How to Reduce Stress: 10 Relaxation Techniques To Reduce Stress

Living with stress on a daily basis becomes a frustrating experience and can negatively affect an individual’s overall health. While experts have it that some stress comes in handy in sharpening a person’s senses and mind, too much of it can adversely impact on both their physical and physiological well-being. Luckily, relaxation can do wonders in restoring sanity and balance in one’s life.

For many people, reducing stress means relaxing in front of the TV after a long day’s work. But the truth is that such practices do very little to reduce stress, and the relief is often temporary. Instead, surefire techniques like rhythmic exercise and deep breathing should be employed to combat stress and lead a healthy lifestyle as explained below.

• Meditation

Riding kids to school, taking care of a spouse and dealing with work-related pressure can leave someone mentally depleted, which is especially true if they can hardly find a minute to relax. Luckily, a mere five to ten minutes of meditation can replenish a person’s mental energy, allowing them to tackle daily chores with ease. Once they have located a peaceful environment with plenty of fresh air, the person in question should then close their eyes and focus on a particular object, which in turn relaxes their mind and substitute negative thoughts with joyful ones. This way, one can achieve sufficient mental clarity and calmness that allows their stress levels to drop.

• Having Relaxed Thoughts

Even if an individual is extremely stressed, it’s imperative that they remain optimistic. This includes creating a peaceful visualization to escape from the current tensions and replacing the negative feelings with positivity. For instance, one can lie down on their bed and envisage their favorite vacation spot, whether it’s a penthouse in Miami or a fantasy island. They could also picture themselves wearing a cozy sweater or their favorite silk robe. The idea behind this is to take their mind off the stress and filling the vacuum with images that evoke a sense of calm. If you are having trouble relaxing, you can browse for different products that provide optimal results, like Elan Naturals CBD products to help you relieve stress and relax your mind. It is known to have calming and relaxing effects, as it can interact with your system to reduce stress and tension. It also helps to relieve muscle pain, providing a sense of relaxation. Additionally, it is known to help improve sleep quality, allowing for a more restful night’s sleep.

• Share the Love

While loving oneself excessively is considered selfish, in this case, a person should indulge themselves as the first step to recovery. Subsequently, they can go ahead and show some love to others by for example cuddling with their pet or giving a friend or relative an unexpected hug. Similarly, one can also snuggle with their spouse or call them to reminisce about the good things in their lives.  This will go a long way in lowering blood pressure and decreasing stress-causing hormones.

• Taking a Cup of Hot Tea

For coffee-guzzlers, going green is highly recommended when stressed. Coffee is responsible for fueling the stress hormone, cortisol, which increases the levels of anxiety. On the other hand, tea makes a person feel at ease.  For instance, chamomile tea was traditionally utilized to calm the mind and reduce stress.

• Listening to Relaxing Music

Soft sounds from jazz and classical music have a calming effect on the body. The musical detours eliminate stress by aligning one’s heartbeat with the gradual tempo of the relaxing melody, which is especially useful when the going gets rough. Surprisingly, thirty minutes of classical tunes produce an immense calming effect, which is comparable to consuming 10 mg of valium.

• Taking a Break

Taking some time out and away from the chaos can dramatically relieve one from stress.  This tactic is especially useful when one senses that their temper is about to erupt; staying away from all the activities and people related to the tension is the best way to cope with the situation. For instance, one can take a 30-minute nature walk and find a good place to sleep, sit or lie thus placing the stressful situation on hold.

• Engaging In Something Interesting

Thinking about stressful situations when depressed will only make things worse.  A person should instead purpose to be happy by engaging their mind in a positive activity. It could even be something as simple as reading a novel or concentrating on the image of their child, spouse or favorite pet. This creates a positive attitude, which calms and stabilizes the heart rhythm.

• Self-massage

The act of massaging oneself can easily drive the stress away. This is done by placing both hands on the neck and shoulders and squeezing gently with the fingers and palms. Rubbing the shoulders vigorously will serve to keep them relaxed. One can also wrap one hand around their other hand’s forearm and squeeze the muscles using their thumb and fingers.

• Look Around

To relieve oneself from stress, it’s prudent to stop all other activities and focus on the immediate surroundings. For instance, if a person is outside, they can concentrate on the beautiful shape and color of the flowers are around them. This technique depletes the room of stress automatically and hassle-free.

• Inhaling Fresh Air

Taking a deep breath of fresh air and exhaling at least ten times allows immediate relief from stress. Therefore, one should consider scenting their room. Since, the sweet fragrance introduces an interesting message to the brains, relieving it from stress via driving out the negative thoughts to accommodate the new ones.

While the above methods have been shown to work remarkably, it’s imperative to note that not every relaxation technique works perfectly for everyone. It is, therefore, critical that individuals find a method that works best for them and one that fits their lifestyle seamlessly. An individual can even combine two or three techniques in order to perfectly interrupt their everyday negative thoughts and elicit a relaxation response. How a person reacts to stress dictates the best technique for them. If possible, one should set aside some time once or twice a day to perform a relaxation technique until they decipher their best fit.