International Stress Awareness Week: The expert-recommended products that can help

Managing stress and the situations caused by it is no easy feat, and whether it’s work-related or in your personal life, it can take a toll on your mental and physical health.

This year has been particularly difficult due to the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown with most of the country working from home for the foreseeable future.

So managing stress and mental health issues in the age of Covid-19 is the theme for 2020’s International Stress Awareness Week, which runs from 2 to 6 November.

The week was created in 2018 by the International Stress Management Association (ISMA). In 1998, its chair Carole Spiers founded Stress Awareness Day, which is held on 4 November.

It’s a dedicated time to shine a light on these problems and highlight support services available.

Almost one in five adults were likely to be experiencing some form of depression in June, according to the ISMA. This has nearly doubled from around 1 in 10 before the pandemic.

With the new challenges we are facing, from lockdown fatigue and lack of job security amid rising unemployment, to balancing working from home with childcare, all while trying to avoid the virus, we could all use some help. 

So we’ve consulted the experts to share tools and resources that could help you manage stress.

“People manage their stress in lots of different ways,” explains Dr Sarita Robinson, of the school of psychology and computer science at the University of Central Lancashire. “It is important to actively focus on your wellbeing and look after your mental health like you would look after your physical health.”

While it’s not a one size fits all approach, we hope within our guide there will be something that helps.

You can trust our independent round-ups. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections. This revenue helps us to fund journalism across The Independent.

Mindfulness apps

Dr Rose Aghdami, a chartered psychologist and resilience specialist, explains that stress can cause many physical symptoms including headaches, stomach upsets, sleep problems, lowered sex drive, fatigue, chest pains as well as tension, and aches and pains in your muscles.

“That’s not all – stress can lower your immune system, so when you’re stressed you can catch infections more readily,” she said.

One tool she recommends is the Headspace app (free to download, or an optional subscription of £9.99 month or £44.99 a year) which featured in our guide to the best mindfulness apps to help you keep calm. You can download it for iOS here or for Android here.

“It offers meditations and mindfulness and is now very well established and respected, I’ve recommended it to many of my clients and most of them find it very helpful,” said Dr Aghdami.

In our review, our tester found it to be a great choice for a beginner wanting to learn the essentials of meditation and mindfulness. The free subscription comes with a free 10-part “basics” course in three, five or 10-minute chunks that focus on breathing and checking in with how you feel. Registering for the premium service gives users access to specialised mediations, some specifically to manage stress.

Dr Aghdami also runs a Facebook group for women called “Calm, Confident + Resilient with Dr Rose Aghdami”. This provides daily community support and motivation if you’re struggling and need someone to talk to.

Spiers too recommends using mindfulness apps, citing the Calm app as an example, which also featured in our review, praised for its exclusive music tracks engineered to help you focus, relax or sleep.

They particularly enjoyed “calm body” – a series of 10-minute guided videos on mindful movement – and “sleep stories”, which are calming tales narrated by celebrities including Stephen Fry and Matthew McConaughey.

The app is free to download and offers a limited selection of programmes at no cost, but the premium subscription (£28.99 a year) offers the full library of services. You can download for iOS here or for Android here and there’s a seven day trial of the premium service available.

Journaling

Writing in a gratitude journal can help improve sleep and reduce anxiety, according to a 2011 study published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being. Spiers also says that expressing gratitude can improve your mood. “People who regularly express gratitude for the positive things in their life are shown to be happier overall, leading to lower rates of stress and depression.”

In our guide to the best notebooks, we loved the Moo Kate Moross journals (Moo, £19.99). This set has three different types; one blank for sketches, one lined with checkboxes for to-do lists and one lined for note taking.

“With 60 pages of ‘munken kristall’ paper (which is very bright white) and four pages of brightly coloured ‘GF smith colourplan’ in the middle of each one, all thoughtfully sewn together with contrasting stitching, this is the perfect set for your next project, from first scribblings to final plans,” said our reviewer.

Spier suggests writing about three things you are thankful for during the day and why, before bedtime. “Gratitude helps the release of dopamine and serotonin – two happy chemicals that make us feel good and blessed,” she explained.

Sun lamp

A lamp that mimics natural outdoor light can help people manage low moods, especially during the darker days of winter, explains Dr Robinson.

She recommends sitting in front of this Lumie Bodyclock Rise 100 (John Lewis, £63.20) for 30 minutes each morning, which can help replace the positive benefits of sunlight that we can miss out on.

“The light helps to keep your sleep pattern on track and is thought to increase the production of the ‘happy hormone’ serotonin,” she explained.

It is also featured in our review of the best alarm clocks for students. Our testers enjoyed its soft white exterior and bright yellow ring around the time display, which gradually gets brighter and brighter, reaching its maximum at your designated alarm time.

Home devices

Dr Robinson recommends making the most of using devices that help you to remain connected to loved ones, especially if you’re separated due to the regional lockdowns that have been implemented across the UK.

“Technology can never replace that hug from your mum but being able to call her on an Amazon Echo Show (Amazon, £59.99) is the next best thing, as we can reduce our stress level by sharing our worries with friends and family,” she says.

Communicating how you feel is all-important, as Dr Robinson explains that social support is one of the most protective buffers that help us to manage our stress and anxiety.

Get outside

Dr Trudi Edginton, clinical psychologist and head of the department of psychology at City, University of London, explains it’s completely natural that we’re experiencing unprecedented levels of stress when faced with so much uncertainty, loss, lockdown restrictions and exhaustion when working from home.

“Many of us were not prepared for working from home and our home settings may not be ideal for working effectively,” she said. “Some people may have to share space and resources, while managing their caring responsibilities, financial pressures and worries about the future.”

As such, she recommends establishing clear boundaries to create a healthy work-life balance, advising to incorporate regular physical activity into your routine, such as setting a start and end time to your working day and sticking to it.

You can mark these times with a walk, yoga, running, cycling, swimming, or whatever your preference is, as if you enjoy it, you’ll see the most benefits and be more inclined to make it a regular part of your week.

If you’re new to yoga, the simplest place to start is with a yoga mat, which will not only carve out your personal space but prevent you from sliding across the floor.

Topping our review of the best yoga mats was this Liforme yoga mat (Liforme, £100). It’s spacious with a grippy surface, even in the most intense hot yoga class our reviewer tried, and it is longer and wider than most (at 185cm x 68cm) and it sits right at the sweet spot for thickness (4.2mm).

What makes it so unique, though, is the grid system laid over the top to help you align yourself in poses. It’s brilliant if having a teacher on hand for adjustments isn’t possible.

For free, helpful guidance to nailing new poses, try Yoga With Adriene, one of the biggest yoga YouTube channels, fronted by instructor Adriene Mishler, who leads very straightforward sessions on her channel to her 8 million subscribers. If you’re new to yoga, read our guide to practising at home for beginners.

If walking and running suit your more, ensure you have a comfortable pair of trainers to support your ankles if you’re planning on going for long-distance workouts.

We would recommend the New Balance fresh foam 1080v10 London (New Balance, £135) for both men and women. 

Our reviewers loved how lightweight they were, which gave a smooth ride on the road and keeping legs feeling fresh even after a long run, while the midsole was praised for keeping the foot in place and anchoring the heel. If you want to start, we’ve written a  guide to everything you need to start running.

For more on stress, read our guide to the best sleep teas to help you de-stress and nod off with ease