Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 3: Get yourself a day off
• Method 2 of 3: Get Out of a Stressful Situation
• Method 3 of 3: Live a Relaxed Style
• Tips
• Warnings

Alas, for many of us, stress has become an integral part of everyday life. Being stressed all the time is not the most pleasant way to pass the time. What's more, long-term stress negatively affects the body, provoking the development of many health problems, including asthma, heart disease and diabetes. Is there a way out in this situation? Learn to calm down! You have a day off today, or, conversely, a tense situation is in full swing, if you approach the matter correctly, you can always relax and start enjoying life. Always remember the simple rule: "Relax!"

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Get yourself a day off

1. 1 Put all your responsibilities aside for a while. When you want to arrange a day of rest and relaxation for yourself, the key is to prepare well in advance. It is difficult to truly relax and unwind if you have to focus on completing a work project or looking after a screaming baby. Below is a list of things you can do ahead of time. Of course, everyone's life circumstances are different, so some of your responsibilities may not coincide with the following list:
   • Take an extra day off from work. If necessary, take days off as vacation. Note that more often than not, management expects you to give this advance notice — usually several weeks in advance.
   • If you have children, hire a nanny. Of course, children are a great happiness, but sometimes they can turn our life into a real nightmare. You shouldn't risk it, otherwise it may turn out that your whole weekend will be spent playing "okay" and changing diapers. It is better to entrust the supervision of the child to a responsible nanny on this day.
   • Make travel arrangements if necessary. Sometimes for relaxation, you just need to change the usual scenario. If you feel like getting out of town, buy tickets or reserve a hotel for your stay in advance so you don't have to rush it at the last moment.
2. 2 Pamper yourself with a relaxing bath or shower. When you do decide to get out of bed (and on a rest day, you can do this when you want), start your day with a relaxing bath or shower.A warm bath or shower has been shown to help calm the mind, relieve muscle tension, and tidy up confused thoughts. More importantly, the bath helps you feel good and makes it possible, at least for a while, to forget about all the problems and focus on the pleasant sensations of your body - in other words to relax.
   • Each person decides for himself what water temperature he perceives as comfortable. From a scientific point of view, a bathtub whose temperature is slightly lower than hot has an optimal relaxing effect - hot baths, on the contrary, make your body work harder, and not relax (although a pleasant sensation from such a bath is also present).
   • Please note that pregnant women are advised not to take hot baths.
3. 3 Have a cup of coffee or tea with friends. If caffeinated drinks are giving you headaches or nervousness, you shouldn't include this item on your must-do list for your rest day. If you think that a little caffeine won't hurt you, a cup of coffee with friends can help you relax and take your mind off your daily stress. In fact, according to some studies, if a person drinks coffee with people with whom communication brings him joy, this has a pronounced relaxing effect on him. On the other hand, drinking coffee alone can even exacerbate your stress.
4. 4 Give yourself the opportunity to pursue a hobby that you usually don't have time for. Do you consider yourself the second Picasso? Have you been dying for a long time from the desire to pick up an old guitar and play some original compositions? Today is the time to pamper yourself. A day of rest is good for the fact that it gives you the opportunity to devote a lot of time to all those things that you secretly wanted to do in those long hours when they were engaged in the fulfillment of the necessary life duties. Now you don't have to be afraid to spend a few hours (or even the whole day, if you like) to bring joy to yourself. Here are some things you might want to do:
   • Try something creative. When was the last time you drew a picture, wrote a song, or composed a story? If you can't remember, you might want to do something creative today and complete the project at your own pace.
   • Get involved in minor repairs or home improvement. Small renovations or home improvement work can bring you a deep sense of satisfaction (it is also a great long-term investment of time and energy, as it will reduce the cost of maintaining a home).
