by Oliver Gray - Wednesday, 14th October 2009 -

Most of us have had a very challenging 2009. As entrepreneurs, these challenges are part of life. The key is more about how we deal with these challenges so that through all the ups and downs we can still perform at our best. Next month on 4th November is National Stress Awareness day – perfect timing for some top tips to reduce stress at work.

Here are my top tips on how you and your team can reduce stress at work:

Exercise and sleep
Regular exercise and seven to eight hours per night of sleep will help to keep you healthy and energised. It’s been proven in many studies that people in good health deal with challenges at work far better than those in poor health.

Healthy nutrition
You are what you eat and drink. What you put into your body affects how you feel about yourself as well as playing a key role in your energy levels. Aim for a diet full of fruit, vegetables, lean protein & essential fats. Also aim to drink 1.5 to two litres of water per day and keep your alcohol intake to a minimum.

Stop smoking
If you smoke you may think that smoking is helping to relieve your stress, but in fact you are actually putting more stress on your body. As with stress, smoking raises your blood pressure and generally makes you feel on edge.

Don't overwork
How many hours per week to do work? How many days per week do you work? One of the biggest causes of stress is sheer work volume. Working late or weekends occasionally won’t hurt but week in, week out, it will catch up with you.

Computer stress
To ensure you are as healthy as possible make sure you’ve had a Workstation Assessment so you are correctly set up at your workstation, plus a monthly neck, back and shoulder massage is a great way to relieve the tension that builds up from excessive computer use.

Laugh more and spend time with the optimists
Humour is a great stress buster; it lowers blood pressure and relaxes the muscles. Also keeping an optimistic view on life makes things look better straight away, spend more of your time with the optimists.

Plan and prioritise your objectives for the month
This simple process will ensure you are clear and focused for the month ahead and will help avoid you doing extra non-essential things outside of your objectives.

At the end of each day plan and prioritise your actions for the next day
This will help you switch off when you leave work, thereby giving you that vital relaxation time in the evening. In addition your subconscious often works out your problems while sleeping by being clear on the plan for the day ahead.

Oliver Gray is the managing director of www.energiseyou.com, a provider dynamic employee wellbeing services to the UK’s most progressive companies.

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