Don't stress! Here's 15 things you can do instead

Posting upbeat notes or inspirational sayings can help you feel more calm and confident. But, for an added dose of positivity, write larger -- or use a bigger font, if you’re typing on your computer. According to a study at the Humboldt University of Berlin in Germany, the soothing effect kicks in faster and lasts longer when women read upbeat messages written in larger print, instead of squished onto tiny slips of paper. Turns out, study authors say, your brain sees bigger words as more important, so it gives them a bigger emotional punch.

Ever find that once you start thinking about something that’s really bugging you, it’s hard to shake off the stress and switch to happy thoughts? Try getting up and stomping through a few doorways! A recent study at Indiana’s University of Notre Dame suggests that this simple trick can help you put an end to worrisome thoughts. How? According to the study authors, passing through doorways signals your brain’s frontal lobe to file away what it’s been stewing about and start fresh -- and being able to file away the unpleasant thoughts can help dampen your production of the stress hormone cortisol in as little as five minutes.

Great news from Harvard University researchers: Playing card games helps people relax, focus and squelch their worries so effectively, that it provides the same stress-busting benefits as exercise! It doesn’t matter if you opt for something simple, like Go Fish with the kids, or dive into a no-holds-barred game of bridge with your most competitive friends!

For an added boost: Share jokes with your card partners. Researchers at Western Illinois University say that regularly enjoying -- and telling -- funny tidbits helps women feel more confident and secure and dials down chronic anxiety in about three weeks.

Talk about a vicious cycle: When you’re stressed to the max, you naturally breathe more quickly and shallowly, exhaling lots of carbon dioxide. As your blood levels of carbon dioxide plummet, your central nervous system becomes confused, triggering even more anxiety! To nix nervousness fast, inhale deeply, then hold your breath for as long as you comfortably can. According to Stanford University researchers, your carbon dioxide levels will quickly creep back up to normal range, calming your central nervous system and cutting your edginess and anxiety in half. Then to prevent future anxiety flare-ups, holistic medicine physician Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom, suggests focusing on breathing slowly and deeply whenever you’re surrounded by bedlam.

Whether you wander around the shopping centre, flip through catalogues or surf websites at home, pretend shopping helps 76 percent of women de-stress within 20 minutes. The bright, upbeat images, the restful break from your usual routine and the feeling of indulgence that comes from “virtual shopping” triggers an uptick in feel-good beta waves in the brain, say University of Miami researchers.

Bonus: According to Ohio State University researchers, women who love window shopping -- but keep their credit cards tucked away most days – are half as likely to struggle with severe stress overloads. The reason? They get the relaxing indulgence of shopping for pricey items without actually being saddled with extra debt.

The rhythmic tearing of paper -- and fine motor control required to do this task -- can cut your stress hormone production by 25 percent in 10 minutes, helping you feel calmer for two hours straight, says researchers at Logan’s University of Utah. If the thought of shredding paper doesn’t exactly thrill you, try any activity that’s a bit repetitive and demands some eye-hand coordination, like knitting, crocheting, mending, scrap booking or even hand washing dishes. According to Harvard researchers, just giving your brain a break from the chaos by focusing on a relaxing physical task can put you into a light meditative state in 20 minutes, lowering your blood pressure and slowing your heart rate by 11 beats per minute.

The aroma and flavor of warm garlic bread can reduce your stress levels by as much as 39 percent, according to studies at Chicago’s Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation. Garlic’s essential oils stimulate the olfactory nerve -- which then signals your brain to dial down production of the stress hormones adrenalin and cortisol, explains lead researcher Alan Hirsch, M.D., author of What Flavor is Your Personality? For best results, cook slowly at moderate temps, so the soothing aroma can infuse the entire house and calm any family member who’s feeling out of sorts.

According to research published in the International Journal of Cardiology, reciting poetry aloud can derail stress within 10 minutes by slipping you into a state of deep relaxation and calm. Any rhythmic poem that forces you to take slow, relaxed breaths as you read will do the trick, the authors say. Feel silly reading poems out loud? You can get the same great stress-busting perk by cranking up the radio and singing along to your favorite tunes. Studies at Indiana University South Bend suggest singing triggers a 25 percent drop in stress hormone production, plus a 53 percent drop in feelings of stress and anxiety -- all in under 20 minutes!

Playdough is the number one nostalgic smell for women, and this unique odor (combined with the childhood memories that it evokes) calms brain wave patterns, erasing anxiety in as little as 60 seconds, says Dr. Hirsch. Don’t keep playdough around the house anymore? Light an apple-scented candle, instead. According to a study at Chicago’s Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, breathing in the sweet smell of apple-scented candles stimulates the hippocampus -- the brain region that helps you tap into happy childhood memories -- reducing edginess and anxiety for 86 percent of study subjects.

When your anxiety levels are through the roof, hula hooping for two minutes can help you feel calm and clear-headed for an hour or more. The reason, say researchers at The Cooper Institute in Dallas, Texas: Hula hooping is as vigorous -- and burns off as many stress hormones -- as running! “I felt uncoordinated at first, but now I’m completely hooked,” says Dr. Northrup. “Hula hooping is an amazing stress-buster, plus it helped me finally burn off the stubborn roll of fat that was wrapped around my belly!”

According to a 2009 British study with over 4,000 participants, the smell of cut grass is second only to the aroma of freshly baked bread in terms of making women feel happy and content -- it even beat out flowers, vanilla and that “clean baby” smell! “The distinct, organic scent of grass stimulates the brain’s production of soothing, mood-elevating alpha waves,” explains Elaine Wilkes, Ph.D., author of Nature’s Secret Messages.

Bonus: Looking at a sea of green reduces production of the stress hormone adrenalin, shutting down irritability within two minutes.

No doubt you’re used to tuning out background noise, but Cornell University doctors say your brain may be more wound up by the constant racket than you realise. In their surprising study, as little as three hours of low-level background noise -- the kind caused by people chatting, radios droning, washers running, phones ringing and cars honking -- increased stress levels so dramatically, it cut people’s ability to focus and think clearly by 40 percent. To build some silence into every day without inconveniencing the folks around you, put in earplugs whenever you’re trying to concentrate. You could cut your stress levels in half within three days, says Wilkes.

Standing outside and gazing at cloud formations helps 82 percent of people feel calmer, more energised and more alert almost instantly, say University of Washington researchers. Their studies suggest that panoramic views stimulate your cerebral cortex -- the part of your brain that ramps up alertness and dampens edginess and tension. Smoggy outside? You can get the same zen-like calm by spending two minutes focusing your attention on the farthest things you can see on the horizon, University of Michigan researchers say.