It’s no secret that wedding planning is stressful. From picking out floral arrangements to securing a venue to getting the seating chart just right, mounds of stress can build up during the wedding planning process and negatively affect your health. To avoid having a complete breakdown, here are seven ways you can reduce stress.
Start from Within: Everyday Ways to Stay Healthy
Relieving stress starts with how you treat your body. If you consistently fill it with junk food or practice poor sleeping habits, you’ll end up running on low energy levels and generate more stress. Here are a few tips to help you focus on your mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing during the wedding planning season.
- Keep Up Your Exercise
When planning for your big day, it can be hard to remember to exercise. Though you’ll be a lot busier during the wedding planning process, this doesn’t mean you should stop exercising completely. Exercise keeps you fit, regulates your weight, promotes balance and flexibility, increases blood flow, reduces stress, and improves cholesterol levels. Take at least 30 minutes out of each day and consider walking, running on a treadmill or elliptical, doing yoga, gardening, or performing low-impact exercise routines, like swimming.
- Stay Hydrated
If you experience face redness, you could be suffering from inflamed skin due to dehydration. Though moisturizers can battle dehydration, healthy skin needs more than just lotion. It’s recommended that you have at least eight glasses of water per day to stay hydrated. Since caffeine can further dehydrate your body, water is the best option. If water is too dull, try adding a couple of lemon slices to your drink or mix a batch of cucumber and mint water to keep in the refrigerator.
- Eat Well
As the old adage goes, you are what you eat. Though greasy pizza and fast food might seem like the fastest (and easiest) choices when planning your wedding, try to stay away from them at all costs. Processed foods filled with bad fat and sugar can affect your body and reduce the collagen that keeps skin firm. Vitamin C found in citrus and Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish can help the production of collagen and moisture retention.
Consider setting up a meal plan that limits food with added sugar, sweetened or artificially sweetened drinks, starchy carbohydrates like white bread or white rice, and alcohol. And remember to stay away from detox diets—many pre-wedding plans measure less than 800 calories per day, which can lead to unhealthy eating habits, a heightened risk of infection and disease, and permanent organ damage.
- Set a Healthy Sleep Schedule
Staying up all night to finish your seating chart or pinning your favorite wedding décor on your phone might seem like a good idea at the time, but it’s one of the worst things you can do. Blue light from your phone can suppress melatonin and prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep. Create a sleep schedule and try to consistently go to sleep at the same time all week—even on weekends. And try to stop using all electronics at least two hours before going to bed.
- Practice Good Hygiene
Many infections are spread from person to person. Wash your hands at least five times a day with soap and warm water. Be sure to wash for at least 20 seconds and avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. For that extra layer of protection, carry antibacterial hand gel in your purse.
Outside Help: Professionals Can Help with Big Days
Special days deserve a little extra attention when it comes to looking and feeling your best. Buying a new outfit and shoes is obvious for some occasions, but for big events like weddings or graduations, it’s okay to treat yourself to some outside professional pampering to relieve all that stress.
- Nourish Your Skin
There are multiple ways to nourish your skin and feel more relaxed for your wedding, one method being non-invasive skin treatments. These tightening procedures have been around for nearly 20 years and are used to stimulate collagen production in the deep layers of skin. Many women already visit a dermatologist for injections to the upper face, but non-invasive skin treatments can target other parts of the body such as the neck, abdomen, arms, and thighs. A skin consultant can offer suggestions on Botox or dermal fillers to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, especially for big events like weddings.
- Treat Yourself to a Spa Day
It can be easy to think about wedding planning every single day. And more often than not, wedding planning can involve quite a few people who have their own opinions and thoughts about every little detail. Protect your peace and sanity by prioritizing your mental health and self-care. Make sure you take time out of each week to do something other than wedding planning. Consider planning a spa day where you can relax, get a nice massage, and meditate.