15 Activities To Help Relieve Stress

mental health, Mental Health Awareness, , , , , , 110 Comments
A blonde haired woman meditating. Next to her is a cream and wooden chair with plants, crystals and ornaments placed on the seat. The room that the woman is sitting in has plants all around.

Photo by Jan Kopřiva on Unsplash

Stress is becoming more and more common and can lead to other health problems; it is something that should be taken seriously.

In a 2018 study, 74% of UK adults had felt stressed at some point with more women at 81% compared to men at 67%. Stress can be caused by many different reasons, but those feelings can all lead to a negative impact on your mental health.

Stress can have various effects on the body like: fatigue, head and muscle aches and lack of appetite; extreme levels of stress can lead to anxiety and depression. Of course, being stressed is a part of life; it is how you are able to deal and cope with the stress that determines how it affects you. It is important to have a healthy choice of activities to fall back on which help you to relax and to relieve the stress that you may be feeling. Your self-care is an important part of achieving a meaningful and fulfilled life. Sleep and pain can impact stress levels in your daily life.

Here are 15 activities that you can partake in to help you relax and ease tension and stress:

1. Exercise

Exercise is one of the strongest tools to combat stress and tension. Putting your body through physical stress helps to alleviate mental stress. Those who take regular exercise are less likely to experience anxiety than those who don’t. Remember though, exercise doesn’t mean that you have to run 10 miles or go to the gym! Going for a walk, doing the housework or taking the stairs instead of the lift all count.

When exercising, the body’s stress hormones are reduced and endorphins – which are chemicals – are released into the body and they improve your mood and act as natural painkillers. Increasing your activity levels can also improve both the amount and quality of your sleep, which will reduce your anxiety and stress levels as well.

2. Reduce Your Caffeine Intake

Caffeine is a stimulant found in: tea, coffee and fizzy drinks. People have different thresholds for how much caffeine they can tolerate. If you consume it in high doses, it can increase your anxiety and stress levels as well as increase your heart rate. This will make you feel jittery and hyper alert, so reduce your caffeine intake to reduce the level of stress hormones. You should avoid drinking caffeine close to the time that you go to sleep in order to help you have the best quality of sleep.

3. Journal

Being able to write down your feelings and what is causing you to be stressed can help you work through them. Sometimes, just writing things down can be enough to relieve the feeling. You can also choose to reflect on the positive by recording what you are grateful for. Gratitude journals are a great form of self-care, which allow you to focus on the positive things happening in your life.

4. Spend Time With Family And Friends

Being able to spend time around loved ones can help reduce stress and boost your mood. Talking to loved ones is a great way to work through the stressful situation you find yourself in as you get another person’s perspective and advice. Sometimes, you just need to hear a friendly voice, or a voice which tells you that it is going to be alright. Having that support from others can help you become less anxious which can lead to you being able to be more relaxed.

5. Prioritise Some Self-Care

Any form of self-care is about making yourself the priority and nourishing your body. Taking the time to give your body that relaxation is going to help clear your mind and ease tension. Once you are more relaxed, you are able to approach situations and thoughts that cause you stress in a much calmer manner.

A woman with pink coloured nails, a pink crunchy on her wrist and a small gold ring on her ringer is reading a magazine. Next to the magazine on the wooden table is a coffee that has a coffee art design. On a plate next to the coffee is two small cake slices.Photo by SOCIAL. CUT on Unsplash

6. Take A Longer Shower Or Bath

Having a shower or a bath can help to relieve some of the physical symptoms of stress such as muscle tension and headaches. Allowing your muscles to relax can help to create a sense of calm which can allow your mind to clear and focus you on something that brings you joy rather that the situation or thought causing you stress.

7. Read A Book

Immersing yourself in a book can allow you to focus all the energy that you have been using to be stressed or anxious into imagining how the story will play out. You can forget about what is making you stressed and you can relax.

8. Meditate

Meditation is about focusing your mind and teaching yourself how to clear your mind and be in the present. When you feel stressed and overwhelmed, taking the time to sit and be still can help you expel the negative energy and focus on relaxing your mind and your body. Meditation is a great tool for protecting your mental health, but is something that you should practise regularly to receive the maximum impact and positive health benefits.

9. Listen To Music

Music can have a profound effect on your body and your emotions. When you are feeling stressed, you should try listening to music with a slower tempo as it can help to quiet the mind and relax your muscles. Avoid faster music as it can make you feel more alert which is the opposite of the effect which you are trying to achieve.

10. Be Creative

There are so many activities that you can practise to get your creativity flowing. Whether it is: colouring, drawing, writing or even gardening, there is something for everyone to do and focus their mind on. Focusing your mind on a creative activity releases dopamine, the body’s natural anti-depressant, which can help your mind to process trauma.

11. Take A Nap

Research shows that naps reduce stress levels and can strengthen the immune system if you are sleep deprived. Taking naps can also keep your blood pressure in check. If you are sleepy or sleep deprived, you may have increased blood pressure and greater levels of the stress hormone cortisol, so reducing the tension caused by stress through napping is beneficial for your body and mind.

A brown and black puPhoto by Matthew Henry on Unsplash

12. Deep Breathing Exercises

Deep breathing or stomach breathing exercises (such as those found in practising yoga or Pilates) can give an immediate feeling of relief from those stressful and anxious feelings. Practising this type of exercise can completely focus your mind and allows your body to calm the ‘fight or flight’ response and the physical symptoms that come along with stress.