   • Read a book. Real, time-tested paper books are becoming a rarity today. Nothing soothes a person like a few hours by the fireplace. spent reading your favorite book. Consider this type of relaxation that might work for you.
   • Play video games. There is nothing wrong with lying on the couch for several hours playing video games. However, if this activity is already taking up a lot of time in your daily life, it is better to consider some other hobby that you usually pay much less attention to.
5. 5 Try making a simple meal. Delicious food is what you just need on your day of rest. Do you want to improve your cooking skills (and save some money that you would spend in a cafe or restaurant)? Try to cook delicious and nutritious food for yourself and for your friends who can spend time with you. You can find thousands of different recipes on the Internet. A few minutes to search in Yandex - and you already have several dozen recipes for your favorite dish. Also, you can choose any dish from a variety of different recipes on our website. [one].
   • If you don't like cooking, don't hesitate to reserve a table at your favorite restaurant or order home delivery.Delicious food is one of the indisputable sources of pleasure for a person; you should not neglect it on your rest day!
6. 6 Complete your daily activities without haste. Having organized a day off for yourself does not mean that you cannot do something useful. It will not be superfluous to do some things that you will still need to do in your free time. Not only does it make you feel good about doing something meaningful, it can also reduce your stress levels in the long term. In the end, any commitment you complete today will not hang over your mind tomorrow. Below is a list of things you might want to consider:
   • Pay your bills
   • Send letters and parcels
   • Send your resume to positions of interest
   • Resolve support issues
   • Take care of government affairs (for example, check and pay fines at the traffic police).
7. 7 Watch a movie. Watching movies is the quietest and most relaxing way to have fun (unless you choose to watch a horror or thriller movie, of course). Sit back on the couch next to your loved one, or invite friends over to visit. A few pacifying hours spent watching your favorite films or new movies will be the perfect end to your day of relaxation.
   • If you have the opportunity, you can even host a movie night with your friends. You can choose movies of a specific theme (for example, art house) or choose movies at random. The choice is yours!
   • If your budget allows, you can enjoy watching movies on the big screen by going to the cinema with friends. If all your friends are busy on this day, you can go to the movies alone, although not everyone likes to watch movies alone. If you don't want to waste money, try finding morning sessions with inexpensive tickets.
8. 8 Spend the evening in public (or at home!) Some people enjoy ending their day with a fun party in a nightclub, while others prefer to stay at home and go to bed earlier. You and only you decide what the perfect end to your day of relaxation will be!
   • Don't think about it. that you just have to go somewhere to have fun in the evening, even if you don't feel like it. Your friends aren't going anywhere until tomorrow if you decide to skip one night at the club and go to bed early.
   • Conversely, if you have the opportunity, take your friends to a nightclub and have a lot of fun like the good old days. Of course, you should not go on a spree if you have a responsible event scheduled for the next day. If you return home late from a party, the next day you are unlikely to have the strength for labor exploits.
9. 9 If you're old enough, a little alcohol may be helpful (especially if you're smart about it). Face it - work and day-to-day responsibilities can stress anyone. Sometimes we just need to relax a little with alcohol. There is nothing wrong with that, especially if you know when to stop. For example, drinking a glass or two of wine with friends at the end of a busy day is unlikely to hurt you in any way. According to some reports, moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages (for example, a small bottle of beer every day) is actually beneficial for human health.
   • That being said, do not forget that excessive alcohol consumption will only increase stress. Apart from the consequences of excessive alcohol consumption such as hangovers, nausea and other unpleasant physiological manifestations, the loss of control due to a large dose of alcohol can lead to poor decisions that will ruin your life for a long time (and may even lead to jail).

