What is Relaxation?
Relaxation is a state where you can calmly go about your daily routine. However, lifestyles vary significantly, with some being far more demanding than others. If you’re struggling to keep on top of things, adopting different relaxation methods can help. Besides providing health and psychological benefits, techniques are relatively easy to do and can be done wherever you are.
The Effects of Relaxation on Your Overall Health
When suffering from an anxiety disorder, symptoms go far beyond excessive worrying. It can eventually lead to depression and other mental health disorders, such as:
- Insomnia
- Digestion Problems
- Chronic Headaches
- Severe loneliness
- Unable to function in everyday life
- Suicide
Performing relaxation skills can help relieve muscle tension and calm the mind, helping people suffering from anxiety.
Relaxation Techniques you Can Apply Today
Incorporate an Aerobic Exercise Routine into Your Schedule
Aerobic exercise can significantly boost both your mental and physical well-being. Although working out can be daunting to many, simply moving around more is a positive start.
Frequent aerobic exercise provides a wealth of benefits, such as aiding in weight management and increasing muscle mass. It’s also a great combatant against stress and depression, providing you with an exhilarated feeling while simultaneously keeping you relaxed.
During long periods of physical activity, adverse effects such as inflammation, joint pain, and injuries are commonplace. A great, natural, way to help with these uncomfortable problems, while gaining additional relaxing benefits, is CBD from cannabis seeds you can harvest yourself, thanks to Zamnesia. CBD helps your body heal due to their anti-inflammatory properties while allowing you to relax – advancing your recovery even more.
Deep Breathing
Due to our hectic lives, relaxing is considered a luxury rather than a necessity. However, relaxation has numerous benefits, such as improving brain function for better decision-making and reduces the risk of a heart attack. One popular and simple technique is deep breathing, which can be performed anywhere.
Practicing deep-breathing is an effective way to treat anxiety and nervousness. It slows down your heart rate and increases oxygen to the body, providing the brain signal for your body to relax. It can also help manage your stress hormones, like cortisol, and increase endorphins. A breathing regime is often applied to achieve better sleep and is recommended by experts to people with insomnia. Try the following breathing exercise to relax immediately:
- Ensure you’re in a comfortable position by either sitting or lying flat
- Begin by breathing in, placing one hand on your stomach out and the other on your chest. Your chest should remain in position.
- Start by breathing in through your nose, sucking up as much air as possible.
- Breathe out, positioning your lips like you’re whistling. Use your hand to push all the air out from your stomach.
- During sessions, concentrate on your body’s state; you should start to feel your body naturally relax.
- Lastly, attempt to do this breathing exercise 3-10 times, and by the end, you should feel significantly more relaxed.
Other Ways to Improve Overall Well Being
Understanding and Managing Life Stressors
Although lifestyle demands vary considerably, stress can often derive from mental turmoil. Thoughts and emotions dictate how you feel, but recognizing and handling these stressors can help alleviate the problem. After identifying your lifestyle stressors, i.e., monetary or family issues, you can gradually learn how to deal with them and relax.
Instead of negatively interpreting stressors, encouraging yourself through positive self-talk is far more beneficial. This technique also lets you see the best of what the situation has to offer. A positive mindset is empowering, increasing inner strength and confidence.
Aside from developing a more optimistic outlook, you should also identify any cognitive distortions you may have. Distortions include an all-or-approach to situations, assuming the worst, and jumping to conclusions. Although we’re all guilty of thinking this way in some capacity, correcting them can lead to more helpful solutions.
Live in The Moment
Living in the moment is about mindfulness, recognizing, and being aware of the here and now. Sometimes we tend to replay joyful memories or plan too far ahead. While these thinking habits are typical, it’s important not to miss the great moments as they occur.
Taking the time to enjoy the present lets us stop to smell the roses, so it’s become a fond memory instead of something a missed event. Although doing so is far easier said than done, there are exercises you can try to become more mindful. Try these techniques the next time you catch yourself daydreaming:
- Feel your environment: This could be sunlight gently warming your skin or smelling newly cut grass closeby
- Don’t let past or future inconveniences affect your emotions. I.e., paying off an expensive electricity bill or worrying about an upcoming exam, respectively.
- Acknowledge these inconveniences, and don’t beat yourself up about them.
- Instead, have self-compassion and attempt to find a solution, which is indicative of a positive mindset.
Practicing being mindful can also help fight off cravings, like late-night food binges, or giving up a nicotine addiction.
