Stress is something that most people go through in their everyday lives. And as a study reveals, almost 30% of Americans suffer from stress. But don’t fret if you deal with stress yourself. Because bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger has some valuable insights to help you overcome stress and anxiety.

In the latest edition of the Austrian Oak’s newsletter, the Arnold’s Pump Club, he shared a few simple and easy-to-follow tricks with evidence-based research. These tips can help you manage your stress and anxiety, leading to a healthy lifestyle. 

The Austrian Oak started with a simple yet powerful statement: “Acts of kindness can help reduce stress and anxiety,” but he has research to back this statement up. Arnie shared that the study was done on around 200,000 people. On top of that, the researchers also reviewed over 200 studies to reach this conclusion.

Scientists found that acts of kindness have “psychological and physiological changes that can help you overcome and outsmart stress.” The Austrian Oak highlighted that “making others feel good can help shut down repetitive negative thoughts.” This leads to an increase in dopamine and serotonin, which helps you lighten up your brain. The seven-time Olympia winner also has a suggestion that might help everyone try this out. He advises surprising your friend with a lunch treat and asks his villagers to share the image on their social media with “#pumpclub” to encourage them.

However, this might not be the first time the Terminator has touched upon such an attention-requiring topic. Earlier, he shared how a six-minute practice can help you beat stress and anxiety.

Can reading a book help beat stress and anxiety?

In a previous edition of the GOAT’s newsletter, he shed light on the fact that just six minutes of reading can put your brain to rest. The Terminator explained, “The next time you can’t get your brain to slow down and too many thoughts are racing through your mind, grab a book and read a chapter.“

The former Governor of California shared that research found that reading for six minutes can help you reduce your stress by up to 60%. As Arnie, explains, reading has many benefits for your body; it lowers your heartbeat and slows down your breath by distracting your brain from shifting its focus to the story. “Reading for 30 minutes lowered blood pressure, heart rate, and psychological distress just as much as 30 minutes of yoga,” says Arnie.

The seven-time Mr. Olympia always tries to help his villagers with his tips to overcome stress and anxiety. Do you follow his tips in your daily life? Have they helped you overcome stress? Let us know in the comments.