8 Proven Ways to Reduce Stress and Burnout: 1 Simple Guide

Master 8 proven habits to reduce stress and burnout. A Harvard doctor’s guide to better mental health and real happiness.

Introduction: The Hidden Epidemic of Modern Life

Imagine standing in the grocery store aisle, staring blankly at a jar of pickles. You realize you’ve walked the same path, bought the same items, and thought the same thoughts for the last five years. You are on autopilot. This isn’t just a sign of boredom; it is a symptom of a brain that is desperately trying to conserve energy in a world designed to drain it.

We live in an era where “busy” is treated as a badge of honor. We wear our exhaustion like a medal, convinced that if we just multitask a little harder, sleep a little less, and drink a little more coffee, we will finally catch up. But the science says otherwise. In reality, we are facing a silent crisis. We are collectively suffering from chronic stress and burnout, conditions that don’t just make us feel tired—they actively rewire our brains and damage our bodies.

In a recent, eye-opening conversation, Mel Robbins sat down with Dr. Aditi Nerurkar, a Harvard medical doctor and one of the world’s leading experts on stress and burnout. Dr. Nerurkar didn’t just bring medical jargon; she brought practical, life-changing strategies that she prescribes to her own patients. She dismantled the myths we cling to—like the idea that we can effectively multitask—and offered a new roadmap.

This article is not just a summary of that conversation; it is a comprehensive, science-backed manual designed to help you reclaim your life. We will explore eight proven strategies to reduce stress and burnout, derived from cutting-edge neuroscience and trusted medical wisdom. Whether you are a corporate executive running on fumes, a parent juggling a chaotic household, or simply someone who feels like they are drowning in the digital age, this guide is for you.

By the end of this deep dive, you will understand why your brain struggles with modern demands and, more importantly, exactly how to fix it. We will cover everything from the food you eat to the way you sit, all aimed at one singular goal: to help you reduce stress and burnout effectively and permanently.

The Myth of Multitasking

Before we dive into the solutions, we must address the elephant in the room: multitasking. “Everyone listening probably thinks they are an excellent multitasker,” Dr. Nerurkar notes. “100% of us think that.”

Here is the hard truth: Only 2% of human brains can effectively multitask.

For the remaining 98% of us, multitasking is a scientific myth. It doesn’t exist. What we are actually doing is “task switching.” We quickly toggle our attention between a Zoom call, an email, and a text message. This rapid switching comes at a deeply biological cost. It depletes the glucose in your brain, increases the production of the stress hormone cortisol, and weakens the prefrontal cortex—the part of your brain responsible for focus, decision-making, and emotional regulation.

When you try to multitask to “save time,” you are paradoxically making yourself slower, more prone to errors, and significantly more stressed. To reduce stress and burnout, the first step is to stop lying to yourself about your ability to do it all at once. We will explore the antidote—monotasking—later in this guide, but for now, accept this invitation to slow down.

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1. The Gut-Brain Connection: Eating to Beat Stress

When we think about stress, we usually think about our heads. We think about racing thoughts, headaches, and mental fog. However, Dr. Nerurkar suggests that the path to a calmer mind actually begins in the grocery store. The connection between your gut and your brain is profound, often referred to as the “gut-brain axis.” What you put on your fork has a direct impact on how you feel emotionally and how resilient you are to stress.

Shop the Perimeter

“A simple thing I tell my patients is to walk the perimeter of the grocery store,” Dr. Nerurkar advises.

Why the perimeter? In almost every grocery store, the outer aisles are home to fresh, whole foods:

• Produce Section: Fresh fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants and fiber.
• Dairy/Refrigerated Section: Sources of probiotics and healthy fats.
• Meat/Fish Department: Lean proteins and omega-3 fatty acids.

The center aisles, conversely, are the danger zones. This is where processed foods live—boxes of sugary cereals, bags of salty snacks, and preserved meals laden with additives. These ultra-processed foods are pro-inflammatory. When you consume them, they can trigger inflammation in the gut, which sends distress signals to the brain, exacerbating feelings of anxiety and fatigue. To reduce stress and burnout, your first line of defense is simply navigating your cart to the safe zones of the store.

The Mediterranean Lifestyle: Gold Standard for Mental Health

Dr. Nerurkar points to the Mediterranean diet as the “gold standard” for eating to strengthen the gut-brain connection. It is important to note that she refers to it as a “way of life” rather than a restrictive diet.

