How to Relax

Normalize Giving Yourself a Break After a Long Day!

Simple Solutions for Stress

By Victoria Whitcomb

After returning from a long break when trying to immerse back into student life and

classes, taking time to relax is a necessity. The long walks, freezing winds on faces and boring

and tedious classes can be exhausting. A normal week for UA students can be stressful, which

can cause an increase in anxiety. It is important to take time to decompress and just chill. Seven

few easy ways to relax after a long tiring school day can be:

★ Call a Friend!

A study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has proved hearing someone’s voice

over the phone and talking about the day, personal experiences, ranting or decompressing can

lower stress levels and boost oxytocin, a hormone associated with empathy, trust, love and

relaxation.

★ Eat something you love!

Run to the store and grab a comfort food or snack favorite whether that be ice cream or

mac and cheese, the choice is yours. Anything to feel happier and at transition into a state of

ease. Eating your favorite foods make the body release dopamine which plays a role in how

people feel pleasure and experience contentment.

★ Take a shower or bath!

As we all know taking a shower or bath can have an instant calming effect on the body

and mind, but it also is proven to significantly help decrease stress. The body’s reaction to being
warm naturally relaxes a human’s thoughts. The most obvious answer to why we take both of

these so often is obviously cleanliness, however, another perk is that studies show they can boost

your energy and your mood.

★ Turn up the music!

Multiple studies show that listening to music is a quick and easy way to instantly improve

your mood and relax. Not only that, music has the ability to reduce pain, improve your immune

system, and decrease our anxiety. Music has helped SNL star, Pete Davidson, through his dark

times by relating to the artist about different types of mental health issues.

★ Exercise!

Although some may think this is the exact opposite of relaxing, exercising is one of the

most popular and most effective ways to calm your body and mind. Exercising is perfect for

easing muscles which can get tense in moments of experiencing anxiety and worry. This does not

just mean going to the gym and lifting weights; a walk, doing yoga, or even aerobics would do

the trick!

Brayden Brooks, a sophomore at The University of Alabama, said, “When I am stressed,

I choose to work out because it keeps my mind off it.”

★ Turn on your favorite show or movie!

This is a college student's all-time favorite pastime. A study in 2012 from the journal

Social Psychology and Personality Science shows that rewatching your favorite television show

or movie can boost your happiness and mental state. Not only do movies and television shows

entertain us, but they also give us a moment to escape reality and focus on things other than

ourselves.
Amelia Winston, a sophomore at The University of Alabama, said, “Watching TV helps distract

me because I am focusing on what is happening on the screen rather than other things I usually

am thinking of.”

★ Write!

Rant on a piece of paper! Journaling or writing down your thoughts and feelings is a great

and easy way to confess your struggles, write about your day and help you prioritize. Journaling

can help with reducing stress and managing anxiety because it can serve as an emotional release.

Caroline Branch, a junior at the University, agrees by expressing, “After a long stressful

day, my favorite way to unwind and end the day is to journal. Writing out how I feel helps me

clear my head as I close out the day.”