16 Wonderful Ways to Calm Down In Different Places
Relaxation has many advantages: It slows down breathing, lowers blood
pressure, reduces stress in muscles, prevents exhaustion, increases
self-confidence and improves mood, concentration, and memory, so it's no
wonder that we all strive to be calm all the time. However, busy daily
life often compels us to deal with stressful frustrating moments in
which it is hard to keep cool.
Whether it's on the road, in the office or at home with your children,
different events can harm your peace, and for that, we’ve collected 16
simple ways for you to easily relax in different situations in life.
In the car
While driving, you can’t afford to relax. The body is alert, the eyes detect possible dangers and the brain tries to calculate the distance between your car and the other vehicles around to you. If all these reasons are not bad enough, add the traffic jams, the bus leaving the station without signaling, and the fact that you have a meeting that starts in ten minutes and the traffic light refuses to change. To stay cool while driving, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the following methods and tips.
1. Do some light exercise - Light physical activity has been found to reduce stress and contribute to a sense of relaxation, even if it is a very light activity. One simple way to do this is to hold on to the wheel, tense up your muscles and release. There is also another exercise you can do while waiting by a light, which is designed to strengthen the shoulder muscles: Place two hands on the steering wheel and relax the shoulders so that your elbows bend at 90 degrees, then push your hands towards the wheel and let go. The subsequent tensing and releasing were found to soothe the muscles and the body.
2. Take advantage of the waiting time at traffic lights for deep
breathing - If someone cuts you off on the road and you begin to feel
anxious or stressed, slowly breathe in air through your nose and then
breathe out through your mouth. A deep breath lets more oxygen into the
body than normal breathing and stimulates the natural relaxation
mechanisms of the body.
3. Sing loudly – While radios have become more or less obsolete, there
is still one place where everyone listens to them. While traffic jams
and traffic can lead to tension and stress, if you turn up the volume of
the radio and sing loudly, you will find that the trip to work is not
so terrible and can even be nice.
4. Add natural smells to your car - You get a fragrance dispenser from
the gas station and hang it on the front mirror, thinking that a
pleasant smell won’t hurt anyone, but what you may not know is that
different smells can affect your mood. Studies have found that mint, for
example, helps maintain alertness and reduce stress, while coffee and
lemon scents help improve concentration and contribute to lucid
thinking.
At work
Heavy traffic on the road can throw you off, but there are days where your workload is no less heavy and you may succumb to the stress of it all. However, certain methods of relaxation have been found to reduce stress and improve your functioning in the workplace!
5. Change the background of your computer screen - If you work on a
computer, sometimes a simple action like changing your desktop
background from a blank screen to a picture of nature can do wonders.
Looking at nature for a few minutes, even if only through a picture, may
increase your ability to concentrate and contribute to the sense of
calm. Choose a favorite landscape of a place where you have been or
always dreamed of being and just looked at it; your cause for stress and
anxiety will simply disappear.
6. Concentrate on one task at a time - Even if your to-do list runs
longer than one page, focusing on the whole thing will only lead you to
feel stressed and depressed and will not allow you to do the tasks best.
So, focus on a single task each time. While the amount of work will
remain the same and the rest of the tasks won’t go away, focusing itself
can lower your stress levels, increase concentration, and allow you to
do your best on each task.
7. Chew gum - If you feel stress and are not late for a meeting, pull
out a piece of gum and start chewing. In addition to its wonderful
taste, chewing gum can help reduce levels of stress and anxiety,
depression and exhaustion, as found in a 2011 study.
8. Listen to music with alpha sound waves – The brains electrical
activity divides into 4 frequencies: beta, alpha, theta, and delta. The
brain usually works on beta waves during the day-to-day operation, the
alpha frequency is the frequency characteristic of the state of
relaxation. During work and intense thinking, the brain transmits beta
waves, which in a high amount can lead to stress and tension. Listening
to music that has alpha waves can change the frequencies in the brain,
allowing it to relax and the body to renewable energies. Alpha waves
also improve memory and help concentration, so if you listen to this
music while you work you can also be a better employee.
With the kids
Our children are the light of our lives, but it is known that too bright a light can cause stress and headaches. The following tips will allow you to remain calm, even when your kids aren’t making it easy.