This approach focuses on:

• Plant-Based Foods: A heavy emphasis on vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts.
• Healthy Fats: Olive oil is a staple, providing essential fatty acids that support brain health.
• Lean Proteins: Fish and poultry are preferred over red meats.
• Fermented Foods: Yogurt, kefir, kombucha, and sauerkraut. These are rich in probiotics, the “good” bacteria that populate your microbiome.

A healthy microbiome is essential because a significant portion of your body’s serotonin—the “happy hormone”—is actually produced in your gut. If your gut is inflamed or unbalanced due to a poor diet, your serotonin production suffers, making it physically harder for you to feel calm and happy. Thus, adopting a Mediterranean style of eating is a powerful, biological way to reduce stress and burnout.

The 80/20 Rule: Why Chocolate Cake is Necessary

In the pursuit of health, it is easy to become obsessive, which ironically creates more stress. Dr. Nerurkar wisely warns against this. “This is not about becoming a monk,” she says. “Food is pleasure.”

If you are feeling stressed and you want a slice of chocolate cake, eat the chocolate cake. It is good for your soul. The danger lies not in the occasional indulgence, but in the habit. If that slice of cake becomes a nightly coping mechanism at 11:00 PM, it starts to affect your sleep, your blood sugar, and your cholesterol, creating a vicious cycle of physical stress.

The goal is practical moderation. Improve your diet where you can. Add a forkful of sauerkraut to your lunch. Choose an apple instead of chips. These small, incremental changes strengthen your microbiome over time without the stress of a complete lifestyle overhaul. By feeding your gut the right fuel, you are physically arming your body to reduce stress and burnout.

2. The Science of Monotasking: Reclaiming Your Focus

In our high-speed world, multitasking is often heralded as a superpower. We praise the employee who can answer emails during a meeting or the parent who cooks dinner while helping with homework and scheduling a dentist appointment. However, Dr. Nerurkar is clear: multitasking is a scientific misnomer.

When you think you are multitasking, you are actually engaging in rapid task-switching. Imagine your brain is a spotlight. When you are focused on one task, that spotlight is bright and steady. When you try to do two things at once, you are not widening the spotlight; you are frantically jerking it back and forth between two points.

The Biological Cost of Task-Switching

This constant switching creates a “switch cost.” Every time you shift your attention, your brain has to reorient itself. This process consumes a significant amount of energy (glucose) and time. Research shows that it can take an average of 23 minutes to fully regain deep focus after an interruption. If you are interrupting yourself every few minutes to check a notification, you are effectively never entering a state of deep, productive work.

More alarmingly, this habit weakens the prefrontal cortex. This is the evolutionarily advanced part of your brain responsible for executive functions like complex problem-solving, emotional regulation, and impulse control. When you overload it with task-switching, you degrade its ability to function. The result? You become more impulsive, less patient, and significantly more stressed. To reduce stress and burnout, you must protect your prefrontal cortex.

The Antidote: Monotasking and Time-Blocking

The solution is surprisingly simple: Monotasking.

Monotasking is the practice of doing one thing at a time with your full attention. It sounds radical in today’s distraction-heavy environment, but it is the only way to work in harmony with your biology. Dr. Nerurkar suggests using Time Blocking to make this practical:

1. Group Your Tasks: If you have four different things to do in an hour, do not try to juggle them.
2. Dedicate Time Slots: Assign 15 minutes to Task A, 15 minutes to Task B, and so on.
3. Focus Solely: During those 15 minutes, close all other tabs, silence your phone, and give that single task your undivided attention.

By doing this, you eliminate the metabolic cost of switching. You get more done in less time, and you finish the hour feeling accomplished rather than drained. This simple structural change to your workday is a powerful tool to reduce stress and burnout.

The Power of Brain Breaks

To support monotasking, you must also master the art of the break. Many of us try to “power through” fatigue, fueled by caffeine and anxiety. But the brain is not a machine that can run indefinitely; it is a biological organ that operates in cycles.

A recent study compared two groups of workers:

• Group A: Took no breaks and worked straight through.
• Group B: Took incremental 10-minute breaks throughout the day.

