Built up stress can be detrimental to your mental and physical health. Teens dealing with homework, extracurriculars, college, and more face more and more challenges associated with stress everyday. What are some ways you can decrease the weight on your shoulders? These are my three favorite stress management strategies.

• Stress Relieving Activities

According to heart.org, finding pleasurable activities can lower your stress levels and disrupt stress levels. Activities like creating art, taking nature walks, meeting with friends for a meal, or listening to music are helpful when decreasing stress. My personal favorites are reading a book or going on a drive with a friend. These activities help you forget some of your responsibilities for a minute and fill you with enjoyment.

• Eat!

The most delicious way to relieve stress is filling up on foods that are known to reduce stress. Everydayhealth.com suggests herbal teas, whole grains, fish, nuts, probiotics, and citrus fruits. My favorites are dark chocolate, avocados, and green tea.

• Stretching it All Out

Yoga is one of the best forms of relaxation. You’re lowering your stress levels while also getting in a good workout. The benefits of yoga include reduced stress and anxiety, sound sleep, increased strength and flexibility, lower blood pressure, and more. Grab a device and hop onto Youtube to find your favorite yoga video!

While stress is all-consuming and makes life more difficult, it’s not impossible to manage. Find what works best for you and keep up with it- consistency is key here. If the techniques that work for me don’t do the same for you, worry not! There are a wide variety of more stress relievers out there.