9. Stop looking at the clock - One of the main causes of anger is the
child's lack of listening. You want him/her to take a shower at a
certain time, and he/she wants to finish watching their show and shower
15 minutes later than usual. Once you are more flexible in terms of
time, you will find that your kids will listen to you more, even if it
takes a few minutes longer. In addition, the less tough you are and the
more freedom they are given in terms of time, the freer you will be.
10. Hug your kids when you’re angry at them - Children have a special
ability to make a person lose it, and often, sending your kids to their
room or yelling at them only serves to increase your anger and not teach
the child about his/her mistake. Instead, the next time the child
argues with or raises their voice, try hugging them and so both of you
will calm down and the child will learn that you can solve arguments
calmly. In addition, studies show that 20 seconds of hugging may
increase levels of oxytocin in the body (the love hormone), which will
contribute to a sense of joy and relaxation in you and your child.
11. Exercise together - Small children need to let out a lot of energy and exercise is just the way to do it. Instead of angrily chasing after your kids around the house or at the park, try joining them and you’ll find that you (and your children) are happier and more relaxed.
Let your children count - Every day, take some time out of your day to do some exercise and ask your kids to count out the number of repetitions. In addition to the sense of satisfaction that exercising will give you, your child will be happy that he/she could help, and what could be more reassuring than seeing your child smile?
Take a family bike ride - Try to avoid sitting at home this weekend, especially when the weather is nice. Have your family take their bikes out for a ride, and enjoy a fun activity for the whole family which will help you be more relaxed and happy.
Take the dog out for a walk- Many people choose to bring a four-legged friend home to make their children happy. However, while our kids are the ones that initially wanted them, we adults are the ones who actually take care of them. Try to avoid this situation; Take the kids with you and turn the “chore” into an enjoyable escape from home. In addition, after the dog and the children get to spend some time running around outside, they will be happy to go home and go to bed.
Get in the water with them - A day at the pool doesn’t have to be a
disaster, and instead of waiting impatiently in-line to buy a Popsicle,
you can get into the water with the children and do some exercise. If
they’re old enough, you can challenge them to a race across the pool!
12. Know your moments of weakness - Each parent learns the moments and
situations of the day when they tend to be more nervous and stressed
than at other times. Try to identify these moments so that you can
prepare for them in advance, and neutralize the stressful factor before
your children enter the picture. For example, if you get anxious about
your child taking a long time to pick out their clothes in the morning,
prepare the outfit together the night before. The early preparation will
allow you to maintain calm and peace even in the most stressful
moments.
At home
Theoretically, your home should be a haven of peace and tranquility, but in practice, this isn’t always true and at home, you may suffer from many distractions and stressors. Therefore, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the following tips.
13. Create a quiet place for yourself - Sometimes it’s hard to find the
energy to clean the house up after a long day, and the mess can lead to a
sense of unrest. So, find a quiet corner in your house, clear it out of
all distractions and make sure there’s a comfortable place to sit in
it. Make it clear to the rest of the family that the space is for you
only, then shut out that corner with a curtain and try to light it with
soft light (open your window curtains during the day and use candles or
dimmed lighting in the evening). Whenever you feel stress or anger, you
can sit in this private corner and relax.
14. Disconnect all your gadgets- Choose an hour of the day (when you are
at home of course), where you choose not to use electrical gadgets.
Turn off the TV and the radio, turn off your phone, and cook nothing.
You will soon find that you have little left to do but sit back and
relax...
15. Hug yourself every morning - Various stretching exercises help relax
your muscles and provide a sense of relaxation. Start each morning with
a stretch that will help you start the day with some fun. Lie in bed,
bend your knees toward your chest and hug them close to your body (if
you wish you can move from side to side). Stay in this position for
about 20-50 seconds, release and do it again. This exercise helps to
provide a sense of relaxation and is also highly recommended for those
who suffer from back pain.
16. Solve thinking and logic games - Brain games and provide a wonderful
way to escape the hardships of the day and feelings of stress and
anxiety. Choose your favorite game, make sure it is challenging enough,
but not too challenging, so that you don’t experience feelings of stress
and despair as a result of your failure.