Stress is one of your worst enemies and you need to recognize and manage it as soon as you feel it.

A few days ago, I received some bad news that stressed me out; to the point of keeping me awake one full night (I usually sleep very well).

The next day, I was working on my laptop while listening to music, Danza Kuduro started to play on my playlist. I stood up and started dancing and jumping up and down. If anyone saw me at that moment, they would have thought I was crazy because I was simply jumping up and down while displaying random dance movements all by myself. I danced the whole song and after the song was over, I sat down while still breathing heavily and continued working. But I noticed how much more relaxed and happier I was. I was still dancing in my head!

The scientific reason for why dancing relieves stress stems from the idea that when we feel good physically, our mind feels good too. Dancing like any other physical activity releases the neurotransmitter, endorphins (also called happy hormones), which serve to reduce stress and cause our bodies to feel calm, happy and optimistic.

So make a playlist of a few dance songs and when you get stressed out, listen to your playlist, get up, jump up and down and dance, or dance in your seat with your hands moving and head bobbing (I tried that too and it worked). You don’t need to know how to dance. You simply need to move and if you are like me, just jump up and down with random movements.

Now it’s your turn!