Yawn, is the day over yet?
If you’re ready for bedtime before lunchtime, you’re not alone. According to the National Safety Council, almost half of America’s workforce feels too tired to do their job safely.
Thankfully, by finding ways to eliminate stress from your life, you can start having more energy than ever before. However, it can be tricky finding the time to unwind when you’re life’s going at full speed.
Let us help you refresh your mind, body, and spirit with our 6 tips for relaxation. You can start practicing these tips today to immediately have less stress in your life.
So take a look! Today can be the day you finally let go of all the tension your holding on to.
Relaxation Tips for Sleep
Let’s kick off our list of tips for relaxation with a few pointers to help you have a restoring, deep sleep. By sleeping better, you’ll be able to naturally feel more relaxed throughout the week.
Studies show that if you were to sleep 60 to 90 more minutes each night, you could lead a healthier, safer, and more joyous life. As it stands right now, the average American only sleeps 6.7 hours a night, which is less than the recommended 7 to 9 hours. If stress is getting in the way of your sleep cycle, the first thing you should do is start a bedtime routine.
1. Choose a Set Bedtime
First, pick a time to go to bed each night. By maintaining a set bedtime, you’ll be able to train your brain when it’s time to unwind. Be sure to choose a time that will allow you to get at least 7 full hours of sleep.
2. Dim Lights and Turn off Screens
Next, about 2 hours before your bedtime, start dimming the lights in your home. Turn off any electronics that you’re not using, and try to stay away from your cellphone. The blue lights from computers and cellphones can interrupt your sleep cycle.
3. Self Care Massage
Finally, invest at least 30 minutes doing something special for yourself. You can buy a body massager to help target specific muscle groups or tense areas. We find that taking a warm bath beforehand can help loosen up your muscles for a deeper, and better massage.
4. After-Shift Relaxation Routine
Do you have a physically demanding job? Since you probably spend the majority of the day on your feet, you can help your body out with a nice healing foot soak.
Go ahead and find something larger enough to soak your feet in and fill it up with warm water. Next, add in a few tablespoons of Epsom salt for each gallon of water. As you let your feet soak, close your eyes, and focus on letting the tension go from your body.
When you’re done soaking your feet, you can moisturize your entire body with a soothing lotion.
For instance, a lotion infused with calming essential oils, like lavender, will help you feel a new sense of calm. You can also have aromatherapy with stone diffusers, reaping gemstone meanings and healing benefits.
5. Mid Day Meditation
We find that 5 minutes of quiet meditation is a powerful way to both reset and fresh your mind and even your body. To get the best relaxation benefits, it’s helpful if you meditate at least 3 times during the day.
Try meditating for 5 minutes in the morning, on your lunch break, and once you arrive home. If you’ve never meditated before, you can take a simple approach by simply watching your breath.
Set a time for 5 minutes, sit still in a safe space, and close your eyes. Allow your thoughts to flow through your mind, and focus on your breath. Without judgment, watch your breath as it flows in and out.
If you notice yourself getting wrapped up in any 1 thought, let the thought go and return your focus to your breath. Each day, challenge yourself by adding a little bit of time to your meditation routine. Before you know it you’ll be meditating for 15, 20, or even 30 minutes with ease!
Relaxation Tips for Anxiety
Moving on, let’s look at a few relaxation tips for stress and anxiety. Oftentimes, when we’re feeling anxious or stressed it’s because our mind feels threatened. It could be that something is happening our mind perceives as dangerous, like running late for a meeting.
The moment our mind sees the treat it enters a fight or flight mode, also known as an acute stress response. While this is a natural reaction, you don’t have to stick to using it if you don’t want to!
6. Train Your Brain To Use a Relaxation Response
You can train your brain to elicit a relaxation response instead of an acute stress response.
How exactly can you rewire your mind and body? It all starts by practicing breathwork. Unlike passive meditation, where you simply watch your breath, breathwork is an engaging activity.
Deep abdominal breaths, or belly breathing exercises are a great starting point to create a calm mind. Simply sit down or lie down somewhere comfortable. Next, put 1 hand on your belly, right below your ribs. Your other hand will rest on your chest. Now, inhale deeply through your nose.
Allow your belly to push out as you’re breathing in. Your chest should remain still. Finally, breathe out while pursing your lips, almost making a “whoosh” sound.
Repeat this process anywhere from 5- 10 times for a full breathing session. Use this breathing exercise whenever you feel yourself getting tense.
You should also practice deep breathing in the morning, afternoon, and nighttime. For the best effects, try doing your deep breathing sessions after you meditate.
Start Using Our Tips for Relaxation
Now you know some of the best tips for relaxation to use throughout the day. What tip do you think you’ll try using first? Are you ready to finally commit to a set time to go to sleep?
Or are you going to begin practicing meditation and deep breathing to help your mind and body unwind? If you want to challenge yourself, try doing all of the tips in this article.
We’re sure you’ll feel more relaxed and renewed than ever before. For more tips like these, explore the rest of this site.