Unwind with these great relaxation tips
LIZ CONNOR explains how to relieve stress without resorting to the pub
OUR social media accounts might make it look like our lives our totally together, but the truth is, plenty of us find it difficult to juggle the demands of modern life. Our always-on culture makes it almost impossible to leave worries at work and switch off after a busy day.
From unanswered texts to unopened emails, there’s plenty that can play on your mind, eat into your precious downtime and negatively impact your sleep.
When Friday night arrives, it can be tempting to reach for a bottle of wine to de-stress, but there are healthier ways to make sure you get your chill on at the start of the weekend.
We asked some professionals in the wellness community to share how they choose to care for themselves after a busy working week. Here’s what they said...
GET OUTDOORS
“I WORK from home, so for me it’s all about getting outdoors, and nothing beats a hearty walk armed with a coffee bought en route,” says Rob Hobson, head of nutrition at Healthspan (healthspan.co.uk). “I also find this helps to break up the evenings, which can feel really long if you have been indoors all day stressing over deadlines. I find cooking hugely relaxing, and I often start looking for supper inspiration first thing in the morning as a nice work distraction.”
Dr Meg Arroll (drmegarroll.com), psychologist and co-author of The Shrinkology Solution (Quadrille, £9.99), agrees in the power of the great outdoors. “I nurture my mind and body with nature,” she says. “This doesn’t mean going on an hour-long ramble. I simply take a moment outside and observe – what can I see, hear, smell? Even on cold winter days, there will be many sensations that you can tune into. This very quick ecopsychology technique helps me to release the tensions of a busy week.”
TAKE A HOT BATH
“STRESSFUL days can mean the sympathetic wing of our nervous system is always switched on,” says personal trainer, Nicola Addison. She says that to wind down and become relaxed, we need to activate our parasympathetic nervous system. “Having a hot bath will do the trick, as the muscles relax when they become warm,” she suggests. If you struggle with insomnia, add a few drops of essential oil, such as lavender, rose or geranium oil, to the water, to help better induce sleep.
START WRITING A GRATITUDE JOURNAL
“AT the end of a long day, I relax in bed with a cup of tea and a notebook,” says psychologist Dr Aria (dr-aria.com). “Writing down a list of things that you’re grateful for changes your mindset, which impacts your body’s biochemistry.”
According to Aria, keeping a gratitude journal has been found to help lower perceived stress by 28%, and gratitude is associated with 23% lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. “Research shows that practising gratitude can also reduce blood pressure, boost your mood and improve your sleep – it’s proof that the pen is mightier than a pint!”
BE SUPPLEMENT SAVVY
“I WIND down by getting stuck into a creative project – right now it’s rewriting and editing my sci-fi novel,” says Healthspan medical director, Dr Sarah Brewer. If you struggle with sleep, she suggests switching out the wine for a natural supplement. “I take CBD and magnesium supplements to ensure a good night’s sleep, along with a mug of chamomile and honey tea.” (If you’re concerned about deficiencies, remember it’s always best to check in with your doctor.)
“Stress, anxiety and insomnia are common symptoms of magnesium deficiency,” says Lola Ross, a nutritionist for Moody Month (moodymonth.com). “I stock up on foods rich in magnesium, such as dark green leafy vegetables, legumes and magnesium-rich mineral water to top up my levels.”
AVOID STRESS-INDUCING FOODS
“STRESS can be triggered or mediated by certain foods in our diet, producing symptoms such as allergies, anxiety to wakefulness and insomnia,” adds Lola. “So if you are already trying to manage stress, it can be really useful to track your food intake and note any post-eating symptoms. This will help you to reveal patterns and remove any stress-inducing foods.”
Lola says some common food stressors include sugar, caffeine and alcohol, as they stimulate stress hormones, creating an unnatural stress response. “If you are particularly sensitive to caffeine, one of my first recommendations is to cut it out completely for a while,” she says. “Swap coffee for caffeine-free teas or a medicinal mushroom based coffee such as reishi – a mushroom known for its sedating effects.”
SET A SLEEP SCHEDULE
BETWEEN work commitments, Netflix and social occasions, it’s all too easy to find yourself slipping out of healthy sleep habits.
If you want to better your chances of getting that all-important eight hours of shut-eye, Lola suggests setting a sleep schedule.
“If stress is interfering with sleep, set up a healthy sleep/wake plan. Go to sleep at a similar time each night, sip a calming tea before bed, such as rose, valerian or lavender tea (which calm the nervous system), and make sure you wake up at the same time every day too.”
WE all worry about our health from time to time.
For example, if we experience symptoms of an illness, have to undergo medical tests or procedures or if we learn that we are at risk of becoming ill.
Some worry about our health can be helpful as it prompts us to seek medical help or to improve our lifestyles.
However, excessive worry about health, known as health anxiety or hypochondria, can become highly problematic when a person becomes so worried about being ill or the prospect of getting ill that it starts to interfere with their everyday lives.
Symptoms of health anxiety include constantly worrying about your health, frequently checking the body for any potential signs of illness, excessively seeking reassurance from others that you are not ill, frequent visits to the GP, searching the internet for information about different illnesses and behaving as if you were ill.
The nature of anxiety means it can trigger physical symptoms such as a racing heart, palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness and nausea, which are often then misinterpreted as symptoms of an underlying physical ailment, adding to a person’s health anxiety.
Health anxiety can affect anyone