Keep Healthy Snacks In Your Home Office To Reduce Stress

It's true we have to eliminate clutter, get organized, and create calm surroundings in our home office in order to reduce stress. However, once all this is accomplished, we still have the stress of our work load. When work is stressful, many of us reach for something to calm and comfort our nerves. Too often, that something is food; and not healthy food.

The title 'comfort food' typically brings on visions of fast burning carbohydrate-loaded goodies. This food will calm and comfort, yes, but at what expense? The comfort is over quickly, leaving you just wanting more, while the damage to your body goes on, and on.

What can be done? Are there better foods that comfort, calm, and relieve stress? Let's take a look at some foods you can enjoy in your home office that truly comfort and calm for healthy stress relief.

Blueberries

This super-loaded berry is an antioxidant powerhouse and is known for improving cognition. High in vitamin C, blueberries and other berries, as well, lower blood pressure and cortisol levels, reducing the effects of stress.

Cashews

Although all nuts are great for snacking because they're rich in healthy fats and protein, cashews are especially high in zinc. This is an important element for reducing anxiety and for improving overall mood. Since zinc is not stored in the body, having a cashew snack every day is definitely a good idea.

Walnuts

Another brain booster, the humble walnut has proven itself to be a real memory builder. And what's more stressful than forgetting what you need to know for your work assignments? Walnuts contain essential omega-3 fatty acids which not only improve memory but helps the brain stay younger, too.

Chamomile Tea

Take a break and have a nice cup of tea; but not just any tea. Try chamomile to calm and soothe the nerves during a stressful work day. Chamomile tea has been proven to reduce anxiety, making it the perfect addition to your stress reducing routine.

Green Tea

Stress can sometimes cause our brains to go into slow motion. If you're feeling sluggish and can't seem to get your mental motor running, grab a cup or two of green tea (hot or cold) and enjoy a boost to your brain power. And the caffeine is not getting all the credit; green tea contains an amino acid that is linked to mental alertness.

Dark Chocolate

No, you don't want to go crazy with a bag of M&Ms. But a small piece of dark chocolate has been shown to lower blood pressure and calm the nerves. Stress reduction can be sweet! But, remember; dark chocolate in moderation.

Oatmeal

This complex carbohydrate is a true comfort food. Snacking on a handful of rolled oats will kick your brain into over-drive producing serotonin, the feel-good antioxidant which soothes and calms the brain. Mix together a combination of rolled oats, nuts, and other good foods and keep a container in your home office for a quick snack that satisfies both body and brain.

These are just a few of the many healthy foods that have been shown to help reduce stress in many ways. Keep a supply in your home office for a quick snack that truly comforts and calms.

Clean The Air With Houseplants For A Healthy Home Office

For many decades, we have been sealing up our homes as tight as a drum to conserve energy. As heating and cooling costs have risen, so has the effort to weather-proof our houses.

This is all fine and good when it comes to saving money. After all, who needs to let their warmed or cooled air leak out of the cracks and crevices around doors and windows? We spent good money to get our temperature inside to a comfortable level, so let's keep that air inside.

However, since we've started super-sealing and insulating our homes and businesses, we have found one drawback - the lack of fresh air. These tightly closed environments became associated with illnesses related to the pollution created in buildings that were sealed off from any source of air cleaning or filtering mechanism.

After years of study by NASA researchers and scientists around the world, the answer became evident. Man does not live on this planet alone. In fact, our existence depends on our close relationship with other living things; namely plants. Yes, one of the answers to indoor air pollution is the simple houseplant.

That brings us to our healthy home office.

Many of us work in a tightly closed environment. If you have a home office and a busy family, you probably spend most of your time with the doors and windows closed.

If that's the case, your air quality may not be as healthy as it should be. Air pollution can be causing you and your body stress. Perhaps you are getting headaches more often than you should, or you are battling a cold constantly. Itchy eyes, a nagging sore throat, or other ailments may be caused by what's in the air in your own home office.

According to a NASA study, if we are to close ourselves into these sealed environments, we must take along with us our own natural fresh air system - plants. In their research, NASA found plants, along with their eco system (roots, soil, etc.), reduced the air pollution created by man within these air-tight environments.

The houseplants found to be good air purifiers include:

English Ivy

Mother-in-Law's Tongue

Golden Pothos

Janet Craig Dracaena

Chinese Evergreen

Spider Plants

These plants are typically low-light loving and easy to grow with just a bit of care.

Of course, you'll want to have your home checked for radon and install a carbon monoxide detector. Once you have taken care of those issues, consider the air quality of your home office. Are you constantly feeling ill when you are in your home office? There could be reasons why your tightly closed office isn't feeling like a healthy haven.

Now we know that little houseplant does so much more than brighten up a room - it actually cleans the air. Isn't it time to add a bit of greenery to your home office?