If you also feel constantly stressed, don’t worry: you are in good company. Most mothers these days feel under constant stress. Relaxation tips are worth their weight in gold. Here are 5 simple yet effective anti-stress hacks for moms.
A majority of moms these days would probably describe themselves as stressed out. Most of them also wonder how their own mothers did it.
One thing our moms haven’t had to grapple with yet is social media. There is hardly anything that can put us under such pressure as the constant flood of images of perfect mothers with their perfect bodies on the Internet. The fact that we have to be constantly available can also expose us to great stress. After all, most of us also have several jobs: mom, housekeeper, and a part-time or full-time job. This can bring every mom to the limits of her resilience. If you are already at this point or fear that you are heading towards it, it is high time to act!
1. Find out what is causing you stress
Sometimes we are not even aware of which situations trigger stress reactions in us. Of course, you can only reduce your stress if you know what is causing it. Sometimes it can help if you pay attention to typical signs of stress in yourself. These can be forgetfulness, irritability, impatience, excessive tiredness, or an increased heart rate. Sometimes you recognize such situations or tasks by the fact that you would never like to do them.
So if you notice one or more of these signs in yourself, you have found a situation that is causing you excessive stress. This can be the afternoon homework routine, preparing dinner, or trying to keep the house clean.
It is important that you are honest with yourself. If there is a situation that is causing your stress levels to skyrocket, it is an issue that needs to be addressed. So it’s best to write down every situation or task that burdens you. You can then use this list to look for solutions.
Even if you initially believe that there is no solution, for example, because you cannot afford household help, it is sometimes worth brainstorming. Maybe you can shovel some budget into your budget for a babysitter in the neighborhood who will keep your children busy for 2 to 3 hours on Saturday afternoons so that you can tidy up in peace. Or you can find an offer for homework supervision from your community. You will be surprised how many solutions you can find just because you stop telling yourself that there is no solution.
2. Hold on to the holy nap
You may not be able to completely avoid stress, but you can give yourself a few breaks. The afternoon nap is your most important aid. Some parents give up their nap very quickly. They hope that this will make their children more tired in the evening and fall asleep faster. Some even hope that this will help their children sleep better through the night. This can work, but most of the time it doesn’t.
Children who sleep too little then have even more difficulties falling and staying asleep. Even if it contradicts our logic: A child can be too tired and therefore fall asleep more difficult. Not to mention her bad mood, which also affects mom’s stress levels.
Until children are around 5 years old, they still benefit greatly from an afternoon nap. You wake up refreshed because your body and mind have had time to regenerate and process what you have experienced before. But older children also need some recovery time. So even if you have already outgrown your afternoon nap, you will benefit from an afternoon rest period.
A fixed ritual helps children to hold onto their afternoon nap. You can put them in their little bed, dim the lights, read them a story, and let a music box play soothing background noises like raindrops or the sound of the sea. These background noises help them block out everyday noise and relax. In this way we enable you to have a relaxing and long nap – just the thing for mom and child.
A music box can be a very good helper. It plays soft noises and melodies and emits soothing light. This is how it can help your child fall asleep.
3. Take the kids out with you
Of course, when the to-do list is forever, the last thing you think is relaxing is to go out and leave your to-dos by the wayside. However, science clearly states that the most effective stress reliever is when you move. Exercising, especially in the fresh air, releases endorphins that make us happy and reduce our stress level. It doesn’t even have to be a sport. It is enough if you pack the children in the stroller and take a walk through the town.
4. Let your kids play alone
A lot of mothers constantly struggle with a guilty conscience. They feel bad about playing too little with their children. So they do it, but the budget falls by the wayside. Then they clean up but cannot play with their children. It’s a vicious circle and something always stays where it is. And that’s not bad at all.
First of all, it is not the end of the world if the house looks chaotic. After all, life is sometimes chaotic. And secondly, it’s not only not bad, it’s even good when children play alone sometimes. It is important that you learn to do your own thing. It encourages their creativity, makes them more independent, and helps them to feel good even when they are alone.
It also brings out their calm side in them. Just as it usually makes children more alert when they play outside, it makes them calmer when they play alone. These rest phases during the day are also important for healthy and balanced child development – and for a relaxed mom.
Especially at the beginning, when you try to establish independent play, the children will always ask Mama’s attention. So it can be helpful if mom is in the same room. It is therefore advisable for younger children to set up a play area in the room where mom has something to do.
So if you want to cook in peace, this play area should be in the kitchen. Ideally, you should furnish them with toys that go with what mom is doing. So if your play area is in the office, it could be painting stuff. There would be a toy kitchen in the kitchen. In any case, it is important that the toys encourage imaginative play. So they must be playable several times.
Depending on the age of the child, it can be very helpful if the toys in the play area are interactive. Role plays only become interesting for children from around the age of three.
5. Turn up the music
Unfortunately, we too often underestimate what music can do for our mood and even our body! If we listen to stimulating music that lifts our mood, and to which we would like to dance and sing along, this automatically lowers our stress level. And we’re not talking about the soundtrack to your kids’ favorite cartoon. Hear the music that really makes you happy!
You will be amazed at the effects it has on the little ones when mom dances through the apartment happily and singing while sorting laundry. The mood in the house should change in no time and you will have giggling children around you. This reduces the stress level of all family members.
