How to Keep Your Cool in the Summertime

For all the talk about summertime and the living being easy, it may not be as easy as it seems. Along with longer daylight hours and warmer temperatures, summer brings on its own stress. Here's a list of ten summer stressors.

1. Weather
Tempers can flare along with the temperature. Heat can also bring on lethargy. It may be difficult to feel energized to get the work done. Air conditioning may cool you off, but it may affect you in other ways, too.

2. More traffic
Longer daylight hours means more people out, going places. The streets and freeways are crowded with more tourists and travelers. Drivers are irritable, quick-tempered; it takes longer to get anywhere, and traffic jams are the norm.

3. Kids home from school
If your children have summer off from school, you may face daycare situations, or having the kids home alone. Plus there are more activities, ballgames, swimming, camp--all that running around causes more stress.

4. Vacations
Much as vacations are stress reducers, they're stress inducers, too. The planning and packing, the traveling itself, being away from home and out of the familiar surroundings. Re-entry when you come home again. Not to mention the cost of vacations. Whether you visit family or they visit you, stress is packed in someone's suitcase.

5. Changes at work
More people on vacation may mean more work for you. Or when you take vacation, there's work to do before you leave and more to catch up on when you return. Summertime can be the slow time for some businesses, so it can affect income. It can also mean more work for some seasonal businesses. Either way, stress can result.

6. More home chores
Seems like the number of projects to do increases directly with the length of daylight hours. What with the garden growing, and all those weeds--and what do you do with all those tomatoes and squash?

7. More activities to choose from
There are more leisure activities available in the summer time, more choices to make, more money to spend and more planning to do--all this can cause stress. More leisure time may mean you're busier than ever.

8. More alcohol consumption
Outside and leisure activities mean more drinking. At ballgames, the beach, camping, outdoor concerts. Along with increased drinking come increased drinking-and-driving; sometimes you may experience behavior or noise situations.

9. Body image
Summertime means fewer clothes. Along with sleeveless dresses, shorts and bathing suits, summertime can bring up body issues.

10. Food/diet
More leisure activities may mean junk food/fast food. Regular meals are interrupted. It may be too hot to cook. Diet can be affected by the season, and diet affects stress levels.

Top Ten Stress Reducers

1. Breathe (deeply)

2. Lighten Up (laugh, smile, be playful)

3. Change (locations or activities or people you're with)

4. Physical Activity (exercise, walk, play a game, weed/garden)

5. Diet (watch sugar, caffeine, fatty foods, alcohol; don't over/under eat, drink water, eat fruit/veggies)

6. Get it Out (talk to a friend, counselor; write it out)

7. Have Fun (recreate: movie, games, museum, park, playground; do something creative)

8. Relax (in the tub, take a nap or a shower, sit in the sun/shade, do nothing)

9. Massage (backrub, footrub, stretch)

10. Do Something Nice or Kind for Someone or the Planet (it doesn't have to be big, it can be anonymous)

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