Connecting with nature, releasing muscular tension, breathing deeply, and meditating are some good ways to relax. Relaxing may reduce your risk of health complications.

Today’s modern lifestyle can be stressful. Between work, family, and social obligations, it can be hard to make time for yourself. But it’s important that you do make the time.

Respond to stress with relaxation. Relaxing can help keep your body and mind healthy and help you recover from the everyday stresses that life throws at you.

Call 911 or the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) if you’re having thoughts of suicide.

Relaxation strategies don’t have to be time-consuming. If you can find 5 minutes of your day for yourself, you can slip in a simple strategy.

Breathe it out

Breathing exercises may calm your stressed-out body and mind anywhere, at any time.

Try this breathing exercise

  1. Sit or lie in a quiet and comfortable place, such as on your bed or a chair.
  2. Put one of your hands on your abdomen (stomach).
  3. Breathe in as you slowly count to 3.
  4. Breathe out as you slowly count to 3. Feel your belly rise and fall as you breathe in and out.
  5. Repeat 5 times or as long as you need to feel relaxed.

Release physical tension

Mental and physical stress often co-occur. Releasing physical tension may help relieve stress in your body and mind.

Practice progressive muscle relaxation

  1. Lay on a soft, comfortable surface, such as your bed, a carpet, or a yoga mat.
  2. Tense up one part of your body at a time. You may start with the muscles in your face or toes and work toward the opposite end of your body.
  3. Slowly release your muscles. As you do, notice how your body sensations change.

Write your thoughts down

When you feel stressed, take a few minutes to write down some notes about how you’re feeling or how your day is going. You might do this in a notebook or a notes app on your smartphone.

Don’t worry about being poetic, proper grammar and punctuation, or word count. Just focus on expressing yourself to help release some of your stress.

Express gratitude and positivity

Making a list of what you’re grateful for may help you relax.

We tend to focus on the negative rather than the positive, a phenomenon called negativity bias. This bias may particularly come out when you’re stressed.

To counteract this, try thinking about the positive parts of your life and writing them down. Think of three good things that happened to you today and write them down, even if they’re small.

Visualize your calm

Have you ever heard the expression “find your happy place”? Sit in a quiet and safe place, close your eyes, and think about where you feel the most calm.

While you’re focusing, allow yourself to really get lost in your visualization. Imagine all the details of that place, including the:

  • sights
  • sounds
  • smells
  • tastes
  • tactile feelings

For example, if you think of the beach, you might imagine waves crashing on the shore, the sound of children playing, the smell of sunscreen, the taste of cool ice cream, and the feel of gritty sand under your feet.

This approach, especially nature-based imagery, may positively affect anxiety.

Connect to nature

Spending just a few minutes in nature when you feel stressed may help you relax. A 2024 study of residents in Brisbane, Australia, connects visiting greenspaces to lower levels of:

But you don’t necessarily need to be in nature to feel its effects. Scientists have found that simply looking at photos of a forest environment may help level your mood.

Keeping your brain and body relaxed has many benefits. It balances out the negative mental and physical effects of stress.

Benefits of relaxation techniques

Anyone, regardless of age or stress level, can benefit from relaxation techniques. Some benefits may include:

  • Lowers blood pressure: When you relax, your body responds with slower breathing, decreased blood pressure, and a reduced heart rate
  • Treats anxiety: Relaxing breathing techniques, such as diaphragmatic breathing, may help reduce stress, cortisol levels, and anxiety.
  • Relieves pain: Some evidence suggests relaxation techniques may help with headache, lower back pain, and pain management.
  • Improves irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): Progressive muscle relaxation and breathing techniques may improve symptoms of IBS.
  • Soothes symptoms of menopause: Paced breathing, a type of breath control strategy, may help cool you down from menopause-related hot flashes.

Stress may be a universal part of life, but that doesn’t mean you should let it get the best of you. Take charge of your stress by learning how to relax.

Reach for a simple relaxation exercise when you feel stressed. Even if you don’t feel very stressed, practicing relaxation exercises daily can be a good preventive measure for keeping stress away in the first place.

If relaxation exercises aren’t helping reduce your stress, seek the help of a mental health professional. They can recommend a specific treatment plan suited to your needs.

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