13. Use Essential Oils & Supplements

Burning a candle or using essential oils can help to reduce your feeling of stress. There are certain scents that are known for their calming and soothing properties. Some of the best scents to help promote relaxation are: lavender, bergamot, ylang ylang, orange or orange blossom, camomile and sandalwood. Other supplements can also benefit your mental health and help relieve stress like real terpenes. There are well documented benefits of terpenes, such as their anti-inflammatory and stress relieving properties, that make them an attractive option for many people. Another supplement you could look into is kratom, and Maeng Da Kratom is known to be one of the powerful variants of this herb. Kratom offers a potent combination of energy and mood-boosting properties that will help you to boost your focus, clarity and give you more energy. You can learn more about the Maeng Da effects online, and how it is also used for pain relief and help you to improve sleep. All of these aspects of your daily life will affect the levels of stress in your daily life.

14. Clean And Tidy

Deciding to clean and/or tidy a space in your home acts as a physical activity which can help to clear and declutter your mind. This can help to relieve feelings of anxiety and stress as well as being likely to result in a sense of achievement, thus improving and lifting your mood.

15. Eat A Well Balanced Diet

This tip is more of a long-term stress relief strategy that you can implement. A poor diet can bring greater stress in your life. This is because emotional eating or reaching for high-sugar, high calorie foods can provide a temporary boost to your mood, but greater lows when you need that next ‘fix’; this will only add to your long-term stress. You can see THC gummies for sale to help reduce stress and anxiety.

These are some simple coping strategies that you can use to reduce your stress and anxiety. What do you like to do when you feel stressed? I’d love to hear in the comments.

110 thoughts on “15 Activities To Help Relieve Stress”

  5. World Stress Day – I have never heard of that! But certainly feeling it a lot these days. I’m trying to carve out more time for my own hobbies, like reading and writing. And definitely want to get back to journaling and connecting more with loved ones. Thanks for the tips!

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  6. I do most of the things you’ve mentioned and I agree, they’re great for stress relief! Sometimes life can be overwhelming – reminders like your post are important because we take a moment to check ourselves. Thanks for posting!

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  10. What a neat list of easy-to-do activities 🙂 I used to play video games to relieve stress and to some extent it worked, since it made me think about something else than whatever was causing the stress. Ever since I became a dad I don’t have time for video games, but I find that music helps. Both playing and listening.

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  14. Hey, that’s a nice list of some good ideas for managing stress. 🙂 I found the venting to another person one interesting. I hadn’t really thought of it before. I often invite others to vent their worries out at me, but I’ve never really considered it for myself. Apart from like… gently hinting at having something on my mind, or actually talking to a professional. But of course, it would work for me as well I think. Thanks for the quick tips!
    Mori (moriganna.com)

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  15. These are all such excellent examples! I didn’t even know there was a World Stress Day, but I’m so glad there is so that people can share awareness about it! I don’t think we realize how much stress affects our mental and physical health, but it really does. My favorite de-stressing activities are definitely reading (there’s no better escape for me!), journaling or just writing down little ideas for stories I have, taking naps (if I can!), and seeing friends (when I can!). The rest are excellent ideas, and some I should incorporate in my own life. Lovely post!

    Emily | https://www.thatweirdgirllife.com

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  16. Many good ideas! I like colouring, baking and eating! It is so important that we each have something to help take our minds off things and give ourselves a break!

    Ellyn x | Life Of A Beauty Nerd

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  20. love this. managing stress is so important! i need to get better at it because i tend to create stress for myself out of nothing so i’m constantly feeling stressed. i love watching netflix under my weighted blanket that always relaxes me. xx

    mich / simplymich.com

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  22. Some good advice here! I was getting really stressed in work, then they started to make us take our 1 hour lunch breaks (they tried before but that another story) and now I sit in my car to play guitar, listen to my audiobook and phone friends for a catch up! So definitely would add them to the list 😊

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  23. I find that having a walk or a long soak in the bath are so relaxing for me because they allow me an extra amount of space to think and wind down. I really enjoy having a relaxing coffee too x

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  24. Ah I needed this. I’ve been feeling so stressed with building my own business, going to university and working on my thesis project for graduation while doing a minor as well. I’m struggling to find time to wind down and take a step back to relax. Up to the point where I’m now actually planning free time into my calendar. Definitely going to try these activities, love how simple yet effective they are!

    Melissa | Rosy Melissa

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  25. These are all so good, but I especially like #4 and #13. Getting ready to do #6 right now if I can get over the stress of stepping outside when it’s getting so cold! Not quite ready for winter temps, but they are here in my neck of the woods. There’s nothing quite like a walk to make me feel better and reduce stress. But it’d be easy to talk me into a nap about now!

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  33. Important topic and always good to be reminded about our options when needing a break! My faves are going for a walk and taking a bath or shower as well as venting to a friend! I’ll be taking a walk very soon today! Thanks for posting!

    Trace x

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  35. I love reading as it forces me to focus on the book rather than whatever I’m feeling stressed or anxious about. I also love a Netflix session too! Stand up comedy is also one of my goto’s as I always feel better after a good laugh! Xx

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  36. Oh man, this blog post speaks to me a lot. I feel like I stress out a bit too much. Exercising is great to relieve some stress! You can never go wrong with a hot bath either. Those self-care beauty days go a long way too! Thanks for sharing all of these ideas :).

    Nancy ♥ exquisitely.me

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  40. These are some great ideas. I always feel so relaxed when I’m in the bath, and when I get out aftwrwards. I’d also add something you can get lost in, like arts and crafts or playing your favourite video game. I agree that exercise, especially a long walk can be such a great way to de-stress too.

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