Today, stress seems to be unfortunately commonplace among most people. Here are some tricks you can try to help you unwind at the end of the day.

  • 1

    Practice your breathing.

    We’ve been doing it our whole lives. We need to breathe, it’s as simple as that. You can use it to let go of some of that stress you’ve been holding on to. Take a slow breath in through your nose, close your eyes as you breathe in, and inhale for around seven seconds. Open your mouth, slowly let the breath escape you, take about seven seconds to exhale.

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    Jacobsen / Stringer, Getty Images
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    2

    Tense up your body and then let it go.

    You can incorporate this with the breathing exercise. Tense up every muscle in your body. I know this seems counter productive, but hear me out. One by one slowly release the tension in each muscle. It’s best to do this lying down.

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    Scott Halleran, Getty Images
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    3

    Try yoga.

    If you scroll through Instagram yoga can seem a bit intimidating. Don’t think just because you seem someone doing a handstand in front of a beautiful landscape, wearing a sports bra, and with perfect form that you can’t do yoga yourself. Start off small. Before you go to bed do a few poses that really stretch out your body perfectly. My go to poses that are simple and stretch out my body well are the child pose, the cat pose, and the child pose. Here is a great video of yoga for stress and anxiety.

  • 4

    Sensory deprivation.

    Flotation therapy is all the rage right now. You can go try one of the salt floats or you can try it at home. Go in a dark room, pitch black dark. Take all of your electronics, light sources, and anything that produces sound out of the room. Lie down and relax your muscles. If the idea of sitting in a dark room terrifies you, only sit in there for ten minutes slowly increasing your time.

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    Sean Gallup, Getty Images
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    5

    Start a journal.

    Dear diary isn’t just for pre-teen girls. Write down what you did that day, how you are feeling, your dreams, and your fears. If you want to write quickly try a bullet journal. There’s even a website to help you out.

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    Chung Sung-Jun, Getty Images
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    6

    Break out the candles.

    Smells can really impact the way you feel. Lavender is a great smell for stress, as are eucalyptus, rose, and peppermint.

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    Matt Roberts, Getty Images
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    7

    Go for a run.

    Have you ever heard of a runner’s high? Running is a good way to deal with your thoughts and escape some of the stresses you’ve been experiences. Go without music, focus of your breathing listening to every breath, and listen to your feet hitting the ground.

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    Mark Metcalfe / Stringer, Getty Images
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    8

    Get a massage.

    It’s ok to treat yourself once in awhile. You can also get your significant other to help you out on this. We keep a lot of tension in our muscles and massaging them helps relieve that tension.

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