How to relax your brain after hard work without alcohol? Exercises and music for relaxation

October 11, 2018
Psychology of Personality
Ksenia Stepanishcheva

Most people are faced with a huge amount of information every day. Due to hard work, a person experiences fatigue, a headache, and poor health. In this case, rest is needed. How to relax your brain? There are several proven ways to do this correctly. They are described in the article.

Ability to relax

What is relaxation? Many modern people are constantly under stress. Stress is experienced everywhere: at work, on the way home, at home, while watching TV, going to the store. Therefore, it is important to be able to relax and rest. But it is difficult for a tired body to do this.

With constant tension, the ability to relax is lost. The result is headaches, indigestion, heart problems, and fatigue. Relaxation is an escape from reality for a while. This is a state of calm. A person forgets about stress for a short time.

Information overload is a disease of the 21st century

The overabundance of information in the modern world is the result of technological progress. We have the opportunity to easily and quickly find almost any information. This creates the illusion that we must understand many things at the same time - psychology, raising and feeding children, politics, cooking, literature, cinema, medicine, technology. And if we don’t know or can’t do something, we risk facing condemnation from society or simply finding ourselves in an awkward position. Well, how is it that you gave birth to children, but you don’t know what to do with the pimple on your right heel? After all, you can easily google it!

And we diligently Google: how snakes give birth, what happened yesterday in the world, why hair falls out, how to distinguish a fake bag, etc. In addition, we strive to keep abreast of global trends and constantly monitor friends’ posts on social networks. And in the background we also hear music, advertisements, snippets of programs, conversations. As a result, there is so much information that the brain simply does not have time to absorb and process it. The result is information overload. Let's take a closer look at what reasons contribute to its appearance.

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Quick ways

How to relax your brain quickly?

Be aware of the tension. During times of tension, stress hormones are produced, which prevent you from calming down. It is necessary to understand the reason.
Physical release. You can hit a punching bag, do pull-ups on the bar, do a few squats, and swing your arms. Activity is necessary to suppress the stress hormone.
You need to raise your hands up with a sigh, stretch higher, then lower your hands with an exhalation.
You need to sit down, hug your knees, pressing your head against them. Sit in this position for 10 seconds, then relax.
There is a breathing exercise for relaxation. You should inhale, filling and protruding your stomach, then your chest. Exhalation is performed and air is released from the chest.

These are effective methods that not only relieve stress, but also improve your mood and well-being. Therefore, they should be used regularly.

Causes of information overload

We strive to be specialists in many, often distant from each other, areas.
We are faced with many diverse tasks at the same time, and in order to solve them, we have to constantly search for information.
We do not know how to rest and recover, often replacing these processes by absorbing new information, for example, reading the news or scrolling through social networks to relax.
We do not know how to organize the work process and separate it from our personal lives.
We get used to having fun without making much effort - just sliding your finger across the smartphone screen or clicking the mouse.

In addition to the reasons that are determined by our behavior, there are also external conditions that cannot always be influenced.

Writing letters

This is the first way to unload your brain. And it doesn’t matter to whom the message is addressed. The advantage of this method is that all negative emotions can be transferred to paper. Psychologists recommend expressing problems in writing. For example, letters are used in personal growth and development techniques. This is an excellent method for coming to terms with the past, building the present and preparing for the future.

This method helps eliminate unnecessary thoughts in a few minutes. You need to prepare a sheet of paper and describe everything that worries you. Don't focus on the meaning. There is no need to evaluate this. It is important not to pay attention to style and literature, since the main goal of this exercise is to normalize thoughts.

When the sheet is written, you need to move the letter away from you and close your eyes, normalize your breathing. Then you should open your eyes and, without re-reading what you have written, throw the sheet into the trash bin to eliminate bad feelings. After this exercise you usually feel light.

Distance yourself from your thoughts

Are you haunted by past mistakes and conflicts for which you cannot forgive yourself? Does consciousness itself replay the same memories? Or is your head filled with anxious thoughts about the future? Or maybe you constantly hear the voice of your inner critic? Try the following exercise.

Sit up straight and relax. Concentrate on your body and breathing.

Now focus on your hearing. Take in all the sounds that surround you. Feel how they arise and how some displace others.

After five minutes, switch to your thoughts. Watch them as extraneous events that arise and disappear on their own, just like sounds.

Observe them detachedly - as if you were watching a movie or looking at clouds floating across the sky. They come and go. Notice how these thoughts make you feel, but don't try to change anything.

