Tips to reduce stress from the BaseKit team

Stress Awareness Month is a yearly campaign first introduced in 1992 to help increase public awareness about the causes and cures for stress. Many aspects of day-to-day life can cause stress, and there is no single way to cure it.

HSE reports that in 2022/23…

• There were 875,000 cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety.
• Stress, depression or anxiety accounted for 49% of all work-related ill-health cases and 54% of all working days lost due to work-related ill-health.
• The main work factors cited as causing work-related stress, depression or anxiety include the demands of the job, lack of control, lack of information and support, work relationships, and roles and responsibilities.

Each person is different in how they help alleviate their stress levels, and here at BaseKit, we’ve been speaking to the team about how they help themselves, and also for tips they can share with others.

• Getting outside – It’s well known that spending time outside and in nature can have a really positive impact on your mental health so whether this is going for a short walk, taking on some gardening, or sitting on a park bench, enjoying time outside can really help calm your mind.
• Reading – something as simple as picking up a book can sometimes be hard to fit into your day-to-day life, especially when you’re busy. But, in one study, it was found to have reduced stress by 68% from reading for just 6 minutes. The act of reading engages the mind, can boost creativity and put the brain into an altered state similar to mindfulness and meditation.
• Learning something new – some of the team here have recently started taking Padel lessons during lunchtime. The Institute of Leadership has reported that being part of a team is beneficial to your working life. It’s also believed that it boosts your motivation, makes you happier, improves feelings of social-connectedness and peer-bonding – which all help to reduce stress, anxiety and depression. So even if there is a bit of healthy competition raising your heart rate, bonding as a team can be super important to make you feel a little less stressed.

Even if it just helps one person feel a little better within their daily lives, we hope the tips from our team will help, however we’ve found a few other articles which may help give you even more tips to alleviate stress, so take a look.

Headspace – Stress 101 

Vitality – How to look after your mind with these 5 tools

Mind -Managing Stress and Building resilience

NHS – 10 Stress busters