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Why Relaxation and Stress-Relief are Crucial for Wellness

Why Relaxation and Stress-Relief are Crucial for Wellness

Go Ahead & Be Selfish. It’s Good for Your Health.

One of the best things you can do for your productivity is to take a break. It may sound counterintuitive, but more and more research shows that people are only as productive as they are rested. 

Life is hectic and between maintaining a life-work balance, taking care of a family, and/or dealing with new responsibilities thanks to the changing times, finding time to relax can be very challenging. However, it is especially important to find that time because even five minutes away can help us to tackle issues that are causing us to stress and rebalance ourselves.

Mental Health awareness month is going on now, so this is a great chance for you to promote some stress busting techniques throughout your life. Let’s take a look at what you can do to alleviate stress.

The Effects of Stress

While stress is a part of our bodies response to outside stimulus and helps us to get through it, if we stay in that fight-flight-freeze state for too long it can be very bad for our health.

Stress affects our physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing in addition to our behavior. Physical symptoms including headaches, muscle tension, dizziness, fatigue and irregular sleep can all result from too much stress. Stress also elevates our cortisol levels and that has a host of issues associated with it. Anxiety, poor concentration, indecisiveness, and uncontrollable thoughts can all come from overwhelming stress. And to add to that, emotional symptoms like irritability, feeling overwhelmed, low self-esteem, aggressive or defensive behavior, avoiding situations, poor communication, drinking too much alcohol and smoking, and depression and you have a recipe for long-term harm if not dealt with. Plus, it can make pre-existing conditions worse, both physically and mental.

We aren’t always able to avoid stress but learning to manage it is crucial. Practicing relaxation techniques is the best way to manage stress. When we relax, our circulation improves, our hormones find balance, and we can achieve a calmer and clearer mind, which helps us in turn to think positively, concentrate, create memories, and make decisions. 

Relaxation slows heart rates, reduces blood pressure, and decreases muscle tension. It also aids digestion and allows our bodies to take in essential nutrients more efficiently, which assists us to fight off disease and infection.

Refresh Throughout the Day!

One of the best ways to ensure that stress doesn’t stick around for too long is to take the chance to periodically refresh yourself throughout your day. A few times during your day set aside five minutes or so to reduce your stress and give yourself a boost of energy levels a boost. Here’s a few relaxation techniques that are quick and easy to do:

  • Focus on your breathing- a nice way to do this is to breathe in to the count of four and exhale slowly to the count of eight
  • Meditation – try to calm your mind on your own or look up easy to follow videos on YouTube
  • Progressive muscle relaxation- this is where you tighten and relax your muscles going down from your head to your toes
  • Visualization – imagine a relaxing place and focus on the details, again you can find some on YouTube
  • Take a gentle walk being mindful of your surroundings, look at the plants, trees, sunshine, clouds, and take it all in

Deep Relaxation Work

Research proves that relaxation is a must for everyone and helps us to stay healthy. It’s true not only for work-a-holics but for everyone who wants to keep our good health. Studies show that relaxation minimizes wear and tear on the mind and the body. For instance, it lowers blood pressure and heart rate while improving blood flow throughout the body. It also cuts down on back pain, headaches, and muscle tension while making it easier to concentrate. We’re also less likely to get worked up, angry, or overly frustrated when we regularly practice relaxation techniques.

Also, it’s important to know that relaxation techniques don’t mean spending a lot of time being sedentary. The Mayo Clinic reminds us that these techniques are things that take us out of the daily struggle and routine. Walking, deep breathing, muscle tension reduction, meditation or visualization, reading, writing a journal and other similar activities are extremely helpful in finding inner calm.

To achieve the positive health goals you set it’s crucial to refocus your mind away from worrying, stressing over work or home problems, and think about/imagine happy and good things. As someone with anxiety disorder, I know how difficult that can be. That’s where techniques like meditation and mindful massage can truly make a difference. By allowing a thought to pass through your mind without putting too much weight on it, you learn how to better let go of thoughts that aren’t serving you.

Take control of your stress levels by finding a relaxing solution that satisfies you. You’ll feel empowered and better able to handle the chaos that is life. It is so important to try to relax at home and at work whenever you can. There are many simple ways to invoke a little calm in your life – listen to music, read a book, take a walk, be creative, talk to someone, exercise, enjoy a hot bath or a session in your massage chair, or whatever helps you to release stress from your body, mind, and spirit.

Finished With Your Research?

Ready to try out a chair for yourself? You can look into our chairs, techniques, and other benefits of massage in the Learning Center on our website, and you’ll be able to see the number of other physical benefits that these chairs can provide. Additionally, in the Massage Chair Buying Guide, we talk about which chairs are good for certain desires and needs, and it can help you with your search for a massage chair when you want to incorporate one into your daily routine.

Life is about managing our stress, and a massage chair can help you find that balance by enhancing your relaxation. With that in mind, don’t forget about our financing options. We understand that investing in a massage chair is a big decision, and we want to help make that process as easy and stress-free as possible.

If you have any questions about massage chairs or our services, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re available over the phone or through email at info@massagechairplanet.com. You can even talk with us through the LiveChat on our website.

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