BY MO GAWDAT AND ALICE LAW

In the book Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky, PhD, offers a simple reason zebras don’t develop stress-related diseases: they handle stress the way nature designed.

When a zebra’s stress response fires up, it burns through those stress hormones immediately—by running for its life.

If the zebra escapes the lion, it doesn’t stay tense or replay the danger in its mind. Instead, it does a full-body shake—resetting its nervous system.

Moments later, the zebra is grazing again—calm, untroubled, and fully at ease, as if nothing happened. All because of this simple stress hack.

Wouldn’t it be incredible if we, too, had a built-in signal to tell our bodies that it’s safe to let go and relax?

As it turns out, we do. By taking a cue from nature and intentionally “shaking out” stress like a zebra, we can help release the physical and emotional tension that keeps us stuck in fight-orf light.

This simple practice—known as shaking therapy or Therapeutic Tremoring—can help soothe the nervous system and restore a sense of calm.

Shake It Out Stress Hack

You can perform the shaking practice either standing or seated—whichever feels more comfortable for your body.

First, place your feet shoulder-width apart and let your arms hang loosely at your sides. Take a deep breath and exhale slowly, allowing your body to soften.

• Start by shaking your hands and wrists, letting the movement travel up through your forearms.

• Shake your arms and shoulders, loosening any stiffness and letting them swing freely.

• Allow your head and chest to join in, releasing tension in your neck and upper back.

• Begin bouncing lightly at your knees (or shift your weight gently if seated), letting your whole upper body and hips respond naturally to the motion.

• Shift your focus to your lower body—shake out each leg and foot one at a time, allowing the stress to shake loose from your muscles.

• Finally, work your way back up, shaking out your entire body from head to toe for one to three minutes.

Don’t hold back—shake with enough energy to let your muscles release. The goal isn’t to look graceful; it’s to give your body permission to unwind and reset.

Let It Out Stress Hack

In addition to shaking stress out, you can let it out—literally. Crying isn’t just an emotional release; it’s a physical one too. Internationally recognized clinical psychologist Stephen Sideroff, PhD, explains: “Stress tightens muscles and heightens tension, so when you cry, you release some of that tension.”

He adds, “[Crying] activates the parasympathetic nervous system and restores the body to a state of balance.”

Science backs this up. Studies show that emotional tears—unlike basal (everyday lubricating) tears or reflex tears (from irritants like onions or dust)— contain higher concentrations of stress hormones, including cortisol.

As you cry, these hormones are flushed out, leaving your body and mind feeling less stressed. Crying also stimulates the vagus nerve—shifting the nervous system out of the sympathetic “fight-or-flight” mode and into the parasympathetic “rest-and-digest” state.

In Japan, the health benefits of crying have even sparked a cultural movement. The Japanese are such great believers in the health benefits of crying that some cities in Japan now have crying clubs called rui-katsu (meaning “tear seeking”), where people come together, share emotional stories, and let it all out.

Trick It Stress Hack

Here’s an easy—and surprisingly effective—way to shift your mood: close your eyes and hold a smile on your face for two full minutes. Yes, even if it feels fake at first.

Why does this work? Because smiling isn’t just an expression—it’s a signal.

When you engage the muscles used to smile (especially the zygomatic major and orbicularis oculi), it sends powerful feedback to your brain, triggering the release of feel-good chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins— the same neurochemicals that flood your system during a genuine grin.

As a result, your heart rate slows, stress levels drop, and your mood begins to lift.

Think it sounds too simple to be real? This mind-body connection was put to the test in a study published in Psychological Science.

Researchers asked participants to hold chopsticks in their mouths in specific ways: some engaged the muscles of a smile, while others maintained a neutral expression. While doing this, participants were asked to perform multitasking activities designed to be stressful.

The results were noteworthy—those who unknowingly mimicked smiling showed lower heart rates and reported feeling less stressed than those in the neutral group.

Simply activating the facial muscles associated with happiness had “tricked” their brains into responding as if they were genuinely calm.

So, the next time you’re feeling overwhelmed, try it. It might just be the easiest two-minute mood reset you’ve ever done.

Move It Stress Hack

Exercise has a profound ability to lower stress and restore balance to both mind and body.

Stress hormones— chiefly cortisol and adrenaline—are designed to activate the body’s fightor-flight response, preparing us for action. By their very nature, these hormones are meant to drive movement.

