Easy Ways Reduce Stress After An Exhausting Day

Stress is one of those things that not only affects our mental health but also our physical health. That headache, insomnia, and decreased productivity may all be the result of excess stress.

While it may not be possible to avoid stress altogether, in fact, everyday life and responsibilities, can trigger stress. Taking care of your mental state is so important but often neglected. Stuff needs to get done, and things pile up.

We do other things instead of caring for ourselves, which creates a cycle of more and more stress. The less we care for ourselves the more stressed out we become. There are, however, things you can do to relax and reduce stress in your life.

This post may contain affiliate links, please see disclosure policy here.

Here are 12 of my favorite ways to relax and reduce stress when I start feeling the day to day pressures of life.

1. Get a Good Night’s Sleep

It is amazing what a good night’s sleep can do to release your levels of stress. The next morning you wake up feeling refreshed and much calmer.

The problem, however, is when we are particularly under extra stress it can be hard to sleep. Insomnia is a very common symptom of stress.

If you are having a hard time falling asleep, try going to bed and waking up each day at the same time. This consistency will tell your body when it is time to wind down, helping you to fall asleep.

One of my favorite and very effective ways to help me sleep is to turn on my diffuser and add a few drops of my favorite calming essential oil blend, Serenity. If you haven’t tried essential oils for helping with sleep, I highly recommend them, they really do work. I have found that diffusing a calming oil does work significantly better than other methods.  Lavender is another oil that is known for its calming properties.

Work on getting a good night’s sleep this evening. If you do, you will find yourself much more relaxed and better equipped to handle tomorrow’s responsibilities.

2. Exercise Regularly

Exercise is one of the best ways to help reduce the feeling of stress in your life. It doesn’t need to be anything complicated or a full-blown workout. A simple walk around the neighborhood can give you an instant boost, clear your mind, and help reduce the feeling of stress.

3. Pray/Meditate

When I am feeling extra stress, it usually results in feeling anxious as well. For me, the best way to deal with any type of anxiety is through prayer.  When I bring my concerns to the Lord, my spirit is instantly calmed.

It also helps to take some time to meditate on a particular truth that applies to your circumstances. Even just stopping to focus on your breath can do a lot to bring that feeling of calm and relaxation. Try to find a few moments of quiet and count backward from 50 as you focus on your breathing.

The point is to focus on something other than the circumstances creating extra stress.

4. Light a Candle

Honestly, there is something about the flickering flame of a softly scented candle and some soft music in the background that creates an instant feeling of relaxation.

I recently received this sound spa as a gift and I have to say I love it. If I am working on something and music would be a distraction this creates a calming feel with its gentle background sounds. The other morning I turned on my sound spa and lit a candle as I sat down to work. Those two little things made my morning workday so much calmer and peaceful.

5. Plan Your Day

One of the hardest things for me about stress is that it’s easy to let my regular routines go. However, the end result of this is that I increase my feelings of stress.

Maintaining one or two essential routines will make all difference in how your day goes! Without a doubt, the most helpful routine I have is planning my day the night before. By writing stuff down – you can forget about it until you have time to actually work on it.

Having a clear plan in place for my day helps keep me focused and reduces my stress levels. Just knowing what you will be doing for the day and being able to prepare for it, does a lot to reduce stress.

6. Tea, Quiet and a Good Book

This is something I like to do at the end of a stressful day.

Usually, after the house is quiet and everyone is in bed, I’ll make some chamomile decaf tea, grab a book, or just sit and enjoy the quiet. A book will help me remove my thoughts from the stressful situation or I like to sit in the quiet and reflect back on the day.

Being able to think about what went well and what didn’t in the quiet, brings clarity and that, of course, brings that feeling of calm and relaxation.

7. Call a Friend

There is something about being able to call a good friend that can ease your feelings of stress.

Sometimes you have that friend that is always able to make you laugh. It’s awfully hard to feel stressed out when you’re laughing.

Other times it just helps to relieve stress when you are able to talk it out. Having a good friend who will just listen to you is such a blessing. I cannot tell you how many times, just by talking things through, I’ve realized my problems are not nearly as bad or insurmountable as I initially thought.

8. Eat a Healthy Diet

Physical health affects mental health and vice versa.  According to an article in Everyday Health,  your diet and nutrition choices can make your stress levels go up or down. Certain foods provide comfort and actually increase levels of hormones in the body that naturally fight stress. Other types of foods and beverages can reduce stress by lowering the levels of hormones that trigger them.

As I said above, stress has a big impact on our physical bodies. We can counteract these effects by making sure we are taking care of ourselves physically. An easy way to do this is by eating a healthy diet.

9. Reduce Triggers

If we’re regularly feeling stressed, chances are something is triggering those feelings. An important way to reduce stress starts with identifying what the recurring sources of stress are in your life. Take an honest look at your day to day life and look for those times and circumstances where you are feeling particularly stressed and make note of them.

Once you have identified your recurring sources of stress you can begin to work on ways to reduce, or better yet, eliminate those recurring triggers.

10. Clear Your Space

Most people are affected by their environment more than they realize. Taking some time to clean or just clear your space around you can reduce stress and allow you to feel more relaxed.

A clear and clutter-free space helps to clear your mind. When you keep that space clutter-free you know that you will have a place to retreat to.

If you want information on how to stay clutter-free, make sure to read this post here.

11. Don’t Multitask

I am always amazed when I think about how multitasking somehow got heralded as a positive thing.

The truth is multi-tasking only adds to our stress.

In an article published in Health Day, David Meyer, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, was cited as saying that the brain responds to impossible demands by pumping out adrenaline and other stress hormones that put a person “on edge.” These hormones provide a quick burst of energy, but energy won’t make multitasking easier, he says.

According to Myer’s, over time, the stress of multitasking may even become dangerous. Meyer says that a steady flow of stress hormones can strain the body and threaten health.

Related: 8 Ways to Simplify Your Life When You Stop Multitasking

To reduce stress stop multitasking. Focus on one thing at a time and you will get done faster and do a better job.

12. Indulge

There are those times that the best way to reduce stress and create a feeling of calm and relaxation is to indulge.

Honestly, don’t deprive yourself it only adds to your stress! If something brings you joy, this is the time to indulge. Go ahead and eat some chocolate, you can always walk it off later. Besides, we already know walking is a great way to reduce stress. This my friend, is a definite win, win.

We’re living in a stressful time, however, simple tips will go along way towards reducing that stress!