Everyone experiences stress, but the good news is that there are lots of little things we can do to reduce it – and most of them are rather fun too!
One of the best tips is to act like a teenager again and have a quickie with your nearest and dearest. The tongue, the lips and the tip of the nose have more nerve endings than almost any other part of the body, bar the toes and fingertips, so a good make-out session boosts our immune system, burns as many as ten calories in under two minutes and makes us feel rather nice too, courtesy of a hormone called oxytocin.
Even staring can cut our stress levels. Looking at something we find appealing – such as a beautiful landscape – for just a couple of seconds can make us happy and even improve our overall quality of life. Research suggests that images such as these make us feel more present and expand our sense of time, leading to greater feelings of happiness and contentment.