Discover simple relaxation techniques that reduce stress and anxiety in under five minutes
Life, as we know it is filled to the brim with all kinds of obligations and demands that continually weigh people down. leaving them with no time for self-renewal.
No wonder the stress level of people is so high and this is no old wives’ tale. There’s a confirmed study backing it up!
In the US alone, a study released in 2015 by the APA (American Psychological Association) shows that 73 percent of adults frequently experience psychological symptoms of stress while 77 percent encounter physical signs of stress.
Even if you can’t completely keep stress-inducing events at bay, you can manage how you react to them and their effect on you.
Keep reading to see how these 6 strategies we’ve listed can help you out with that.
Take Short Breaks
A marathon workday does no one any good. While a tight schedule may make you want to push through the day without taking any break, this will is counter-productive.
Your brain becomes tired and you start feeling frazzled and drained before the end of the day. To increase your productivity, it’s advisable you take about 15 to 20 minutes break for every 60 to 90 minutes of work.
Better still, find the duration that works for you and stick to it.
Do Deep Breathing Exercises
If you aren’t interested in a plethora of techniques but you just want just one technique that lowers stress levels fast, you can try deep breathing.
Deep breathing works extremely well and fast too. Although it is temporary because it is able to quickly counter negative symptoms like fast breathing, high blood pressure, and increased heart rate that crop up when you’re stressed.
By taking in deep breaths to relax, it tells your brain to relax and your brain passes the message down to your body to become calm.
Take a Nap
Taking short power naps have been proven to reduce stress levels and hormones like cortisol in the body. After experiencing a sleepless night, a quick nap between 15 to 30 minutes during the day can boost your brain’s need to ‘wake up’.
Tune into Your Favorite Playlist
Songs can give you major relaxation benefits. Depending on the genre, music has a way of calming or exciting a person.
Sometimes, just listening to your favorite tracks alone could make you more upbeat, infuse you with new ideas and increase your deal to work through a tough project or situation.
Practice Gratefulness and Thankfulness
Consistently practising gratefulness retrains your mind to view things more positively and makes you more resilient to stress. This happens because gratitude forces you to search for all the silver lining to be thankful for.
To practice gratefulness, many experts recommend that you start gratitude journaling where you write every day, at least 3 to 5 things you are grateful for. It is also suggested that appreciating others (for the good deeds done for us or for some other nice deeds) is a good mood improver.
Re-Frame the Situation
Reframing is when you focus your mind on the less-stressful side of a situation. By viewing a negative circumstance in a more positive light, your feelings towards it will change. In turn, you’ll feel less anxious or completely stop stressing about that situation.
For example, instead of thinking about a looming deadline that’s making you feel anxious, focus instead on the benefits to be gained when the project is completed.
So how can you properly reframe? There are helpful ways to go about it and they include:
- Think of all the ways the situation is doing you more good than bad (the truth is there’s always something beneficial to be learned or gained from a seemingly difficult situation).
- Think of the beneficial lessons you’re gaining from the experience and how that is making you grow into a better and stronger person.