The results were stark. Group B, the break-takers, ended their day with decreased stress levels, better cognitive function, sharper memory, and higher engagement. The key is what you do during that break. Scrolling through Instagram is not a break; it is just another form of information processing that clogs your neural pathways.

Effective Brain Breaks Include:

• Staring out a window.
• Doing a quick breathing exercise.
• Stretching your body.
• Walking to get a glass of water.

These low-stimulation activities allow your brain to “reset” from cumulative stress, clearing the cache so you can return to your work with renewed focus.

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3. The “Fake Commute”: Resetting Your Work-Life Boundaries

The shift to remote and hybrid work has been a game-changer for millions. We have swapped hours in traffic for more sleep and autonomy. However, we lost something critical in the trade: the commute.

“Back in the day, the commute served two roles,” explains Dr. Nerurkar.

1. Geographic: Getting you from Point A to Point B.
2. Psychological: Getting you from Home Mode to Work Mode.

That 30-minute drive or train ride was a buffer zone. It was a liminal space where your brain could transition from “parent/partner/sleeper” to “professional.” Without it, those boundaries blur. You roll out of bed and open your laptop. You fold laundry while on a conference call. Your brain never gets the signal that work has started or, more importantly, that work has ended.

Why Your Brain Needs Compartments?

The brain loves compartments. It thrives on structure and predictability. When you work from your kitchen table in your pajamas, your brain struggles to distinguish between “rest space” and “stress space.” This cognitive dissonance keeps your cortisol levels elevated around the clock because you are never truly “off.”

This is why Dr. Nerurkar prescribes the Fake Commute.

How to Create a Fake Commute?

You don’t need to drive around the block to do this (though you could!). A fake commute is simply a ritual that signals a transition. It honors the different roles you play in your life.

The Morning Ritual:

• Get dressed for the day (no pajamas!).
• Step outside your front door.
• Walk for 5-10 minutes. Grab a coffee, walk the dog, or just breathe in the fresh air.
• Visualise your day ahead. What are your goals? What is your schedule?
• Walk back inside and enter your “office” (even if it’s just a corner of the living room) ready to work.

The Evening Ritual (The Bookend):

• Close your laptop and tidy your workspace.
• Change your clothes. Put on your “home” clothes.
• Go outside for another short walk or do a specific activity like a 5-minute stretch.
• Re-enter your home space as a partner, parent, or friend.

This simple act of “bookending” your day creates a psychological boundary. It tells your brain, “Work is done. It is time to rest.” By artificially recreating the transition, you prevent work stress from bleeding into your personal time, which is essential to reduce stress and burnout.

As Mel Robbins notes, “The bigger the problem, the smaller the solution.” You might think your stress is too massive to be fixed by a walk around the block, but these small biological signals are exactly what your nervous system needs to feel safe and regulated.

4. Sitting is the New Smoking: The Physical Toll of Stress

“Sitting is the new smoking.” It is a phrase that has permeated pop culture, but according to Dr. Nerurkar, the science backs it up unequivocally.

Our bodies were designed for movement. For millennia, human survival depended on physical activity—hunting, gathering, building, and traveling. Today, however, we have engineered movement out of our lives. We sit in cars, we sit at desks, we sit on sofas. This sedentary behavior is not just passive; it is actively harmful.

The Shocking Statistics

Dr. Nerurkar shares “knock-your-socks-off” data from a study of 800 people that reveals the true cost of our chair-bound lives. Comparing those who sat the most to those who sat the least, the risks were staggering:

• 112% higher risk of diabetes.
• 147% higher risk of heart disease.
• 90% higher risk of death from heart disease.
• 50% higher risk of death overall.

These numbers paint a grim picture. But beyond the physical risks, sitting also acts as a powerful trigger for anxiety.

Stewing in Your Emotion

When you sit for prolonged periods, especially while working on stressful tasks, you are physically trapping that stress in your body. “You are stewing in your own emotions,” Dr. Nerurkar explains.

Movement is the body’s natural way of processing stress hormones. When you feel “fight or flight,” your body releases cortisol and adrenaline to prepare you to run or fight. If you just sit there answering emails, those hormones have nowhere to go. They circulate in your system, keeping your baseline anxiety high. By getting up and moving, you allow your body to metabolize these hormones, triggering a cascade of positive biological changes that reduce stress and burnout.

