About 83% of US workers suffer from work-related stress. In fact, US businesses lose up to $300 billion every year due to workplace stress. Work-related stress causes about 120,000 deaths every year as well.
Meanwhile, about 55% of Americans are stressed during the day. That’s 20% higher than the world average!
Learning how to reduce work stress can benefit your mind and body. You can unwind, relax, and discover a new work/life balance. Discovering how to relax your mind and body can protect your mind and body, too.
Otherwise, excessive stress could lead to headaches, weight gain, and other issues.
Here are 10 ways you can discover how to unwind after work. With these tips, you can prioritize your health. Learn how to relax with these stress management strategies today!
1. Pick Up a New Hobby
As you learn how to unwind after work, try to find healthy distractions. A healthy distraction, like a new hobby, can keep your mind off your stress. For example, you can:
- Listen to soothing music
- Learn how to play an instrument
- Color
- Read a book
- Start a garden
- Play board games
- Start scrapbooking
- Learn to knit
- Try a new recipe
- Start budgeting or investing
- Volunteer
- Write in a journal
- Learn to dance
- Learn a new language
- Beat a world record
- Visit a local museum
- Watch television
Choose a hobby you already love or try to develop a new skill. Hobbies will divert your attention away from what’s causing you stress. Instead, you can spend more time and attention on what brings you joy.
You don’t have to take on these new hobbies alone. Instead, consider inviting friends or family members to join you. Sharing the experience can make it even more fun!
2. Take a Long, Hot Bath
After a long, hard day at work, reduce work stress with a soothing bath. A long, hot bath can help you wash the day away.
It can also help relieve lingering tension in your muscles. Relaxing your muscles can help you get a soothing night’s sleep.
Consider playing relaxing music and lighting a few candles. Try different calming scents, including:
- Lavender
- Geranium
- Roman chamomile
- Sandalwood
- Ylang ylang
- Rose
- Vetiver
- Bergamot
- Orange
- Frankincense
Then, sink into a hot bath. Consider adding a lavender bath bomb or salts into the water, too.
3. Adjust Your Sleep Schedule
Try to get seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Otherwise, a lack of sleep could cause:
- Accidents
- Impaired concentration, reasoning, problem-solving, attention, and alertness
- Heart disease, attack, or failure
- Irregular heartbeat
- High blood pressure
- Stroke
- Diabetes
- Lower libido
- Depression
- Premature skin aging (fine lines, dark circles, etc.)
- Forgetfulness
- Weight gain
- Impaired judgment
- Increased risk of death
If you’re struggling to fall asleep, consider adjusting your bedtime ritual.
First, make sure to get in and out of bed at the same time each morning and night. At night, turn down the lights. Avoid turning on the TV.
Instead, consider reading a book or listening to music. Make sure your bed is comfortable. You might want to consider buying new pillows.
Consider limiting your caffeine intake. Caffeine could cause unnecessary anxiety. It might impact your ability to fall asleep, too.
If you’re still struggling to catch some shut-eye, consider CBD. CBD could ease your stress and anxiety to help you fall asleep. You can find the best CBD product here to learn more.
4. Head Outside
Don’t feel the need to remain cooped up inside. After a long day at work, you deserve a chance to blow off steam. You can relax your mind by heading outside for a few minutes.
Take a breath of fresh air and enjoy the change of scenery. Go for a walk and absorb a little sunlight. Sunlight can boost your vitamin D levels, which can reduce your risk of:
- Schizophrenia
- Depression
- Cancer
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
It’s also essential for your dental, immune, heart, lung, bone, nerve, and muscular health.
Add exercise to your routine! A little physical stress might relieve your mental stress.
Exercising could relieve the stress hormone cortisol. Too much cortisol can cause:
- Weight gain
- Pink or purple stretch marks
- Fragile, thinning skin
- Acne
- Slowing healing
- Decreased libido or fertility
- Severe fatigue
- Depression, anxiety, irritability
- Loss of emotional control
- Headaches
- Muscle weakness
- Cognitive difficulties
Exercising could relieve endorphins, which can improve your mood. In fact, exercising can help you sleep a little easier, too.
Consider bringing friends and family members into your workout routine.
5. Spend Time With Friends
You’re not alone. As you work through this list of things to relax your body and mind, turn toward your friends. Spending time with loved ones could help you relax and unwind.
