+
upworthy
More

6 scientifically proven ways to have a better day.

Life can be a little overwhelming at times. Fortunately, science has your back!

We all experience stress, and it can actually be a good thing. But too much can take a pretty big toll.

A recent video from TED-Ed explains what happens to your body when its exposed to too much stress for too long. Dr. Sharon Horesh Bergquist lays out the ins and outs of chronic stress. Long story made short: Too much stress can have potentially deadly effects on the body.

Chronic stress can lead to hypertension, cholesterol plaque buildup, increased chance of heart attacks, increased chance of stroke, irritable bowel syndrome, a weakened immune system, and even DNA-level changes that can shorten your lifespan.


But there's no need to worry! Here are six scientifically-proven methods to reduce stress.

1. Breathe deeply.

Stress causes you to breathe shallower and quicker. Luckily, your body is gullible — you can actually trick it into calming down by breathing more deeply and slowly. Taking slow, deep breaths can help temporarily lower your heart rate and blood pressure!

In. Out. In. Out. Illustrations by Kitty Curran/Upworthy.

2. Squeeeeeze ... and relax.

Subconsciously tensing your muscles is not only a common reaction to stress, but it can also make you feel worse. The key here, then, is to take control of this reaction by clenching and releasing your muscles. A few seconds at a time, go through each area of your body, from head to toe.

Make a fist. Release that fist. Repeat!

This will keep your muscles from straining for an extended period of time and will bring you closer to relaxation. By doing this, you can experience improved mood and lower stress levels.

3. Listen to classical music.

Classical music featuring slower rhythms was found to reduce stress and promote long-term heart health! It's not really super surprising to learn that soothing music can have soothing effects on your well-being, so go on and give it a shot.

Here I am! Rock you like a stress-reducing hurricane!

4. Go for a quick stroll.

Moderate exercise like walking has been shown to significantly reduce the stress hormone cortisol. Too much cortisol, as we learned in the TED-Ed video above, is no good.

The same study found that practicing moving meditation like tai chi has similar benefits!

Around four miles per hour is ideal (just keep it brisk).

5. Grab a book (and read it).

Reading is fundamental! It's also a great way to relax your mind and body. So if you're feeling stressed, try grabbing a book, curling up in a comfy chair, and giving your mind a quick distraction from whatever's got you feeling tense. Go on, give it a try!

You're always welcome to read longer than six minutes.

6. Make friends with your stress.

If you can't beat it, join it! As we learned in the video above, stress doesn't have to be a bad thing.

A recent Harvard study showed that participants who were taught that stress could actually help them complete tough tasks were less anxious and more confident than a control group. Physically, their blood vessels remained relaxed — a much healthier state.

Or, if not friends, then at least frenemies.

If you're finding yourself overwhelmed on a daily basis, though, please see a doctor.

These tips are meant to help out if you're having a rough day and need to feel better quickly. If you're experiencing severe anxiety or depression, it's best to make an appointment with your doctor to come up with a long-term stress-reduction plan.

Teacher starts period in front of class, turns into a lesson

Teachers are almost always teaching even when it's not in their lesson plan.

Those that were born to be teachers find teachable moments everywhere and one woman found herself in one of those moments. Though this one was likely just a bit more personal than she probably would've liked.

Emily Elizabeth posted a TikTok video about how she found herself in a predicament in front of her classroom full of 10 and 11-year-old kids. The teacher explained that she was noticing a lot of commotion and whispering among the little girls in her class while she was wearing white pants. After reminding the girls to stay on task, the whispering continued, prompting Emily to be more direct.

That's when one of the girls asked to speak with her privately dropping the bomb that no one that gets periods wants to hear in public.

Keep ReadingShow less

Mario Mirante criticizes a mom he saw at the park.

TikTokker Mario Mirante is going viral for his video that brings up two significant issues: smartphone addiction and whether people without children have the right to criticize parents.

It all started when Mirante saw a young boy playing alone in the park.

“The kid is just playing quietly, not being annoying. I don’t hear a peep from him; he's just doing his thing on the playground,” Mirante said in a video that has nearly 6000,000 views. “The mom the entire time is on her phone, staring right down at her screen. Doesn’t look up one time.”

