10 Ways To Relax When You’re Totally Stressed

There are so many things that go on in our lives that stress us out. How you manage your stress is key.

1. Breathe

There are several ways to relax. This one may sound like a no brainer but trust me, breathing does wonders in relieving your stress. When you breathe in deeply and exhale there is a message sent to your brain telling your body to calm down. There is a certain way to breathe removing stress is the goal. I’ll be happy to tell you what I have found to be very helpful. Get comfortable and very slowly deeply inhale through your nose. Then hold your breath for a few seconds. Then exhale slowly through your mouth. Repeat this a few times and you notice your body being less tensed. When I do this breathing exercise, I prefer to close my eyes and go to a quiet place, when I am able. It feels like I am outside of my body and I feel the stress leaving my body instantly. The longer you practice the breathing exercises the more of a benefit you will have. I find relief in doing the breathing exercise for about 5-8 minutes. If this breathing exercise doesn’t work there are several other breathing techniques you can try Lion’s Beath, Humming Bee Breathing, Belly Breathing, and Resonant Breathing. I hope you can find at least one so that you can relax.

2. Exercise

There are several health benefits to exercising. Many people in the world experience stress daily and carrying it with you is not healthy. Being able to exercise would help you tremendously. Using your body physically can take the focus away from what’s going on mentally. The more you exercise the more relaxed you can make yourself because you are lowering your stress hormone. After a great exercise that has worked out your entire body your body will be ready to rest and have very little energy to stress. If your unable to get out and exercise at a gym, just getting your body up and moving can be beneficial. Doing something less strenuous on your body like running or even walking can relieve stress. Relieving stress will allow you to relax.

3. Laugh

Laughing is great for the soul and should be done often. When you laugh it relieves tension which allows you to relax. There are short term benefits of laughing, it stimulates many of your organs, soothes tension, and activates and relieves the way you react to stress. Laughing also has some long term benefits as well; it improves your immune system, relieves pain, and even increases your personal satisfaction. There are so many things that can make you laugh. Try watching a movie, hanging with a silly friend, or going to a comedy show. Laugh and the world will laugh with you.

4. Hang Out with Your Family and Friends

Being around those that love and care about you and your wellbeing is one of the several ways to relax. If you have both friends and family, consider yourself very lucky. Great friends and family have a way of making you forget about your issues or even providing a resolution to them. Humans are social creatures that thrive on social contact from others. Take advantage of that so that you can help yourself relax.

5. Yoga

This is a great way to find peace within yourself by joining your mind and body. Yoga is great for your mental health and has been known to act as an antidepressant drug in treating depression. No matter your age yoga can be a great way to find relaxation. You don’t have to be a professional to get the stress relief benefits of yoga. I can’t twist and turn my body like a pretzel, like some people can, but I do find that I am more at peace after I complete a yoga class. There are several stages in yoga which means there are many ways to relax using yoga.

6. Sleep

This may be difficult to achieve depending on how stress you are but if you can sleep. There are several ways to relax but this is one of the most natural ways to do so. If you are able to achieve that “good sleep” when you wake up you will feel so much better mentally as well as physically. This is a great way to calm your mind and body. I like this relaxation technique because there is very little effort required. You just need to get comfortable and close your eyes and let your body do the rest.

7. Reduce Caffeine

Caffeine is found in the best drinks like coffee, energy drinks, teas, and sodas. When you are needing to relax you may want to chill out on drinking these and replace them with water or something with little to no caffeine. Caffeine is made to keep you up and alert. Unfortunately, caffeine can increase anxiety which will make it very difficult to relax. Reducing your caffeine is one of the many ways you can relax.

8. Plan

If you are overwhelmed with many thoughts and plans it is helpful to write them out. That way you can physically see what you are stressed about and can sort them out. I find this helpful in relieving my stress because I can sort out my thoughts from most important to those that aren’t. Then I can decide how I will make each of them not so stressful to myself. And eventually, I can relax because I have taken the stress away.

9. Chew Some Gum

Chewing gum gives your mind something else to focus on. If you put a lot of thought on your gum, it will make it harder to think about anything else. Not thinking about what is stressing you will help you relax. Chewing gum also helps with the blood flow to your brain. With an increased amount of blood flow to the brain, it will improve the way that your brain functions and responds to stress.

10. Cuddle

Physical contact like cuddling, kissing, and hugging can reduce stress which will, in turn, allow you to relax. These actions will lower your stress levels by releasing oxytocin. Oxytocin calms you and lowers your levels of the “stress hormone” cortisol. In addition to reducing your stress, physical contact can also lower your blood pressure. So don’t be mad and stressed, give a hug and relax, it’s one of the best ways to relax.