The 5-Minute Movement Rule

You don’t need a standing desk (Dr. Nerurkar admits she doesn’t even use one!) or an Olympian workout regimen. The goal is simply to break the pattern of sedentarism.

• Take a lap: If you have a 2-hour meeting, don’t immediately sit down to check Slack afterwards. Get up and walk around the office or your home.
• Stretch: Use the time between tasks to stretch your body and connect your breath to your movement.
• Stand up: Even standing for a few minutes while taking a phone call can help reset your physiology.

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5. Movement as Medicine: Walking Your Way to Calm

If sitting is the poison, movement is the antidote. But when you are burnt out, the idea of exercise can feel overwhelming. Dr. Nerurkar shares her own “villain origin story” of stress to illustrate this point.

Years ago, as a medical resident working 80-hour weeks, she was depleted, sleep-deprived, and running on fumes. She had access to a state-of-the-art gym in her building. One day, she walked in, saw the mirrors and the complex machines, heard the blasting techno music, and walked right back out. It was too much for her frazzled nervous system.

Why “Go Big or Go Home” Fails?

When we are stressed, we often fall into the trap of thinking we need a massive solution. We tell ourselves, “I’m going to go to the gym for an hour three times a week.” This approach almost always leads to failure because of decision fatigue.

When you are stressed, your prefrontal cortex (the part of your brain that plans for the future) is offline. You are operating from your amygdala (the survival brain). On Monday, a deadline hits. On Tuesday, a child gets sick. By Friday, you haven’t gone to the gym once. Your sense of self-efficacy plummets, and you feel even more stressed than before.

The Power of the 10-Minute Walk

Dr. Nerurkar’s advice is to lower the bar. Radical change doesn’t happen with grand gestures; it happens with tiny, consistent actions. “If you can do 20 minutes of a walk every single day, great. But even 5 or 10 minutes is enough,” she says. “It’s the equivalent of a Facebook scroll.”

Walking offers a unique form of “movement meditation.”

• Grounding: Feeling your feet on the floor (your feet have 30 bones and 100 muscles!) helps get you out of your head and into your body.
• Opt-Out of the Scroll: Instead of reaching for your phone during a break, lace up your sneakers.
• Inertia Breaker: Most of the struggle is just starting. Telling yourself “I only have to do 5 minutes” makes it easy to begin. Often, once you are moving, you’ll want to keep going.

Ultra-Short Bursts of Activity

The benefits of these micro-movements are backed by hard science. A recent study showed that “ultra-short bursts of activity”—like parking far away and walking briskly to the store, or running for a bus—can decrease the risk of dying from cancer by 40%. This proves that you don’t need a gym membership to save your life. You just need to seize the opportunities to move that already exist in your day. By embracing these small bursts of activity, you can significantly improve your physical health and reduce stress and burnout.

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6. Live a Lifetime in a Day: The 6 Elements of a Full Life

One of Dr. Nerurkar’s most profound prescriptions is not a pill, but a philosophy: “Live a lifetime in a day.”

This concept was born from a conversation with a burnt-out colleague who lived only for the weekends. He would slog through five miserable days just to enjoy two days of happiness playing his guitar. Dr. Nerurkar realized this “deferred happiness” plan is a trap. We cannot wait for retirement, or even the weekend, to start living.

To reduce stress and burnout, we must intentionally weave the elements of a full, meaningful life into our daily routine. Dr. Nerurkar identifies six essential components that make up a rich human existence. The challenge is to touch on each of these, even for just a few minutes, every single day.

1. Childhood (Play and Wonder)

Remember the feeling of timelessness you had as a kid? That sense of flow where you were completely absorbed in drawing, running, or imagining? That is the state of “flow.”

• The Stress Fix: Engaging in play lowers cortisol and reminds your brain that life is not just about productivity.
• How to do it: Spend 5 minutes doing something purposeless. Doodle, dance to a song in your kitchen, or watch a squirrel in the park. Embrace curiosity.

2. Work (Purpose and Contribution)

This doesn’t necessarily mean your 9-to-5 job. It refers to any activity where you feel you are making a contribution.

• The Stress Fix: Feeling useful builds self-esteem and agency.
• How to do it: If your job is draining you, find purpose elsewhere. Help a neighbor, volunteer for an hour, or work on a passion project.

