Ways to Relax the Mind

Do you feel stressed or unhappy? Do you need to calm down? Training your mind to relax can help you stay rested and ready at any time, and it’s also easy to do. Once you find a method that works for you, develop it and practice it regularly. Applying the ideas below will help you relax faster and easier.

Table of Contents

Meditation

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Deep breath. While this idea may sound theoretical, deep breathing exercises magically relax your mind. Practicing daily at times of stress will help reduce anxiety.

Close your mouth and inhale deeply through your nose. Try to inhale for 4 seconds. Hold your breath for 8 seconds and exhale slowly for 8 seconds. Repeat this exercise 4 times.
If you’re having trouble breathing at such a slow rate, start with a faster pace and build up time gradually.
Feel free to adjust the duration of each inhalation and exhalation, but make sure the exhalation is twice as long as the inhalation. Rest between breaths. ^{[1] X Research Source}

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Practice meditation, or pray for peace of mind, repentance. This is the process of relaxing the mind by focusing on a particular thought, place, word, color, or object. To meditate, sit (kneel) or lie down in a comfortable position and think (or pray) about a particular thing. It may take you 10 minutes to completely relax your mind, but this is normal.

You can sit or lie down during meditation, but always keep your eyes closed so you can focus your mind.
Often there will be wandering thoughts that come in while you meditate. Try to ignore them as much as possible, deliberately focusing (brooding/praying) on one particular thing.
Use guided visualization to help clear your mind. Think of a place, real or imaginary, where you feel at peace and comfortable. Focus on being where you are, including details like what the place looks like and how you feel about being there.
Meditating for as long as you want, but resting for at least 10 minutes after relaxing the mind has been shown to be beneficial for focus and stress reduction.
Listen to soothing music, sounds, or positive lyrics (like: “I feel like something good is about to happen. I feel like something good is coming to me…” ^{[2] X Research Source} ) can help you focus better when meditating. Always do whatever it takes to feel most comfortable. ^{[3] X Research Sources}
Experts have proven that, in addition to helping to relax the mind, meditation also has health benefits, including lowering blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

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Try to visualize everything. This is similar to guided visualization in meditation, in which you visualize a peaceful scene. Hold that image in your head for as long as you want, but focus all your thoughts and energy on concretizing that place in your mind.

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Continuously relax the muscles. This is the process by which you tense and relax muscles throughout your body. Relaxing your muscles after stretching will regulate your mental state, helping your mind to relax just like your body.

Let’s start with a facial stretch. This exercise involves frowning, frowning, brow furrowing, and jaw hardening. Then relax each muscle one by one.
When you’re done with your face, work your way down to the bottom of your body until you’ve completed the exercise with all your muscles.
Hold each muscle stretch for 5-10 seconds to feel completely relaxed. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Healthy Habits

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Yoga. Yoga is a low-intensity stretching exercise that relaxes the muscles in your body. Because you have to focus on each yoga pose, your mind will have no room to think about stressful things and will go into a state of calm.

Taking a class is the best way to start practicing yoga. Although there are many students practicing together, yoga classes are opened to bring relaxation. Look for instructors or yoga classes at fitness centers near you.
Hatha yoga is the most basic form of yoga and is great for relaxation. Research hatha yoga poses to try at home.
Avoid yoga if you have a physical problem, such as a herniated disc, osteoporosis, or are at risk for blood clots. ^{[6] X Research Source}

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Drink a lot of water. Water is important in keeping your body hydrated and flushing out toxins, helping your mind to focus better. To aid relaxation exercises, drink plenty of water.

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Eat foods that promote relaxation. Certain foods help lower levels of hormones associated with anxiety, while increasing hormones that create feelings of happiness and peace.

Foods high in selenium that help reduce anxiety and depression include: nuts (especially Brazil nuts), shiitake, tuna, cod or salmon.
Eat foods high in magnesium, like spinach, pumpkin seeds, and halibut.
Choose foods high in tryptophan because it helps create serotonin, which increases feelings of happiness. Eat dark chocolate, nuts and red meat.

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Exercise in moderation. Exercise releases endorphins, which create a feeling of happiness. Get a little exercise every day to relax your mind after a stressful work schedule.

Exercise in quiet places or where you can be alone. If you’re at the fitness center, find a spot or room that’s very quiet so you won’t be distracted by your surroundings.
Try to do repetitive, brainless exercises, like swimming or running a track.

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Participate in activities you love. If you enjoy cooking, reading, or playing sports, do those activities! Doing things you enjoy will help you relax, reduce anxiety, release more endorphins, create a feeling of happiness.

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Drink warm water. Hot drinks help reduce stress and anxiety. Look for beverages that do not contain alcohol and caffeine as these can increase anxiety and depression.

