As it is stress awareness week we thought it was a great time for us to talk about what we do to help us relax and unwind after a stressful day.
It may be helpful to let you know our favourite way to deal with stress in the moment, it is with the 5 by 5 rule - If it is not going to matter in 5 years, don't spend more than 5 minutes upset by it. While this may not help all of the time it definitely helps to put some things in perspective for us.
Onto the ways that we help ourselves unwind at the end of the day and help promote a less stressful mindset for ourselves.
Unwind with exercise
While this doesn't always appeal to us after a long hard day at the office in which we have felt particularly stressed. It does however always make us feel better, through the release of endorphins coupled with the ability to let out some of our frustrations. Plus the mentality that we have taken the time to do something that benefits ourselves is comforting.
Have a long hot bath
Fill a bath with bubble bath and muscle soak bath salts, jump in for at least half an hour and believe us when we say the stress seems to melt away. We put on some relaxing music or simply sit in the quiet and by just taking that relaxing time for ourselves makes the world of difference in helping us unwind.
Fill your home with relaxing scents and sounds
'Relaxing' room sprays exist for reason, along with our obsession for candles (see they all do serve a purpose!). Fill your home with your favourite scents and put on some relaxing background music, and after a while your body with start to associate these senses with relaxation. For reference our favourite scents are lavender, tonka bean, vanilla and jasmine.
Make your bedroom your sanctuary
For us it's essential that our bedroom feels like a safe and cosy relaxing place for us. Having plenty of soft pillows, cosy throws and bedding all helps us feel relaxed. Along with having our bedroom in a serene colour palette, pick colours that make you feel happy and peaceful, if you need a redecorate, trust us it is worth it.
Read a book
Now we know you will have all heard this a million times, but turning off all the tech at least an hour before you go to sleep and replacing it with reading a book has been scientifically proven to help. Scientifically. What much more do you need than that? Reading not only helps us feel relaxed but it is also gives us a little sense of achievement when we finish a book.
Get cosy nightwear you feel comfortable in
Of course our nightwear and slippers are very important to us. Getting into something we feel comfortable and cosy in once get out of our warm bath (see what we did there?) just gets us into the mindset of lounging and de-stressing. It also helps us sleep better which of course significantly impacts our mental health when it comes to dealing with stress.
Create a regular schedule
This helps us immensely in feeling we have control over our lives and therefore makes us feel more relaxed on a bigger scale, so the smaller stresses that pop up, tend to impact us less. Start sticking to a night time routine, with what time you have a bath, do your skincare, go to bed, wake up, etc. In no time at all it will become second nature (and then you won't have to stress about the schedule!)
We hope this helps give you an idea about where to start when trying to create a relaxing, unwinding routine for yourself to decompress from the stresses of everyday life. Let us know in the comments if you put any of these into practice and whether they help you, or if you have any other suggestions!
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