06 Jun 12 Scientifically Proven Ways to Unwind After Work
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Deep belly breathing is one of the most effective ways to destress from any situation. It puts a hand-brake on your body’s fight or flight response and promotes feelings of calm. A cozy bedroom will allow you to unwind and sleep more quickly.
Lighting scented candles simply refreshes your home while also elevating your mood and allowing you to relax after a long day at work. Sitting down and meditating (even for a few minutes) to cleanse your mind will enable you to overcome tension and anxiety. As a result, caring for houseplants can help you reduce stress and anxiety.
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Meditation is a skill that you can learn and that we all possess, yet we don’t always learn how to use it properly or use it often enough. It’s important to remember that even just three minutes of meditation per day will be beneficial for your brain and body and promote relaxation and awareness. For example, Intellect is a self-care mental health application that has guided journaling as one of its core features. You can use prompts and suggestions to log your day or take its free mental health modules to relieve stress and anxiety.
When you bring work stress home, your relationships suffer and your well-deserved rest turns into another grind. You can’t unwind and connect if your head is still stuck at the office. If you work from home or in front of a screen for long periods, limiting screen time is the first step to better sleep. The blue light emitted from screens can disrupt your body’s circadian rhythms and disrupt your sleep cycle. On May 19, 2022, Verywell Mind hosted a virtual Mental Health in the Workplace webinar, hosted by Editor-in-Chief Amy Morin, LCSW.
Doing Fulfilling Activities
Here are the top five ways you can feel relaxed and stress-free after a long day at work. Personally, cooking something delectable is my favorite way to unwind—I find it completely therapeutic. So, next time you’re feeling crummy (ha, ha) after work, pull out your mixing bowl and whip up something delicious. A hot shower or bath will relieve tension and soothe tight, tired muscles, like your neck and shoulders when you’re stressed. The average business professional has 30 to 100 projects on their plate.
- The more time that we focus on work, the less time we are being mindful and present and enjoying the moment.
- Personally, a good workout gives me something else to focus on for 45 minutes besides work.
- If you’re too caught up in others’ perceptions of you, which you can’t control, you become stressed out by the minutia or participate in avoidance behaviors like procrastination.
- Use an essential oil diffuser to diffuse calming essential oils, such as lavender.
I’ll sit down for dinner or a beer with a friend but my head is still spinning around what happened at work. If you feel the same, there’s an easy way to let go of the neurological traffic jam. AI assistants like Alexa are great for maintaining sleep schedules.
Stretch or Do Yoga
It’s important to experience your emotions rather than suppressing them. If you feel stressed, find ways to laugh, sing, sigh, cry, scream, or do whatever it is that feels right. According to the American Psychological Association, people who constantly check their electronic devices for email, social media accounts, and texts are, on average, more stressed out. While being plugged in might be necessary for work, it doesn’t have to be when you’re off the clock. If all else fails, call it a night and hit the sack early so you can give your body and mind a change to recharge.
- It can be running a bath, eating your favourite meal, chatting with a close friend, a zumba session or a relaxing walk .
- In the coming week, try to really notice your thoughts and habits as you drive home if you’re not already aware of them.
- Simply inhale for five seconds, hold and exhale in equal counts through the nose.
- You may feel better in a few minutes, or you might even find yourself enthralled, the time passing, and emerge as a new person in an hour.
Ever noticed how certain smells can make you feel certain things? For example, how the smell of vanilla can transport you right to an excited Christmas morning or how the smell of a certain perfume can remind you of a holiday you took. I suggest choosing a candle, incense, or diffusers scent that you can light as soon as you get home, to help further that feeling of calm and relaxation. We all have those days where we feel stressed and need to find a way to relax after work. It is so tempting to get off work and immediately turn on a thought-provoking podcast or the dreaded news (especially at the moment), but do your best to resist! Instead, play your favourite album or playlist from start to finish to try to get your mind off serious topics.
Surround yourself with calming aromas
But more than just dry eyes, too much time on a screen can lead to headaches, tense shoulders and back, and potentially even blurred vision. For each item, you’ll write down a concrete next step, set a deadline (if appropriate), Ways to Destress After Work and categorize them as either working on now, waiting on someone else, or someday. While these qualities have their place in the wild, in the working world they create what’s known as open loops and anticipatory stress.
However, I suggest Friends as a great option to get some laughs. But I am totally biased here since it is my all-time favorite TV show. It can be hard to let go of the latest work happenings and enjoy our free time. Since my time in the corporate machine, I’ve noticed that leaving work at work has become more difficult. If I’m not online in the evening, then I’m thinking about what I’m missing.
Enjoy a Cup of Tea
Of course I’m not telling you to do this every night because it can definitely lead to obesity and an unhappy wallet. But treating yourself once in a while is healthy https://ecosoberhouse.com/ if you don’t go overboard. If you’re not really into sweets or other junk food, you can also order from your favorite takeout food joint to treat yourself.
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