Cate Blanchett’s Advice for Immediate Stress Relief

Even women as powerful as Cate Blanchett can struggle to switch off their phones and disconnect from social media.

Speaking to Glamour about societal pressures, the Blue Jasmine star urged women to “sit down and turn your phone off for 20 minutes,” adding: “That’s all you need to make your face relax.”

Blanchett went on to explain that although taking a break from technology in this way can be challenging, it can help you both look and feel far less stressed out. “Give up social media. That’ll take 10 years off you,” she said.

The Australian actor and director, who adopted a daughter in 2015, also described the concept of having a ‘work-life balance’ as “a myth,” but highlighted the importance of self-care. “Life is chaos,” she said. “And that’s why taking literally three minutes for myself in the morning and at night — to put on two sets of moisturizers and a serum — sounds really small, but it certainly became an indispensable life raft.”

Blanchett said she thinks society places “far more pressure” on women than on men. “I think we all grow in very random, personal ways,” she said. “So anything you have to do to make yourself feel better or more confident, whether it’s looking after your skin, getting a massage, going to the gym, or sleeping—anything!—you should do it.”

[Glamour]

Write to Kate Samuelson at kate.samuelson@time.com.