When we respond with physical activity—much like the zebra fleeing a predator—we burn through those stress chemicals, allowing the nervous system to reset and return to a state of calm.

But stress in the modern world does not always lead to movement, because the stresses we deal with, most of the time, are not even physical in nature.

Movement, therefore, is something we need to introduce into our lives, not to run away from threats but to restore our state of balance.

Leading functional medicine doctor and author Mark Hyman, MD, advises thirty minutes of exercise per day as a powerful and well-studied way to burn off stress chemicals and heal the mind. He states that exercise is more effective than the drug Prozac for treating depression.

The next time you’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed, try going for a brisk walk—or, if the setting allows, turn on your favorite song and dance it out.

Beyond burning stress hormones, exercise also floods your body with endorphins—your brain’s natural feelgood chemicals—which can create a sense of calm and even euphoria.

That said, be mindful of your body’s state. When you’re already in chronic stress or deep fatigue, intense cardio may do more harm than good.

High-intensity workouts can flood your system with even more adrenaline and cortisol—exactly what your body doesn’t need when it’s already overwhelmed. Instead, opt for gentle, restorative movement like a leisurely walk or a calming yoga session.

Here are a few restorative yoga poses—Child’s Pose, Legs-Up-theWall, and Happy Baby Pose—to help soothe your nervous system and invite a greater sense of peace:

• Child’s Pose (Balasana): Kneel on the floor, position your big toes to lightly touch, and sit back on your heels. Fold forward, extending your arms in front of you or resting them by your sides. Allow your forehead to rest on the mat and breathe deeply.

• Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose (Viparita Karani): Sit sideways next to a wall, then swing your legs up so they rest vertically against it while lying on your back. Keep your arms relaxed at your sides, palms up. Close your eyes and breathe slowly.

• Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Balasana): Lie on your back and draw your knees toward your chest. Grasp the outsides of your feet with your hands (or hold your shins if that’s more comfortable). Gently pull your knees toward the floor on either side of your torso, keeping your ankles stacked over your knees. Relax your shoulders and breathe deeply, allowing your hips and lower back to release tension.

The beauty is, you can stretch anywhere, anytime, and for free. It’s quick and easy. All it takes is for you to decide to do it.

Hug It Out Stress Hack

Remember the parasympathetic nervous system? It’s your built-in “restand-digest” mode—and it’s essential for survival. In fact, it is as important for your survival in the long term as running away from a predator is in the short term.

But here’s the question: how do you really relax?

Let me give you a hint. Lying on the sofa to watch your favorite TV series with a glass of wine may be enjoyable, but it doesn’t count as relaxing. It plugs your stream of thought into the emotional storylines of whatever you’re watching and keeps you on subtle alert.

What you need is active relaxation—intentional practices that help you unwind fully.

Think coloring (yes, even grown-ups can benefit), tending a garden, journaling, restorative yoga, a walk in the woods or park, or simply putting down your phone and enjoying a cup of herbal tea.

And if you have access to the ultimate relaxation tool—hugging. Science confirms that hugs are more than warm gestures.

Ongoing research has found that hugging triggers the release of oxytocin—often called the “bonding hormone” or “cuddle chemical”—which calms the nervous system and fosters feelings of safety.

A landmark study in Psychological Science found that people who received frequent hugs were less likely to feel stressed and even enjoyed stronger immunity during periods of conflict or illness.

Similarly, a recent study revealed that brief, warm touch—like hugging—can lower blood pressure and heart rate, clear markers of parasympathetic nervous system activation. A meta-analysis even suggests these stress-buffering effects may be especially pronounced in women.

In short, a single heartfelt hug sends a powerful signal to your body: “You’re safe now.”

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Mo Gawdat is the former Chief Business Officer at Google X, bestselling author of Solve for Happy, and host of the podcast Slow Mo. For more than a decade he has researched happiness and conversed with thousands of people in more than a hundred countries. He lives in Egypt.

Alice Law is a stress management consultant, mindfulness practitioner, meditation teacher, and host of the podcast Unstressable with Alice Law. She has been featured as an expert on CNBC, ABC and Fox News.

Well Being Journal adapted the above excerpt from Unstressable: A Practical Guide to Stress-Free Living by Mo Gawdat and Alice Law. Copyright © 2024 by Mo Gawdat and Alice Law and reprinted with permission from St. Martin’s Essentials.

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