Method 2 of 3: Get Out of a Stressful Situation

1. 1 Stop doing what you are currently doing and take a short break. It's not often that we can afford the luxury of planning an entire day to unwind. Whether the stress is due to work, school, relationships, or other external causes, sometimes annoying thoughts and feelings pile up all at once and become unbearably excruciating. In such cases, it will hardly help you if you start planning a day of rest in the future - the problem is that you want to feel better. Here and now. Start by simply stopping what you are doing and getting out of the stressful situation and giving yourself the opportunity to just idle for a while.
   • Getting rid of the source of stress for a while - even for a short time - can be of immense help and relaxation. Psychologists and business experts are well aware that giving employees the opportunity to take short breaks on a regular basis can provide a powerful boost to creativity and enthusiasm. In the long term, this makes employees feel happier and more productive.
2. 2 Try to look at the situation from a different perspective. Getting rid of stress depends not only on your actions, but also on your way of thinking. If you are feeling annoyed and anxious, don't let these negative thoughts get the best of you. Try to think about your problems in a logical and impartial manner. Try to identify what exactly is causing you stress. Do you think you were treated unfairly? Are you unable to complete the tasks that you want to see completed? Have you been assigned too many tasks at once? Think about your thoughtsinstead of focusing on how you feel. It can completely change your attitude to a situation in just a few minutes, and sometimes it even gives you the opportunity to unexpectedly learn something new.
   • For example, imagine a situation when you were about to go home on Friday evening, when your boss suddenly came to the office and gave you an unexpected task for the weekend. At this moment, when you feel an overwhelming indignation within you, you have two ways to respond to the situation. Of course, you can let your feelings take over and resent the injustice for the rest of the weekend. But wouldn't it be better to try to think about why it hurt you so much? Do you feel that the employer is not rewarding you enough for the time spent and your contribution to the work of the company? If so, is it not better in the long term to think about looking for another job or to try to negotiate better conditions for organizing the work process.
3. 3 Talk about your problems. You shouldn't try to deal with stress alone. If you can, try talking to someone else about the problem that is causing your stress. Explaining your problems to a benevolent listener can help you better understand them and psychologically let off steam by letting your feelings come out. However, psychologists note that it is very important to choose the right interlocutor and talk about your problems with a person who can listen to you patiently, and not with those who can only increase your stress.
   • For example, in the above situation, it is a good idea to call home after work and let off some steam by talking about the problem to your parents, brother, or sister. On the other hand, most likely hardly It's a good idea to discuss the situation with your annoying flatmate, especially if your relationship is already tense, as she is again delaying her rent.
4. 4 Try to laugh or smile. The last thing an angry, annoyed person wants to hear is the phrase: "Hey, why hang your nose, smile!" However, even if you don't want to admit it, there is a grain of truth in this advice. Smiling (and other "happy" behaviors such as laughing) are actually maybe make you happier by triggering the release of mood-enhancing chemicals in the human brain. Conversely, when you frown and act like a "miserable" person, the opposite effect occurs and negative feelings intensify.
5. 5 Find a constructive way to vent your overwhelming energy. A good way to deal with repressed stress is to channel it in a different direction, where excess energy and tension can help you do something useful. For example, feelings of anger and anger will make it much easier to complete a long, intense workout (and most importantly, exercise is a good way to reduce your stress levels and improve your mood; you will find more information on this below). Another good way is to sublimate the energy of stress into creative activities, such as writing stories or playing an instrument.
   • In our unexpected weekend work example, constructive behavior would be to head to the gym after work rather than straight home. This would provide an opportunity to derive health benefits from anger. You could run, do several approaches to the bar, and if you are very angry, you can beat a punching bag heartily.
6. 6 Try meditation. While some may find this advice pretentious and newfangled, meditation has been shown to help many people cope with stress, in other words, relax. There is no universal “right” way to meditate. Generally speaking, starting meditation involves letting go of a tense environment, closing your eyes, breathing slowly, and focusing on getting rid of annoying, anxious thoughts. Some people need to take complex yoga poses for meditation, others mentally imagine certain images or pictures, others repeat aloud simple words or mantras. There are people who walk in circles during meditation!
   • If you need more information on this subject (including detailed instructions on how to free your mind of annoying thoughts), you can find many excellent articles on meditation on our website.
7. 7 First of all, make a plan of action and stick to it. All of the above techniques can be extremely useful if applied wisely. However, if you want relieving stress to bring you a sense of satisfaction and benefit, you need to try deal with it. The temptation to run away from stress at work, school, or home is strong, of course, but the quickest way to get rid of stress is to fight it. Plus, the satisfaction of a job well done can help reduce stress for a long time, even if you have to work hard at first to achieve the goal.
   • In our example, it would be optimal to try to complete the task as quickly as possible, for example, on Friday evening or Saturday morning. Then you will still have a lot of free time to realize all your plans for the weekend. When you come to work on Monday, it will be useful to talk with your boss and discuss how best to organize the work in order to avoid such rush jobs in the future.
   • Don't put off work until the last moment. Delaying work now will only increase your stress, especially if you have to get work done on time. If you get the job done right away, you can then truly enjoy the rest. Otherwise, you will constantly worry that you still have to do the work that is postponed for later.

