thing in the morning to reset your clock. Minimize your exposure to blue light in the evening and once you have dimmed those lights, refrain from eating for the evening.

6. Take pleasure in the small moments

Appreciate the small pleasures of life, the small moments, and experience them with real mindful intent. Be totally present to the moment.

7. Take up the “3 habits of calm”

Get into the habit of practicing affirmations, reframing, and gratitude.

• Affirmations – Just before you eat your breakfast, imprint the message that you want to imprint on your brain. Repeat a few times during the day.
• Reframe your life – Make it work for you rather than against you. Write down stressful experiences. Put a focus on the cause. Replay events as if you are an observer and objectively advise yourself.
• Practice gratitude in the evening. This can help lower your stress levels, helps you to switch off and sleep.

8. Schedule your time

Preparing ahead is key to less stress. At end of each day, go through your entire schedule, and see how much of your day is spent doing things “you have to do” versus things that bring you meaning and purpose. Make some efforts to try to shift towards the things that bring you meaning and purpose.
Schedule in your downtime also.

We think that the brain switches off or disengages when were not focused on completing a task. This is not true. When we “switch off”, a system in the brain called the default mode network (DMN) goes into overdrive. The DMN is a powerful source of idea generation. It’s why people come up with their best ideas in the shower.

9. Schedule something you love, into the week

This “something” should be something that you lose all sense of time in doing. You should be able to achieve the “Flow state”.

10. Enhance your life with nature

Bring nature into your life and home as much as possible. Walk the long way home along the canal, go to the Sunday market in your local park.

At home why not put up a painting of nature, turn your attention to look after your garden, or bring some health-giving phytoncides into your home with diffusers. eg lavender.

If you like these ten tips then the 4 Pillars of Health Dr. Chatterjee is another great book well worth checking out.

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