Green tea contains a number of natural chemicals that help reduce stress. Drinking hot or cold green tea helps to relax.
Try drinking warm milk. This traditional bedtime drink can help calm your mind due to more serotonin being produced in the brain. Drinking warm milk with honey is a very pleasant relaxation method.
If you choose to drink coffee to relax, choose a decaffeinated variety to avoid hyperactivity.
Avoid drinks with too much sugar because the brain will be stimulated and it will be harder for you to relax. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Relaxation Activities

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Actively perform repetitive activities, without brainstorming. Doing things that don’t require focus will help your mind relax.

Try to draw abstract pictures. You are forced to focus on the act of drawing and can no longer think about the stressful issues in your life.
Doing household chores with repetitive motions is relaxing. Think of things like sweeping leaves, cleaning the house, or folding clothes.
If you know how, you can do things like crochet or knit.
Avoid things that require a lot of travel or are too busy because they will create more stress than reduce stress.

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Listen to soothing melodies. Although you may like strong rock or rap music, choose slow, mellow tunes to relax your soul.

Avoid music with loud instruments or loud vocals as it will be difficult for you to relax listening to it. Sometimes it’s better to listen to music without lyrics.
If you don’t listen to music, you can also listen to nature sounds and white noise created to help you relax. Choose the sounds of the sea or the forest, or the white noise recordings to listen to.
Binaural beats are a particular genre of music or sound that produces a higher intensity of alpha waves in your brain, helping you to relax. Look for free duplex rhythms online or on your favorite music streaming site. ^{[8] X Research Sources}
Try listening to music that has repetitive rhythms and few words. Electronic music such as house, trance, trap, and trip-hop are such types of music.

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Spend time playing with animals. Research shows that people who spend time playing with pets or petting animals have lower blood pressure and are much less stressed than people who have little contact with animals.

If you don’t have a pet, borrow a friend’s dog to take you for a walk or pet a neighbor’s cat. A little time each day with animals will help you relax in the long run.
Consider animal-assisted psychotherapy. This is a therapy that helps reduce stress and anxiety using animals. Usually people use horses, however, dogs and cats are also often chosen. ^{[9] X Research Source}

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Try aromatherapy. This is how you use a soothing scent to relax. Many popular scents are used in this therapy such as lavender, mint and eucalyptus.

You can buy aromatherapy oils that are applied directly to the skin. Dab a little on temples, inside wrists and elbows. Those are the warmest places on the body that help the scent spread faster.
Use aromatherapy sprays and aromatherapy oils to make your bedroom your private place of relaxation. Choose sprays and candles to keep your home scented.

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Soak in the tub or pool. Warm water can help release stress-relieving endorphins, so take a 20-minute soak in a hot, soapy bath.

Avoid Stress

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Stay away from the mass media. The main cause of stress is any mass media, be it phone or facebook. Try to take time away from these means to reduce stress.

Turn off or leave your phone in the car for a while to avoid mindlessly checking your phone every few minutes.
Close your laptop and turn off your desktop, you won’t want to check your social media accounts anymore.
If mass media is a serious stressor in your life, consider giving it up for a while. Deactivate your social media accounts for a few weeks or months until you feel undisturbed.

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Do not watch television. TVs have a lot of hot colors, rushed pictures, and constant noise that can increase stress levels.

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Spend time alone. It’s often the people around you that make you feel the most stressed, so try to spend time alone.

Take advantage of your non-work time to rest and be alone. Try taking a weekend getaway to a town or nature reserve where you can meditate.
Postpone plans with friends if you find yourself overloaded with dense programming. It is important that you take time for yourself before sharing with others.
Sometimes not with family. No matter how much you love your family, everyone needs some alone time, away from family, to keep their mind at ease.

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Avoid things that usually stress you out. If you know an upcoming exam will cause you stress, try not to think about it to avoid additional anxiety.

Set a limit for when you’re ready to deal with things that stress you out if it’s work or study related. Promise yourself to only do your homework until 8 p.m., then take the time to check back and relax.
If a person or activity worries you, avoid thinking about those objects for a while. Take some time to think about why the person is bothering you so much and figure out how to deal with the problem. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Advice

Close your eyes and listen to your breath. Make sure you are in a quiet place. Feel the air enter your head and exhale slowly.
Sit in the sun, even if you’re indoors. The warmth and light will cheer you up.
Lying outside at night, looking up at the sky and gazing at the stars.
Lie on the floor, on the couch or sofa, breathe in and out slowly, listen to soothing music, turn the volume down, or simply stay in a quiet room. Think of happy times and smile.
Turn off the lights, light the candles and relax in a place where there is no noise.
Watch light comedy. A favorite comedy can make you happy and forget everything; even give you advice on a particular situation.
Eat healthy, ride a bike and make someone feel special every day.
Write about something the way you like it best. Or just write whatever comes to mind. Journaling is also a way to relax.
When feeling stressed, write your thoughts on a piece of paper.
When you are sad, think about the person you love, make you happy, that will make you happy again.
When you’re stressed, go somewhere that makes you happy.
Keep yourself busy; Read a book, watch TV or YouTube videos, call a friend or loved one – keep your mind moving and all thoughts will eventually fade away.

Steps

Meditation

Healthy Habits

Relaxation Activities

Avoid Stress

Advice

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