Relaxation exercises to help you wind down

HOW TO DEAL WITH STRESS AT WORK AND HOME
The modern lifestyle is becoming ever more hectic and it’s easy to start feeling overwhelmed. Learning how to relax and unwind is essential to maintaining your health.

How to release stress at work

It’s usually during the working day that stress levels are their worst, but relaxation exercises can help to calm you down.

Breathing exercises to relieve stress

Dealing with workplace stress is a major issue for some people and can leave them dreading the working week. Although certain levels of stress show your commitment to your role, when it starts to get excessive this can have a negative impact on your physical and emotional wellbeing.

Breathing exercises to relieve stress

A good way to calm yourself down during a stressful situation is to take control of your breathing. Not only does this calm the nervous system, it also takes your mind away from whatever it is you’re worrying about and focuses it on your breathing patterns.

The key is to get as much fresh air as possible into your lungs by breathing deeply from right down in the abdomen. By doing this, you take in more oxygen than if you were taking shallow breaths, which relaxes you and relieves any anxiety. To test your technique, place one hand on your chest and one on your stomach. When you take a deep breath in through your nose, the hand on the stomach should rise along with it, whereas the hand on your chest should remain reasonably still.

As you breathe in and out, focus on how your body feels and try to let any feelings of negativity or stress go. A few minutes of this should leave you feeling more positive and ready to tackle the rest of the day.

5 stretching exercises you can do at work

Chest stretch

Place the palms of your hands on the back of your lower head and as you squeeze your shoulders together, push back your elbows as far as possible until you feel the stretch. Hold this for 10 seconds or so before releasing.

5 stretching exercises you can do at work

Turning your head

Focusing on a computer screen all day can put great pressure on your neck. To counteract this, try turning your head to one side but keeping your shoulders straight and holding this position for 20 seconds or so. Repeat this stretch on the other side.

5 stretching exercises you can do at work

Lower back stretch

It’s not uncommon for workers to experience lower back pain from sitting at a desk all day. Try sitting forward and pulling up one of your knees to your chest by grabbing your thigh. Hold this for 30 seconds before releasing.

5 stretching exercises you can do at work

Shoulder stretch

To stretch the back of your shoulder, hold your elbow and stretch it across your chest without rotating your body. Hold for around 20 seconds and you should be able to feel the stretch releasing any built-up shoulder tension.

5 stretching exercises you can do at work

Hand circles

The hands often bear the brunt of the working day, as they are constantly busy typing, writing or organising. Try clenching both fists and stretching your hands out in front of you. Then make 10 circles in the air – first in one direction and then the other, before shaking them out.

‘Me time’ – relaxation at home

A pampering skin care routine is an essential part of relaxing in the comfort of your home.

Unwind with indulgent skin care

Taking good care of your skin is a wonderful treat for the body and the pampering experience should help you to relax and de-stress too. For a lot of women ‘me time’ is all about spoiling themselves and making themselves feel good, which means keeping skin smooth, silky and healthy-looking.

One way to ensure that skin is kept soft is by regularly using a body scrub to remove dead skin cells and by following this with a richly caring body moisturiser like NIVEA Body Oil in Lotion Rose and Argan Oil, you can look forward to smoother skin.

5 ways to relax at home

Switch off your phone for a couple of hours to save yourself any interruptions.
Listen to some calming music as you put your feet up.
Try to keep your home clutter free – too many things around you can make it difficult to fully relax.
Practicing yoga can be a great way to switch off your mind and boost your flexibility.
Sip on some green tea – the perfect calming treat!