With the stress associated with everyday life we are often trying to find ways to relax, so to save you the stress of having to find out for yourself – I’ve complied some ideas into a blog.

The most common way to relaxation is literally, to relax (which is often easier said than done). Deep and controlled breathing is often a natural response when trying to cope with stress, but taking deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth for three to five minutes can help the body and mind to relax. A massage is another common way to promote relaxation and additionally, acupuncture could help to release tension too where it has been found to be reduce levels of anxiety.

Just five minutes of meditation may help to relieve stress and promote relaxation, whilst simply taking some time out to lay down and relax can also help. A not so common relaxation technique is progressive muscular relaxation (PMR), which works by fully tensing and then relaxing different muscle groups. Although this technique is often used by athletes to reduce pre-competition nerves where it has been found to lower blood pressure and reduce muscle tension and negative thoughts. However, it can also help to aid general relaxation and has been found to reduce anxiety too. Each muscle group needs to be tensed as hard as possible without causing pain for around 5 seconds and then relaxed completely for 15 seconds before moving on to the next muscle group.

This brings me to exercise, along with its many benefits to health and fitness, it can also help us to relax too. Yoga and stretching are activities that can help to relieve muscle tension, improve mood and promote relaxation, even going for a quick walk can also help to combat stress and relax the mind.

We can also aid relaxation with what we eat and drink. Since ancient times it has been said that drinking green tea brings relaxation. It is a source of L-Theanine which acts as a relaxing agent and may even help to lower blood pressure and reduce anxiety. As if you needed another excuse to eat chocolate… Research has found that eating 40g of dark chocolate daily for 2 weeks could help to reduce levels of stress-associated hormones. If dark chocolate isn’t for you, chewing gum has been found to reduce both stress and anxiety and whilst it doesn’t sound as relaxing as a massage, it might just do the trick when it comes to acute levels of stress.

Our senses can play a huge part too, where aromatherapy including the use of lavender oil is thought to promote relaxation and stress reduction, although its effectiveness has often been questioned. Even the smell of coffee aroma could help to reduce stress hormones whilst citrus fragrances could have a similar effect too, where research has found ambient odour of orange to help reduce anxiety, increase levels of calmness and also improve mood. However it’s important to note that much of this research is based on subjective, self-report data.

We often forget to intentionally use psychological techniques that can help us to relax. Using mental imagery to visualise events can reduce anxiety and enhance relaxation, especially when it comes to worrying about a certain situation. We can also become creative with imagery in a similar way to ‘daydreaming’ by imagining something that will help to boost our mood, such as visualising yourself sitting on a beach with a cocktail in hand! Imagining positive things can lead to a positive outlook and the same goes for thinking positively too. Listening to music is an obvious one for improving mood, whether this be listening to your favourite music or to some relaxing sounds.

Adie Blanchard – Researcher

References

Bryan, J. (2008). Psychological effects of dietary components of tea: caffeine and L‐theanine. Nutrition Reviews, 66(2), 82-90.

Dehdari, T., Heidarnia, A., Ramezankhani, A., Sadeghian, S., & Ghofranipour, F. (2009). Effects of progressive muscular relaxation training on quality of life in anxious patients after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Indian Journal of Medical Research, 129(5).

Juneja, L. R., Chu, D. C., Okubo, T., Nagato, Y., & Yokogoshi, H. (1999). L-theanine—a unique amino acid of green tea and its relaxation effect in humans. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 10(6), 199-204.

Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Graham, J. E., Malarkey, W. B., Porter, K., Lemeshow, S., & Glaser, R. (2008). Olfactory influences on mood and autonomic, endocrine, and immune function. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 33(3), 328-339.

Martin, F. P. J., Rezzi, S., Peré-Trepat, E., Kamlage, B., Collino, S. et al. (2009). Metabolic effects of dark chocolate consumption on energy, gut microbiota, and stress-related metabolism in free-living subjects. Journal of Proteome Research, 8(12), 5568-5579.

Parnabas, V. A., Mahamood, Y., Parnabas, J., & Abdullah, N. M. (2014). The relationship between relaxation techniques and sport performance.

Rausch, S. M., Gramling, S. E., & Auerbach, S. M. (2006). Effects of a single session of large-group meditation and progressive muscle relaxation training on stress reduction, reactivity, and recovery. International Journal of Stress Management, 13(3), 273.

Smith, A. P. (2009). Chewing gum, stress and health. Stress and Health, 25(5), 445-451.

Smith, K. B., & Pukall, C. F. (2009). An evidence‐based review of yoga as a complementary intervention for patients with cancer. Psycho‐Oncology, 18(5), 465-475.

Wang, S. M., & Kain, Z. N. (2001). Auricular acupuncture: a potential treatment for anxiety. Anesthesia & Analgesia, 92(2), 548-553.

Wood, C. (1993). Mood change and perceptions of vitality: a comparison of the effects of relaxation, visualization and yoga. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 86(5), 254-258.