Watching the seething mind is like watching a mischievous child. When a child notices that they are being looked at, they act less, and our brains react in a similar way.

The activity automatically decreases, which ultimately brings a feeling of peace and helps clear the mind.

Meditation

How to relax your brain after hard work? If stress does not allow you to relax even on weekends, then meditation will be the best help. If performed correctly, it will not only allow you to abstract from problems, clear your head of thoughts, but also provide protection against future stressful situations that overtake you everywhere.

Thanks to meditation, it will be easier to bear stress, as well as those things that led to strong anxiety and created tension. Small troubles will not seem like a disaster. Just 1 procedure already has a positive effect on the nervous system: you feel strong relaxation, problems are forgotten.

Relax your mind

Today it is common to elevate attention and concentration to a cult. However, research shows that rest and defocusing are equally important for normal brain function.

By relaxing and letting your mind wander, you may experience a sudden surge of inspiration, come up with an innovative solution to a problem, discover unexpected connections between different phenomena, and recognize shades where you previously saw only black and white.

So, from time to time, allow your brain to go into energy-saving mode. This will not only help you use it to its full potential, but will also save you from mental fatigue.

The optimal solution is to take 10-minute rest breaks every hour. Plan your schedule around these intervals.

During your break, do something relaxing.

Listen to music, draw, cross stitch. You can just take a walk and dream. The main thing is that you do not feel stressed or think about a task that requires concentration.

Be sure to give yourself longer breaks - free evenings, weekends, annual vacations.

Cold and hot shower

What are the benefits of hardening with ice water? It gives the feeling that comes with endorphins. These are hormones of happiness, but this is not their main function. They have pain relief - the body releases them in extreme situations. A similar effect occurs when the body cools down, as it is stressful for the body.

How to relax your brain before bed so you can get enough sleep? A contrast shower is considered a softer and more accessible method of hardening than jumping into an ice hole. It not only eliminates stress and improves mood, but also protects against colds and venous diseases. Any water procedures have a positive effect on a person, including a warm bath and swimming in a pool.

Favorable conditions for a constant overabundance of information

Sometimes information finds us on its own. We are forced to listen or look at advertisements in public places, social networks carefully automatically download our news feed, YouTube itself launches the next video, news sites make selections taking into account our interests. Everything is created to hold our attention. The abundance of information transmission channels also plays a role. Radio, television, banners, signs, numerous instant messengers, applications, websites - such diversity makes a person vulnerable to information oversaturation. [2]

Of course, not all information acquisition works this way. You can learn new things and control your workload. But there are signs that indicate that the brain is overloaded with information.

Music

Relaxation music helps, you have to like it. A person receives positive emotions after listening to his favorite tracks. It relieves stress and eliminates unnecessary thoughts. Favorite relaxation music always leads to a feeling of happiness and euphoria. Even sad melodies lift your spirits if they are pleasant.

Music that relaxes the brain can be of different types. For some it's classic, for others it's modern pop. There are people who like to include sounds of nature. Silence is also music. If your head is tired of various sounds, you can simply stay in silence for a while, and then the tension will disappear.

Brain work and rest mode

Everyone knows the division of people into owls and larks. It has a good reason. Brain activity changes throughout the day:

6-7 hours is the best time to learn something new;
8-9 - logical thinking comes into play;
11-12 - break for rest and lunch (food for the brain - pleasant music or books);
13-18 - the brain is ready to solve complex problems that require high concentration;
18-21 - energy, as well as brain activity, decreases;
21-23 - it is better to leave the remaining work for the morning.

Each person is individual, so the time of onset of a particular period may shift. However, they come in that order.

Walks

How to relax your brain after hard work? This requires leisurely walking, which perfectly clears your head of parasitic thoughts. Moreover, not only a walk, but also contemplation of what is happening has a positive effect. With the help of monotonous eye movements, the work of the brain hemispheres is synchronized, nerve clamps that appear during emotional shock, negative thoughts, and obsessions are eliminated.

Walking restores the functioning of the nervous system. It is enough to allocate 20 minutes for this. You need to walk calmly, just like you need to breathe. After some time, you will find that unnecessary thoughts disappear from your head.

Physical exercise

How to relax and turn off your brain? Psychology advises doing physical exercises:

several bends forward;
stretching;
turns the body to the right and left;
raising your arms up, tilting to the right, then to the left, stretching your arms;
dancing to rhythmic music.

