A drink for the nerves

Are you nervous? Do you feel slight tension? Do you experience stress? Then a good drink might help. Or not? Read here 5 tips to keep your nerves, nervousness or tension in check. And not a drop of alcohol is involved.

A speech you had to give at your sister's wedding, speaking at a loved one's funeral, excelling at that important musical performance; everyone can probably remember a moment - before corona - when the nerves screamed through the throat. But even now without all the parties and other occasions you can feel nerves or tension. For the coronavirus, for example. And in light of this pandemic: dealing with the thought that life is so fragile.

Drinking away tension

Drinking a drink against the tension is something that many people do or have done. Alcohol takes the edge off. We probably don't need to tell you that this isn't a good idea. It can enhance your (nasty) feeling. You can lose focus because of it. After all, nerves keep you sharp and alert. You suppress a natural feeling. This increases the risk of stress-related illnesses, such as alcohol addiction.

Alternative stress reducers

Do you want to drink away your tension or nerves? Rather not. But then what? Below you can read 5 tips that teach you to deal with nerves, tension and pressure.

1. sleep

Sleeping helps against nerves, tension and stress. A warm bath or a good workout can help to promote your sleep. Otherwise, drink a cup of herbal tea before going to bed. Falling asleep with the help of meditation can also be nice.

2. Move

Get out of your head and put your body to work. Run, hop, bike, dance, walk, jump, golf, tennis, gym: it doesn't matter as long as you're moving. If you exercise more often, your body will also produce the body's own neurotransmitters more often. These neurotransmitters largely determine how you feel.

3. Breathe Consciously

Breathing exercises can bring you a lot of peace. Conscious breathing helps you to perform to the maximum, it has a beneficial effect on your blood pressure, it gives feelings of calm and relaxation and it takes stress out of your system. Click here for some breathing exercises.

4. Talk about it

Or write about it. Open your heart. Put your feeling into words. Ring the bell. Open your mouth. Or let your pen do the talking. Tensions or nerves diminish as soon as you share them.

5. Punch, embroider, knit or puzzle

As with exercise, working with your hands or doing something that needs your full attention can be very relaxing. Working out that difficult pattern or solving that tricky Sudoku takes all your thoughts at that moment. Away tension!