Whether you work outside of your home, work at home, attend school or are a stay-at-home mother, we can all agree that we can experience stress in our day. While we can’t always control the amount of stress in our day, but we can control how we deal with the stress. It’s so important to take some time to yourself at the end of your day to unwind or de-stress. You don’t want to carry that stress, frustration, anxiety into the next day, so de-stressing is vital. Just like you don’t want to let the sun set on your anger, you don’t want to let the sun set on that stress. I want to share with you some helpful ways to de-stress at the end of your stressful or not-so-stressful day.
Take a bath. There’s nothing quite like winding down and relaxing in a hot bath. Light some candles, turn on some relaxing music and enjoy a nice bath. Make the water as hot as you can stand it and just soak the stress away. A hot bath will also help if you have any joint pains or stiffness.
Drink some tea. I enjoy chai tea and golden milk at night before bed. This really helps to warm me up especially on cold nights and helps me to relax at night. There are several teas that are good for relaxation like Sleepy Time tea by Celestial Seasonings and Chamomile tea.
Disconnect. Take some time to just disconnect from social media, checking and answering emails, taking phone calls, etc. Sometimes we can get so consumed with this that we don’t realize it can add to our stress. Just put that phone down and take a minute to just be by yourself in your thoughts without any distractions.
Read or write. If you enjoy reading, take about 30 minutes to grab a book and do some reading. Let your mind be free and engaged in your favorite or current book. If you enjoy writing, maybe write about your day or some of your dreams or desires. I enjoy writing my “thank you’s” to God and names of people who I am praying for. This is a great way to take my mind off of myself and anything stressful.
While doing any of these relaxing techniques take a moment to reflect on your day, your highs and lows, what worked and didn’t work. Don’t criticize yourself. Don’t focus on the things you didn’t get done. Just focus on what you did do and affirm yourself for that. Take a moment to pray and thank God for getting you through the day no matter how stressful it might have been. If you do any or all of these techniques you are sure to relieve yourself of the day’s stress and get better sleep so that you are prepared for the next day.
Let me know some of your de-stress techniques.