The boy climbed up to the top of the slide and called down to his mother, who didn’t even look up from her phone. “I hear, ‘Hey mom, watch. Watch, Mom,’” Mirante recalled. “And at the top of her lungs, shrieking like a Velociraptor, this mother screams, ‘One second!”

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

Woman who was pressured to quit her job to raise stepdaughter's baby makes a bold decision

This sparked an important conversation about family responsibility.

via Pixabay

A middle-aged woman holding a baby.

A story that recently went viral on Reddit’s AITA forum asks an important question: What is a parent’s role in taking care of their grandchildren? The story is even further complicated because the woman at the center of the controversy is a stepparent.

The woman, 38, met her husband Sam, 47, ten years ago, when his daughter, Leah, 25, was 15. Five years ago, the couple got married after Leah had moved out to go to college.

Leah’s mom passed away when she was 10.

Last year, Leah became pregnant, and she wanted to keep the baby, but her boyfriend didn’t. After the disagreement, the boyfriend broke up with her. This forced Leah to move back home because she couldn’t afford to be a single parent and live alone on a teacher’s salary.

Keep ReadingShow less
Identity

Watch this 104-yr-old woman break the world tandem skydiving record

Dorothy Hoffner tried skydiving for the first time on her 100th birthday and loved it.

Dorothy Hoffner is pure #agingoals.

If you're looking for some aging inspiration, look no further, because Dorothy Hoffner is about to blow your mind.

At 104, Hoffner just became the oldest person to parachute out of an airplane in a tandem skydive. That's right, skydive. At 104 years old—or to be exact, 104 years and 289 days old—beating the previous world record set by a 103-year-old in Sweden in May of 2022.

But it's actually even more impressive than that. It's not like Hoffner is someone who's been skydiving since she was young and just happened to keep on doing it as she got older. She actually didn't go on her first skydiving adventure until her 100th birthday.

On Oct 1, 2023, she joined the team at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, Illinois, for the world-breaking tandem skydive. Though she uses a walker to get around, she manages the physical toll of plummeting through the air at 10,000+ feet before parachuting to a skidding stop strapped to a certified U.S. Parachute Association (USPA) tandem instructor with impressive ease.

“Let’s go, let’s go, Geronimo!” Hoffner said after she boarded the plane, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Watch her do what many of us would be too terrified to attempt:

The way she rolls right out of that plane cool as a cucumber! Hoffner told the Tribune that on her first skydive, at age 100, she had to be pushed out of the plane. But this time, knowing what she was in for, she took charge with calm confidence.

“Skydiving is a wonderful experience, and it’s nothing to be afraid of," Hoffner shares. "Just do it!”

That's some seriously sage advice from someone who knows firsthand that age really is just a number. Learn more about skydiving with Skydive Chicago here.

Education

Unearthed BBC interview features two Victorian-era women discussing being teens in the 1800s

Frances 'Effy' Jones, one of the first women to be trained to use a typewriter and to take up cycling as a hobby, recalls life as a young working woman in London.

Two Victorian women discuss being teens in the 1800s.

There remains some mystery around what life was like in the 1800s, especially for teens. Most people alive today were not around in the Victorian era when the technologies now deemed old-fashioned were a novelty. In this rediscovered 1970s clip from the BBC, two elderly women reminisce about what it was like being teenagers during a time when the horse and buggy was still the fastest way to get around.

Keep ReadingShow less

Can we bring back some 50s fridge features, please?

There are very few things that would make people nostalgic for the 1950s. Sure, they had cool cars and pearl necklaces were a staple, but that time frame had its fair share of problems, even if "Grease" made it look dreamy. Whether you believe your life would've been way more interesting if you were Danny Zuko or not, most would agree their technology was...lacking.

All eras are "advanced" for their time, but imagine being dropped off in the 50s as someone from the year 2023. A recent post by Historic Vids on Twitter of a 1956 commercial advertising a refrigerator, however, has some people thinking that when it came to fridges, maybe they were living in the year 2056. I don't typically swoon over appliances, yet this one has me wondering where I can purchase a refrigerator like this.

Of course, there's no fancy touch screen that tells you the weather and asks how you'd like your ice cubed. It's got more important features that are actually practical.

Keep ReadingShow less