[This post was created in partnership with Sunday Scaries, a partner we’ve worked with and loved for a while. As always, we only write about the products we actually like. And as a result, you get sweet deals too, like 25% off Sunday Scaries with code SWEAT25.]

I think at this point if I type “the stress of the …” my computer is smart enough to autocomplete it with “Pandemic.” Stress and uncertainty is the root of a public and generalized state of anxiety, but as my therapist likes to remind me, certainty was always an illusion. I get it, but I really miss living under that illusion. 

That said, when we were formally introduced to our friends at Sunday Scaries, everyone on team aSweatLife was dealing with various layers of what the pandemic brought: cancelled plans, sleepless nights, watching The Office so many times that you make obscure references only you and people who use *the forums* understand. All that’s to say that we were ready to turn down the dial on stress and anxiety.   

Here’s what we learned about CBD and stress in pursuit of that and, you can get 25% off Sunday Scaries with code SWEAT25, which is the best deal on the Internet. And, insane that we’re just learning about this, if you try it and you’re like “meh,” Sunday Scaries offers a 100% lifetime money back guarantee.

1. It starts with a routine.

Managing your mental health is, fortunately (going glass-half-full here), something human beings get to do on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. For me, it’s starting the day with meditation, eating foods that make me feel clear-headed, moving my body, and dropping a dose of CBD directly under my tongue in the morning. 

More and more studies back the link between CBD taken daily and being able to manage stress and anxiety. And because the CBD in Sunday Scaries is a fat soluble compound, it hangs out in your body’s fat. Or, to put it scientifically, the benefits compound over time. 

Starting a routine can be hard, so use this primer to make it a little easier to create your own.

2. Your sleep makes or breaks your body’s ability to fight off stress – a good routine and some CBD + CBN can give you a fighting chance. 

I’m a highly sensitive person. I grew up thinking that was a weakness, but I’ve come to realize that it just means I feel EVERYTHING more deeply, which is a pretty incredible way to experience life. 

But, when there’s more stress *in the air* I feel it on a cellular level. If I live in a stressed out environment for too long, like anywhere in the world for 2020 and most of 2021, there are real repercussions for my sleep. For example, I spent the hours between midnight and 6 am from April of 2020 until June of 2020 staring at the ceiling.

And when I’d had enough of that, I created a bedtime routine that was meant to get me away from screens and into a state of calm before I even thought about sleep. That routine was incredibly effective at getting me to fall asleep (and you can borrow it here), but staying asleep was the final frontier. 

So, as soon as they launched it, I made CBD + CBN a part of my sleep routine with Big Spoon, Sunday Scaries’ newest CBD + CBN oil. New to CBN? It’s another of the hundred or so cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant, and there are indications that CBN is a powerful sedative that can prolong sleep time. 

Take a page from our book and make falling asleep a little easier and, we cannot stress this enough, try disconnecting from tech and taking a bath. Get spooned to sleep by Big Spoon with your own stash for your bedside table, which is 25% off with code SWEAT25.

3. You can start your stressful day over whenever you want. 

Sometimes you can do everything humanly possible to plan and prepare for stress, but you just might not see that tidal wave coming. So in your pocket, it’s important to have a strategy for resetting after a big stressful moment, like when your boss changes a deadline from next Friday to one hour from now. 

We know some start-over routines are as extreme as literally getting into your pajamas and going through the motions of starting your day again, from putting your feet on the floor to showering and having breakfast. But we know you won’t always have an hour to wash the day away. There are more bite-sized ways to reset like taking a 15-minute, tech-free walk or popping some of our favorite standby CBD gummies from Sunday Scaries, (which we love and you can get – reminder – for 25% off with code SWEAT25). 

Kristen, our resident boundary setter and stress manager, shares her favorite ways to shake it off like Taylor Swift.

No matter how stress manifested itself for you this year, it’s the kind of mischief that’s much, much better when it’s managed. Let us know in the comments how you’ve learned to chill this year.