15 Best Ways to Unwind After Work or Relax after a Long Day

If you aren’t a runner like me, taking a brisk walk will do the job just fine (and it gives you a chance to finish the end of that true crime podcast). Listening to music is also a known strategy for stress relief, and a simple one to do while sitting in an enclosed space. The problem is that this can magnify stress levels so that they are even higher after the commute home than they were at the end of the workday. If this sounds like you, now is the time to take the reigns and make your commute a time to shrug off the stress of the day. In the coming week, try to really notice your thoughts and habits as you drive home if you’re not already aware of them. Well, it is completely subjective and depends on multiple factors.

• Exposure to daylight and having a window view or indoor greenery at the workplace have been shown to have a positive impact on your sleep quality, perceived stress, and overall health.
• It basically involves getting random thoughts and ideas out of your head and writing them down in a book.
• According to the American Psychological Association, people who constantly check their electronic devices for email, social media accounts, and texts are, on average, more stressed out.
• The blue light emitted from screens can disrupt your body’s circadian rhythms and disrupt your sleep cycle.

Take a quick warm shower, then turn the water cold for five seconds. You can survive anything for that time, apart from listening to the Kardashians. After 30 seconds of fighting the urge to jump out, I immersed myself in the present moment. When your body goes into emergency mode, you stop worrying about meetings and appointments. When I work long days, it’s hard to turn off the racing thoughts. I’ll sit down for dinner or a beer with a friend but my head is still spinning around what happened at work.

Relax Without Drinking Alcohol

Soothing music helps trigger the body’s psychological responses to relaxation, which can further improve your sleep quality. Thus, listening to soothing tracks after work or before sleep can effectively combat everyday stress. According to the American Institute of Stress, job pressure and money are the top causes of stress in America, with 61 percent of people reporting that work is their main source of stress.

You can make light-hearted and fun activities a part of your routine to help you decompress. While alcohol and some medication can offer temporary relief from stress and anxiety, there are risks of both physical side-effects and emotional dependencies. Yourfootpalace.com gathered information on creative, athletic, and fun ways to de-stress and relax after a long and challenging day at work.

Take a relaxing bath or shower

However, going for a walk in nature is a pleasant way of relaxing without inducing physical stress on your body. A study published in EDRA showed https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/13-common-myths-about-addiction-and-recovery/ that walking in nature reduced the stress hormone cortisol significantly. Also, nature walks were more relaxing than physical exercise alone.

Listening to music can have a tremendously relaxing effect on our minds and bodies. Need some inspiration as to how exactly you can de-stress after you have left work at work? No matter how stressful work can be, it’s easy to unwind after a tough day at the office with these simple, 10 happy-boosting tips.

Engage in activities that you enjoy

They have a biometric sensor that customizes massage modes to lower your heart rate. By impacting the key areas around your eyes and temples, they effectively help reduce eye strain and induce sleep. Therefore, using Therabody SmartGoggles every day may have a larger health impact. Contrary to popular belief, cleaning isn’t always a dreaded chore. Cleaning and organizing your personal space can help you unwind while keeping you healthier and happier—and might lead you to view your home as more restful and restorative.

Let’s take a look at some of the negative effects that work-related stress can have on your mind and your body. It is important to unwind after work because work-related stress can be detrimental to your well-being. Also, rumination is counterproductive and it doesn’t actually help you to do your job better. I label this as a +1 because sleep isn’t so much a way to unwind after work as much as it is the ultimate way to relax. Having a qualitative night of sleep is good for your health and will make more productive, energized, and motivated.

There is something extremely cathartic about singing and I suppose sometimes sing-screaming in the car. Experts agree that nothing is better Ways to Destress After Work to destress than partaking in exercise. Try doing a sport you enjoy first, and the extra benefit is that you will make friends.

For example, Intellect is a self-care mental health application that has guided journaling as one of its core features. You can use prompts and suggestions to log your day or take its free mental health modules to relieve stress and anxiety. However, if you want a minimal interface, focus on privacy, prompts, and more, Presently is a better option for daily journaling.

A great way to remove yourself from work after a long day , even though your home is now your office is to create an area just for ‘work’ and an area to ‘relax’. If you’re home is small, make sure that the area you use for work can be easily packed away, so you can’t see it from the corner of your eye when you are relaxing. To combat stress and burnout, employers are increasingly offering benefits like virtual mental health support, spontaneous days or even weeks off, meeting-free days, and flexible work scheduling. Despite these efforts and the increasing number of employees buying into the importance of wellness, the effort is lost if you don’t actually recover. So, if you feel like you’re burning out, what works when it comes to recovering from stress? Having some time to yourself to do something you enjoy is important for your mental health and well-being.

It’s important to remember that everyone’s needs are different when it comes to unwinding after work. However, setting aside at least 30 minutes to an hour daily for relaxation and self-care can be beneficial for most people. The key is to focus on the quality of the activities you choose to engage in during this time. Find what genuinely helps you feel refreshed and at ease, and make that a regular part of your post-work routine. Not having a choice in your own recovery can sometimes do more harm than good.

One underrated, critical element of recovery is your surrounding environment. Some companies have caught on and are building direct and indirect exposure to natural elements into the workplace. Indeed, research on direct exposure to nature, such as through park walks during workday lunch breaks, shows that it can enhance your recovery from stress in as little as 10 minutes. In addition to short-term effects, being exposed to nature at work contributes positively to your well-being and lowers the likelihood of burnout. Exposure to daylight and having a window view or indoor greenery at the workplace have been shown to have a positive impact on your sleep quality, perceived stress, and overall health. Interestingly, indirect exposure to nature (for example, even looking at nature scenes on a screen) can also have benefits for recovery.

• Playing games whether offline or online can help you relax, as they keep your mind occupied with something.
• When you are consumed by stress, your mind will begin to suffer.
• The time you allocate to relaxing activities should be treated just as important as any other commitment.
• Sleep Stories in the app has several tracks narrated by well-known celebrities.