Today's article shares with you 5 very simple yet immediately effective relaxation methods.
They are habits I have practiced for a long time, and they have a scientific basis, not only can quickly eliminate the fatigue accumulated from work and study, but also allow the brain to empty itself, clear away distractions in the background, and make you feel refreshed.
It is hoped that today's update can help you take good care of your physical and mental health amidst your busy work schedule.
Breathe Slower, Deeper
In daily life, many people's breathing is actually very shallow, especially when they are tense and focused. However, consciously trying to slow down and deepen one's breathing is itself a very effective way to relax and recover.
Why is this the case? One reason is that the respiratory center in the brain is directly connected to the arousal system. Specifically, the brain regions that regulate breathing interact with areas such as the nucleus ambiguus, limbic system, and prefrontal cortex. They influence breathing through top-down pathways, and conversely, the regulation of breathing can also affect these brain regions through bottom-up pathways.*1
The locus coeruleus is the primary switch that regulates the brain's norepinephrine. When the locus coeruleus is stimulated, norepinephrine is secreted in large quantities, and we enter a state of high alert; conversely, when the locus coeruleus is at rest, norepinephrine secretion decreases, and we feel calm and comfortable.
This is the principle of deep breathing: slow and prolonged breathing can calm the nucleus ambiguus, reduce its stimulation, and thus lower the body's overall alertness level.
In addition, slow breathing can also lead to higher coupling of respiratory rhythm, blood pressure fluctuations and heart rate, reducing sympathetic nervous excitement and activating the parasympathetic nervous system, allowing the entire person to enter a more stable and comfortable state.*2
So how exactly does one do it? Broadly speaking, research has found that a breathing rhythm of around six breaths per minute delivers the best results.*3
Breathing six times per minute, or once every 10 seconds, can be achieved through two simple methods. The first is 5:5, which involves inhaling for 5 seconds and exhaling for 5 seconds. The second is 4:6, which involves inhaling for 4 seconds and exhaling for 6 seconds.
What is the difference between the two? The former has a slightly better effect on regulating heart rate, while the latter has a slightly better effect on subjective relaxation. However, the overall difference is not significant.
So, if you want something simple, easy to remember, and stress-reducing, you can try a 5:5 breathing rhythm. If you are in a more tense state and want to relax better, you can appropriately extend your exhalation time to 4:6.
Within about 15 minutes, you'll start to notice the effects. Typically, you'll feel less tense, your mood settles, your mind becomes clearer, and you regain that sense of ease and comfort.
Try to develop this habit, doing it from time to time, and you will be better able to get rid of anxiety and stress.
Try This Deep Relaxation Method
When I'm exhausted from work and study, I use this method to help myself relax. It can be understood as a combination of napping and mindfulness that effectively calms the mind.
How is it done specifically?
Go to a relatively quiet place, find a more comfortable chair, sit down, and lean back against the chair. Let your body relax, without tension or exertion.
Then, close your eyes. Try it: open your ears and let them listen to the sounds around you.
First, focus your attention on the farthest sound, blocking out the interference from other sounds, and listen to the farthest sound, sensing its distance, location, and direction...
There's no need to actually hear it clearly, just being able to focus attention on it is enough.
Maintain this state for a while, then gently shift your attention back, from the furthest sounds to those that are closer.
You may hear the sound of the wind, human voices, or the clatter of horses and carriages, without thinking or analyzing, just quietly listening and trying to distinguish their sources, directions, and locations.
Similarly, maintain this state for a while, then shift your attention to the sounds around you, as described above, and quietly listen, continuing to maintain it.
After completing, start again from the first step, focusing attention in turn on the farthest sound, the medium-distance sound, and the nearby sound, repeating the cycle.
Repeating this process a few times is sufficient. If you just want to take a short break, a few minutes will do. If you want to rest properly, it can be a bit longer, such as 20-30 minutes. You can also incorporate it into your daily study and work, taking breaks during busy intervals.
Its advantages are twofold: it delivers effects close to a short nap, without the downsides of actual sleep—such as the headaches some people get from daytime napping—or the risk of disrupting nighttime sleep. At the same time, it helps ease tense nerves, leaving you better prepared for the work ahead.
3. Practice Progressive Muscle Relaxation
This is a very classic method, which is considered a way to aid sleep in psychology, but it's not just for sleep, it's also a great way to relax in itself.
Sometimes, you may feel that after working at your desk for a long time, your waist and back ache, your muscles are stiff, and you feel extremely fatigued. The underlying reason is that we often unconsciously become overly tense, leading to muscle strain.
When we focus intently on work or study, our attention narrows to a single point, and the brain temporarily shuts off its awareness of the body's internal state. As a result, we often fail to notice that our body has already fallen into a state of high tension: neck craning forward, torso leaning in, shoulders askew, muscles firing continuously.
This not only makes us feel tired, but is also extremely detrimental to our health.
Therefore, a very effective approach is to practice autonomous, progressive muscle relaxation in daily life when there is free time. Through this training method, one can better perceive the body's signals and learn how to relax.
First, find a quiet and comfortable place, and lie down if possible; if not, sitting comfortably is also acceptable.