3. Vacation (Mind Wandering)

You don’t need a plane ticket to go on vacation. Biologically, “vacation” is simply the state of stepping away from focused attention.

• The Stress Fix: It activates the “Default Mode Network” (DMN) in the brain, which is crucial for creativity and problem-solving.
• How to do it: Give yourself permission to daydream. Sit on your porch for 10 minutes without your phone. Let your mind wander where it wants to go.

4. Community (Connection)

Loneliness is lethal. Research cited by Dr. Nerurkar equates loneliness to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

• The Stress Fix: Social connection releases oxytocin, the bonding hormone that counteracts stress.
• How to do it: Send a text to a friend, call your mom, or chat with the barista. It doesn’t have to be a deep, hour-long conversation. A micro-moment of connection is enough to signal safety to your nervous system.

5. Solitude (Reflection)

While community is vital, so is being alone—truly alone, without the noise of the digital world.

• The Stress Fix: Solitude allows you to process emotions and reconnect with your inner voice, preventing “emotional backlog.”
• How to do it: Spend 5 minutes alone in silence. No podcast, no music, no book. Just you and your thoughts.

6. Retirement (Gratitude and Rest)

This is the “evening of your day.” It’s the time to look back and appreciate what you have done.

• The Stress Fix: Gratitude shifts your focus from what went wrong to what went right, lowering anxiety before sleep.
• How to do it: Before you sleep, review your day. Acknowledge one thing you accomplished or enjoyed. “Rest your head like a retired person,” satisfied with your labors.

By touching on these six points daily—even if for only 2 minutes each—you ensure that no matter how stressful your job is, you are still living a complete, human life every 24 hours.

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7. The Science of Happiness: Hedonic vs. Eudaimonic

We all want to be happy. But in our quest to reduce stress and burnout, we often chase the wrong kind of happiness. Dr. Nerurkar draws a critical distinction between two types of joy.

Hedonic Happiness: The Sugar Rush

Hedonic happiness is the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. It is the thrill of buying a new purse, eating a delicious meal, or binge-watching a great Netflix show (Dr. Nerurkar loves Shrinking!).

• The Pros: It feels great in the moment. It effectively “bands-aids” stress and offers immediate relief.
• The Cons: It is fleeting. This is known as the “Hedonic Treadmill”—you get a boost, but you quickly return to your baseline happiness, requiring another “hit” to feel good again.

Eudaimonic Happiness: The Deep Well

Eudaimonic happiness (pronounced you-day-mon-ic) is derived from meaning, purpose, and connection. It is the satisfaction of raising a child, mastering a difficult skill, or helping a friend through a tough time. It isn’t always “fun” in the moment, but it is deeply fulfilling.

• The Science: This is where the magic happens. Research shows that Eudaimonic happiness actually changes your gene expression. It decreases inflammation at a cellular level and strengthens your immune system.
• The Stress Fix: Unlike Hedonic pleasure, Eudaimonic well-being creates a lasting buffer against stress. It builds resilience.

Balancing the Portfolio

To truly reduce stress and burnout, you need a balanced portfolio of both.

• Don’t demonize pleasure: Watch the show, eat the cake. You need those quick wins to get through hard days.
• Prioritize purpose: Invest time in things that matter. Cultivate your relationships, work on your personal growth, and contribute to your community. These are the investments that will pay dividends for your mental health for decades to come.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion: Small Shifts, Massive Impact

“The biggest lie we are told is that we need to change everything to change anything.”

If there is one takeaway from Dr. Aditi Nerurkar’s wisdom, it is that you do not need a new life to reduce stress and burnout. You just need a new approach to the life you already have.

Stress is not a character flaw; it is a biological reaction. Burnout is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign that you have been strong for too long without a break. By implementing these small, science-backed hacks—walking the grocery store perimeter, taking a fake commute, or monotasking for just 15 minutes—you can start to rewire your brain today.

Remember the power of neuroplasticity. Your brain is a muscle. Every time you choose a walk over a scroll, or a deep breath over a reaction, you are strengthening the neural pathways of calm and resilience.

Start small. Pick one hack from this list. Try it for a week. As Dr. Nerurkar promises, “Give yourself eight weeks, and you will see a transformation.” You deserve to feel healthy, happy, and alive. And the best part? You can start right now.