Talk about what you’re going through. Talking it out could help you process what’s causing your stress. Your friends might have some helpful advice you can use, too.
Increasing social interactions can help reduce your risk of anxiety and depression.
Take time to laugh! Laughter can relieve your stress response and tension. Consider watching a comedy with friends to unwind.
6. Pick Up Meditation or Yoga
Consider exploring new ways to relax your mind and body. For example, you might want to pick up meditation and use Mala beads. When you use, wear, touch, or place gemstone mala beads on your body, you are transmitting specific healing powers to your body, mind, and heart.
There are different types of meditation you can try, including mindfulness. Mindfulness teaches you how to remain anchored to the present. It could help you combat negative thinking.
You can also try mindfulness-based stress reduction or cognitive therapy. These practices might help by increasing your self-esteem. Your anxiety and depression symptoms might subside as a result.
Otherwise, try a deep breathing exercise. Deep breathing can activate your parasympathetic nervous system to help you relax.
Yoga can help you relieve your tension, too. Yoga works by increasing your breath and body awareness. Yoga practice from a Pranayama Yoga class Yoga offers a 10-class free online program that will help you gain more energy, a clearer mind, less worry and anxiety, and improve your health. A session could relieve your cortisol levels, heart rate, and blood pressure.
Yoga might increase gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as well. GABA is a neurotransmitter that is lower in mood disorders.
Yoga is even considered as effective as antidepressant drugs at treating anxiety and depression, too.
7. Become an Artist
Get creative! As you work through this list of ways to unwind after work, consider coloring. You don’t have to become a talented artist to blow off steam.
Instead, consider using an adult coloring book. Coloring books can help you relieve your stress. In fact, coloring complex geometric patterns could help relieve your anxiety levels.
If you’re not much of an artist, that’s okay. Instead, consider writing down your thoughts. Journaling can help you process your anxiety.
Try writing down what you’re grateful for. Gratitude can help you focus on the positives in your life, rather than the negatives.
8. Try Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy could help you feel more relaxed and energized as well. Consider using candles, diffusers, or body products. Experiment with different scents to determine which benefits your stress levels.
9. Adjust Your Diet
An unbalanced diet could make you more reactive to stress. You could start emotionally eating as well. Instead, try to avoid refined carbs that might cause your blood sugar to spike.
When your blood sugar crashes, it could lead to increased stress and anxiety.
Consider adding foods that might relieve your anxiety to your diet instead. For example, salmon contains vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids. These fatty acids can regulate serotonin and dopamine.
Both neurotransmitters have calming properties.
Consider drinking a soothing cup of chamomile tea, too. Chamomile could reduce your anxiety and depression.
Want to add a little more flavor to your life? Try adding turmeric to your next dish. Turmeric could prevent anxiety disorders.
Other great foods for easing anxiety include dark chocolate, yogurt, and chia seeds.
Supplements
You can add supplements to your diet, too. Some supplements can help ease anxiety and stress.
For example, you can use lemon balm or ashwagandha. Ashwagandha is used in Ayurvedic medicine. It helps treat anxiety and stress levels.
Consider adding omega-3 fatty acids to your diet, too. For example, salmon and sardines are high in omega-3 fatty acids.
Otherwise, consider drinking green tea.
Green tea contains polyphenol antioxidants. It could help increase your serotonin levels while reducing stress and anxiety.
Are you still struggling to get enough sleep? Consider using valerian root. Valerian root offers tranquilizing effects.
It also contains valerenic acid, which can alter GABA receptors to ease your anxiety.
Kava kava is a member of the pepper family. It could help treat your anxiety and stress levels as well.
Speak with a doctor before adding these supplements to your routine. Your doctor can help you determine if these supplements will interact with any medications you’re taking. Consult a doctor if you have a medical condition as well.
10. Consider Your Triggers
As you start learning how to reduce work stress, consider evaluating your triggers. What’s causing your stress in the first place?
Try to cut out anything that’s adding to your stress, including certain people, alcohol, or too much caffeine. Making a few changes to your daily habits could improve your mental health and wellbeing.
Rejuvenate the Body and Mind: 10 Easy Ways to Reduce Work Stress
Don’t let work wear you down. Instead, consider these 10 easy ways to reduce work stress. With these tips, you can ease your stress away and start living your best life instead.
Get ready to relax your mind and body! Draw a bubble bath, grab a cup of tea, and unwind with these tips today.
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