Belly breathing exercises are effective. Swimming relieves stress. Aromatherapy helps. For this purpose, special aroma lamps with oils, sticks or candles are used. It is enough to add aromatic oils to a warm bath: before use, mix them with salt, otherwise they will remain in the upper layer of water and can cause a burn.

Relaxing tea

When it is difficult to relax with your usual tea, you can choose tonic types, for example, milk, light, dark oolong and Tie Guan. Drinking tea can be a meditation, but in this case, stress must be approached responsibly, paying attention to the choice of every detail. You should choose a beautiful teapot and cup, sit in a cozy place in a comfortable position.

For relaxation, it is better to choose herbal infusions. Chamomile, mint, lemon balm, St. John's wort, and valerian root have a calming effect. These plants can be used either separately or as a collection:

Chamomile and mint leaves should be mixed in equal quantities.
St. John's wort (1 tsp) and viburnum berries (3-4 pcs.) are added to boiling water (1 glass). You need to brew the drink and let it steep for 5-10 minutes.
Mix mint, chamomile, and valerian root in equal parts. Infusion lasts 10 minutes.

This drink should always be consumed when you feel tired. Relaxation comes very quickly, tea gives a great mood to all people.

Get organized

Raise your head and look around. What do you see? Mountains of documents? Rubble? Cluttered shelves and cabinets? A whole box of projects to take part in; instructions to be studied; queries that need to be answered? What's on your monitor? An inbox full of unread messages?

The physical environment also affects the ability to think clearly. In chaos, it is very difficult to concentrate and prioritize. So spend a little time getting organized—on your desktop and other horizontal surfaces, in your cabinets and drawers, on your computer and phone.

Remove unnecessary contacts and photos, throw away everything unnecessary, put things in their places, sort documents, answer letters. By creating order around you, you will immediately feel relief.

Yoga

Various yoga poses relax, calm the mind, eliminate stress and chronic fatigue. If you perform asanas regularly, you will be able to get rid of insomnia. Yoga gives peace and allows you to find harmony. The following poses are used for relaxation:

Shavasana. You need to lie on your back and close your eyes. Legs and arms are spread apart. Palms should be facing up. The body needs to be relaxed. You should breathe evenly, eliminating all thoughts. Then there is a feeling of heaviness and warmth that spreads throughout the body. You must remain in this position until your body and mind relax.
Bhunjangasana. You need to sit on your stomach and place your palms on the floor so that they are at shoulder level. Slowly straighten your arms, lifting your chest off the floor and arching your back. When your arms are straight, tilt your head back, looking up. Shoulders need to be pulled back. The pelvis should not be lifted off the floor. While in this position, you need to breathe evenly.

With regular yoga practice you will be able to normalize your condition. The exercises can be done at home.

Useful ways to relax

How to relax your brain without alcohol? To reduce tension, you need to change your lifestyle a little. Typically, fatigue appears when a person’s natural needs are not satisfied for a long time: resources are not restored, and the load increases. To restore, you must use the following recommendations:

Healthy sleep. It is necessary for a strong nervous system. Without it, the body's resources will not be restored, and there will be no release from tension and fatigue. Therefore, you need to get enough sleep. Everyone's daily need for rest is different, but adults are usually recommended to sleep at least 8 hours.
Massage. It can be therapeutic and relaxing. The latter is great for eliminating tension. After the procedure, fatigue disappears and harmony appears instead. It is enough to perform the procedure at least once a week.
Shopping. This method is more suitable for women. Choosing and purchasing clothes is a method of relieving accumulated stress. In addition, shopping is a physical activity that can also relax you. It is only important to purchase what is really necessary, otherwise there will be a feeling of guilt and anxiety.
Cultural event. Humans are spiritual beings. Compared to animals, they have many needs, including a desire for aesthetics and self-development. Concerts and theater performances are great for relaxing the brain.
Delicious food. Sometimes eating your favorite food is enough to relax. But often you need to cook, which leads to fatigue. Therefore, you can visit a store or go to a restaurant.
Loneliness. It is important for a person to remain alone with himself. Therefore, to eliminate fatigue, you need to set aside time for solitude.
Interesting film. It will help you relax, because while watching a story a person gets rid of his own negative thoughts. Reading a book has a similar effect.
Hobby. A favorite activity allows you to eliminate negative thoughts and improve your mood. Everyone's hobby may be different.

These are all methods to relax your brain. They help after hard work. With regular use of such methods, you can quickly get rid of fatigue and restore your well-being.