Need Help Winding Down? Here Are A Few Tips That Always Help Us!
Whether you are getting home from school, a busy travel day, or from work (maybe even working late), it’s important to wind down after a stressful day and focus on you. Unfortunately, loads of people are unable to relax in the evening after work/school/life.
While our days aren’t currently too strenuous, we still feel the stress of the work day. Currently, we work from home but we have also worked in a traditional office setting before – and we definitely found it hard to relax after we got home form work or school. Bruce worked in recruitment which was high stress/energy.
So, having learned from experience, there are plenty of things to do to relax after work, school, or just a busy day. For your reading pleasure, we list a bunch of them below. Learning how to decompress and de-stress should be part of everyone’s routine!
Go For An Evening Walk
One good way to let the stress of the day melt away is to go for an evening walk. In our old apartment, we lived very close to a big lake which was amazing for clearing our heads after a long day at work.
You don’t need to have a lake close by – a park will be just as great. And if you don’t have either of these, you can also just walk through parts of your city/town.
The important thing is to be mindful. Don’t let your mind go back to your crazy day or dinner, the laundry – basically, any other thing that you don’t have to worry about right this second. We know this is easier said than done, but give it a try. It can make such a difference and help you feel relaxed and calm once you are done with your walk.
Read Next – The Awesome Benefits Of Hiking
Watch ASMR Videos
This is one tip that Bruce doesn’t really understand, but Lisa really likes it. Watching an ASMR video is a great way for her to relax after a stressful day. That is exactly what these videos are supposed to do. Some people also swear by them when trying to fall asleep.
There are so many ASMR videos out there and the community on YouTube seems to be growing constantly. So, if you have never watched any of these videos before, give it a try and see if they can help you relax.
However, you should be aware that there are
Since every person is different and enjoys different sounds, we can’t really give you specific recommendations for videos to watch. Just have a browse through YouTube and maybe you’ll find an ASMR video you enjoy watching.
Take A Bath
This tip doesn’t really need a long explanation… taking a bath has long been seen as a way to wind down after a stressful day at work or at home.
We would recommend to not bring your phone into the bathroom and to leave the TV turned off if you have one in your bathroom. This will really allow your mind to get a break from the crazy amount of stimuli it is exposed to every day.
Lisa also really likes turning off the lights when taking a bath since it just makes for a much more cozy atmosphere. Unfortunately, we don’t have a bathtub in our current apartment – otherwise we would definitely use this as a way to wind down after a stressful day more often.
Read More – Healthy Habits That Will Affect Your Life Positively
Read A Book
If you spend a big part of your day staring at a screen, reading a book instead of watching TV in the evening can be a great way to change things up. This is also a great opportunity to educate yourself and learn something new.
Related – 8 Inspiring Self-Help Books You Should Read
We both actually really like to read but over the last two years haven’t done it often enough. That’s what happens when you work from home – usually we just work more instead of stopping and taking a rest.
However, we decided to change this at the beginning of this year and so far we’ve done pretty well. Lisa is slowly but surely getting through a few books that she’s been wanting to read for a long time. She’d like to read some more personal development books this year, so if you have any recommendations please share them with us!
Do A Yoga Routine
Yoga is amazing for relaxing after a stressful day. We are certainly not experts but we are trying to incorporate yoga more and more into our lives. You don’t have to go to a studio to practice yoga (even though it can really help you improve your posture and/or breathing). There are lots of great YouTube channels you can follow instead.
Lisa for example really likes Yoga with Adriene since she has lots of great short yoga routines that you can try out to relax after a stressful day. The good thing about yoga is that you don’t need any equipment other than a mat.
Even if you are not really a fan of yoga, have an open mind and give it a try to see if it helps you wind down. Bruce was a little skeptic at first but has since seen/felt the benefits it can have.
Related – Why Yoga Is So Important In Our Busy Lives
Listen To Music
This point shows how different people can be. While Lisa doesn’t usually opt for music to relax after a stressful day, it is the go-to choice for Bruce when he is looking to wind down and clear his head.
Music has always been something that allows him to drift away into another place.
The music itself is a bunch of genres – but post-rock and ambient is really calming and powerful. If you want to check out some, look for Hammock or Eluvium. These are two popular artists for theses genres!
Turn Off Your Phone
This one is a simple tip that is surprisingly difficult to do in real life. People have gotten so used to being connected constantly that the thought of turning off your phone can cause you fear that you’re going to miss out on something. We’ve had that feeling before, but over the last few months we’ve really worked on changing that.
Now, turning off our phones (or putting it on airplane mode with the WIFI turned off) – even if it is just for an hour or so – can make such a big difference. It can honestly feel like a weight lifted off our shoulders – especially after a long and stressful day. It took a while to get over the feeling of missing out or being unreachable for a little while, but it got better after doing it again and again.
If you don’t feel comfortable with turning off your phone completely since you want people to be able to reach you, you can also turn on the “Do Not Distrub” setting (the little half-moon, if you have an iPhone). This is a great way to avoid dealing with the constant notifications while knowing that family and friends could call you in case of emergency.
The important part here is to put your phone away (in another room or on top of a shelf, for example). If you have it within reach it is too tempting to check social media, messages, emails, etc. which can be very unhelpful when trying to relax.
Read Next – How To Be Successful In Life
And there you have it – a few tips for winding down after a stressful day. As we said, it doesn’t matter if it’s work or school – we think that winding down should be something everyone works into their evening routine.
The more you can do the night before the better you might be the next day. Continue this cycle and you’ve created a whole new mindset for yourself.
As always, Stay Curious,
-B&L
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