Then, starting from the feet and moving up to the head, try to tense up first, holding for 5-10 seconds, before slowly relaxing and stretching, completely releasing all tension, and holding for 20-30 seconds.
For example:
Soles: curl your toes, exert force with the soles of your feet, and then slowly release.
Calf: Lift your toes up to tighten your calf, then slowly release.
Thighs: engage actively, tighten the muscles, then slowly release;
Eyes: Close your eyes tightly, furrow your brow, then completely relax your entire face.
After finishing, do not get up immediately, but instead remain in a relaxed state and lie down for a while (or sit for a while). Breathe slowly and then quickly scan your entire body to see if there are any areas that are still tense or strained, and try to consciously relax them.
The key is to observe and feel the contrast between tension and relaxation. This is the very core of the method. Let the brain observe this sensation, remember it, and recognize it. In doing so, you become more attuned to your own tension in daily life—and better able to release it at will.
This allows you to better control your body and avoid overexerting it.
Take a Walk Outside in a Green Area
I have a habit I've kept for many years that has served me well: walking.
It can be said that walking is the most cost-effective and lowest-threshold form of exercise, requiring no specific conditions - just step outside and take a stroll to achieve the effects of relaxing the mind and enhancing thinking ability.
The reaction force of each footstep against the body creates subtle turbulence in the blood vessels during a walk. This allows more blood and oxygen to reach the brain, enhancing its performance.
Meanwhile, walking can promote the release of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), increase synaptic plasticity, and enable our brains to think faster and more clearly.
For example, walking, an activity with a strong rhythmic and lyrical quality, can put the brain in a balanced and comfortable state, tuning brain wave activity and enabling closer and more efficient collaboration between different brain regions.
In addition, walking is beneficial for promoting the release of serotonin, regulating the body's serotonin levels, and helping us maintain a stable and calm mood, making us feel refreshed and invigorated.
So why the emphasis on heading to greener areas?
Decades of psychological research have revealed that humans are genetically predisposed to亲近自然—a brief encounter with the natural world is enough to lift our spirits.
A survey of 20,000 people in the UK found that spending two hours per week in natural outdoor environments makes people feel healthier, more relaxed and happier.
One reason is that in our daily lives and work, we long-term rely on a top-down attention mode, with our brains being highly tense and constantly engaged in complex calculations, planning, thinking, and analysis, which can easily make our brains feel fatigued and in need of rest.
In nature, we adopt a bottom-up approach to attention. We temporarily shut off our thoughts and fully engage our senses and perception. The direct result is that you will feel more at peace, more calm, and more soothed, as the cacophony of voices in your mind seems to disappear.
So if conditions allow, try taking a walk in a nearby park, green space, or wooded area. It doesn't need to be long—15 to 20 minutes is enough to make a difference.
Alternatively, finding a place with better air quality where one can take a leisurely stroll can also prove highly effective.
This is a habit I have practiced for many years, and I hope it will also be useful to you.
Doubao Unveils Tech to Switch Between Different Sensory Systems
This is also a very simple habit, but it can yield good results.
When we focus on work, we mainly rely on our visual abilities, using the brain regions related to abstract calculations, planning, and decision-making. As a result, these brain regions become fatigued over time, producing more metabolic waste. At the same time, our attention system is continuously activated, becoming more exhausted and less able to recover.
At this point, an effective method is to mobilize different sensory systems, stop looking and thinking, and try to touch, caress, lightly smell, and listen.
Touch objects with pronounced textures, such as wood products, paper, and models;
Find a clean spot, put on socks and stand on the ground, and feel the force exerted by your body;
Do some gentle stretching, focusing your attention on the extension of your body.
Smell something with a distinct scent and remember its taste;
Distinguishing different objects by their smells and associating them with their shapes, colors, textures, and so on;
This can help us shift our focus back to our physical body and gradually revitalize it.
Another point worth noting is the sense of smell. In ancient times, all the sensory cortices in the brain were directly connected to the hippocampus, which governs memory. But as humans evolved, the cerebral cortex kept folding and becoming more complex, stretching the pathways between the other sensory cortices and the hippocampus. Only the olfactory system has remained unchanged.
Therefore, scents linked to fond memories can quickly evoke our positive feelings, making our mood lighter and more comfortable, and driving away our stress and fatigue.
Try incorporating sensory switches into your workflow, getting up to move around every hour or so, and avoiding your phone and computer. Take a whiff of the scent of tea, coffee, or other objects, stretch your body, and feel the contact between your palms, soles, and the desk, chair, and floor. Take a slow walk for a few minutes, which can help calm your brain effectively.
Researchers from Stanford University, including Yackle, Schwarz, Kam, Sorokin, Huguenard, Feldman, Luo, and Krasnow, have identified a group of neurons in the breathing control center of mice that play a key role in promoting arousal, as published in the journal Science on March 31, 2017, in an article titled "Breathing control center neurons that promote arousal in mice" (Volume 355, Issue 6332, pages 1411-1415).
Zaccaro, A., Piarulli, A., Laurino, M., Garbella, E., Menicucci, D., Neri, B., & Gemignani, A. (2018). How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12, 353.