Method 3 of 3: Live a Relaxed Style

1. 1 Spend time outdoors. In the previous sections, we have already discussed individual, specific ways to relax. However, this is only one side of the coin.In order to live a truly stress-free life, you need to develop healthy habits and behaviors that will bring happiness and tranquility into your life. One surefire way to do this is to try to spend time outdoors regularly. It may sound trite, but numerous scientific studies have shown that spending time outdoors - especially moderate physical activity outdoors - significantly improves mood.
   • Although the relationship between outdoor time and mood is still not fully understood, it is already known that sunlight plays a major role here. Research has shown that providing bright (artificial) lighting in the morning when it's still dark outside can help people with seasonal depression feel better.
   • For long-term benefits, try to spend time outdoors on a weekly basis. For example, going short distance hikes every Saturday can help you feel refreshed and energized for the next week.
2. 2 Exercise more often. As we already mentioned, it has been proven that one intense workout can help you quickly relieve stress in a short time. but regular playing sports is also an effective way to maintain a positive, calm attitude towards life over time. Although it is still not fully understood which biological mechanisms provide this effect, scientific research shows that regular exercise can provide reliable protection against stress-related health problems, especially depression.
   • On our site you can find many articles that, in an understandable and intelligible form, will give you information on how to make exercise a part of your life, including examples of complexes for different levels of physical fitness.
3. 3 Get more rest. Sleep quality can have a huge impact on how we feel while awake. Try to remember the last time you were awake all night and how you felt the next day. Even one sleepless night can ruin your well-being for an entire day after that, and persistent lack of sleep can be a leading stressor in the long run. There is evidence that long-term lack of adequate sleep increases the risk of stress-related diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and many other diseases. If you want to be healthy and stress-free, get yourself a good, long sleep every night (it is generally accepted that the duration of a night's sleep for an adult should be seven to nine hours).
   • It is also important to understand that the relationship between sleep and stress works in the opposite direction. In other words, just as lack of sleep can cause stress, stress itself can cause insomnia.

Tips

• Change your posture: Research has shown that lying down is much easier to relax than standing.
• Some people advocate the idea of ​​"refreshing sleep", claiming that naps of 15-20 minutes during the day are a great way to rest and rejuvenate during a busy day. However, other people say they find it difficult to fully wake up after a short nap.
• Here are some more ideas to help you calm down:
  • Look at rain or clouds.
  • Have someone read aloud to you until you fall asleep.
  • Wash yourself with cold water.
  • Draw with pencils or paints. And don't worry about what drawing you end up with.
• If your nervousness and anxiety increases after a cup of tea or coffee, try replacing them with caffeine-free counterparts. Drinking caffeine can be stressful for some people, especially if they begin to develop dependence on it.

Warnings

• Rest can dramatically increase your ability to be creative (as long as you don't go to the other extreme and get lazy, of course). Sleeping, relaxing, or daydreaming can help replenish your creativity. The next time you're in a creative crisis, take an hour off work and you will feel refreshed.
• Do not allow the desire to relax and unwind to distract you from serious matters (for example, from work). If you are in the middle of a serious project, it is best to take short breaks of 10-15 minutes every hour. If you are doing small tasks, make sure you complete the next one before resting.