During the day, you have many tasks that you need to do, both at work and home. Trying to get more and more done during the day can actually lead to the opposite though. Constant pressure to get everything done leads us to experience chronic stress. It can often seem like you don’t even have ten minutes to sit down, and catch your breath. Understandably so, this constant hustle and bustle leads you to feel overwhelmed and stressed. After being in a constant ramped up state of mind, unwinding can seem impossible. Nevertheless, learning how to unwind after a stressful day leads to a better overall lifestyle. Read on to discover some of the simplest ways to relax and unwind after a stressful day.
- Get Some Exercise
After a stressful and difficult day, exercise is probably the last thing on your mind. But, exercise should become a priority, especially during the stressful and tough days. Working out relaxes your mind, and distracts you from your worries and anxiety. Afterwards, your body will feel calmer. Another benefit of exercising is that sleep quality improves, which will better prepare you for the next day. You don’t necessarily have to do cardio to reap the benefits of exercise. After a tough day, you probably don’t want to be doing strenuous exercises, so going for a walk outside or jogging is an excellent way to get some exercise in.
- Write
After a long day, there are a lot of thoughts running through your mind. A great way to manage the thoughts and calm your mind is to write down what you’re feeling. Writing your feelings down helps you feel more relaxed.
- Practice Mindful Meditation
Often times after a stressful day, we are still in work mode. We keep going over our to-do list, thinking of any tasks we still have to do, and thinking what we’ll be doing tomorrow. All of this reinforces our body’s stress and anxiety. A good way to quiet down all the noise is to practice mindful meditation. Practicing mindful meditation is extremely simple, even for novices. For example, sit and observe your body. Pay attention to your heartbeat and your breathing. Then, bring your attention to the world around you. Listen to the birds, traffic, or any other sound you here. But, the key is to not judge anything you hear or feel, just observe. The goal is to notice what is happening without trying to change it, and in doing so, you’ll begin to feel calmer and in a better state of mind.
- Make A List Of The Day’s Achievements
At the end of the day, we can feel like we didn’t do enough or that we should’ve gotten something else done. Often, we ruminate and wonder what might have been. The best way to ensure that you’re feeling good about yourself at the end of the day is to write down everything you’ve accomplished during the day. And, the accomplishments can be anything. It doesn’t have to be anything extremely significant. Accomplishments for the day can be cooking a meal, doing laundry, calling a friend, or finishing the work project. When we are stressed, we often think about everything that went wrong or everything we didn’t do, writing down a list of the day’s accomplishments helps you recognize that there are good things that happened during the day, and it helps you see things from a positive perspective.
- Recognize What You Can Control
Identifying what you actually can control in your life is a game changer. When we are stressed, we keep ruminating about things that we have no control over. Then, the more we keep ruminating about things we cannot control, the more overwhelmed and anxious we feel. Recognizing the things in your life that you can control helps you take action where you can, and helps you stop ruminating about the things you cannot. Asking yourself whether you can control it or not helps you change what you can and let go of what you cannot. And, there is nothing more freeing than letting go of the things you cannot control.
- Spend Time In Nature
Nature is immensely powerful and has healing properties. Just sitting for 15 minutes outside helps to distract you from stress, as well as engages your senses to the world around you. Walking in the grass, hearing the birds, and looking at the sky all helps you become one with nature, thus melting your stress away.
- Smile More
Sure, there are lots of things in life that make you sad, angry, and frustrated. But, there are also many beautiful and funny things in life. Studies show that laughing and smiling alleviates stress and anxiety. So, the next time you feel the stress and tension building up, watch a funny movie, reminisce on good, funny moments, and try to seek the beauty in the situation. Life is full of wonderful moments, some days we just need to try a bit harder to find those moments.
Simply Shine Living 