wasabiroots
7. Hair Pulling
I’m not talking about the hair pulling in cat fights or even hair plucking, this is a very simple massage. First you take a good section of your hair a handful if you may,because if you take a small section it would cause you pain instead of relaxation, so with the handful of hair start tugging at it in short intervals for two or three times. I find this good when I have headaches. Another method is to take a handful of your hair and just pull the hair away gently until you feel a tiny bit sore.
Be careful not to pull a big section of your hair in the process because being patchy is not a fashion statement at least not yet. I’ve personally done this method even before I knew it was actually a thing. My personal experience is that it reduces headaches and would relieve a bit of stress while you do it. Maybe this is also why, reflexively, when people get mad, they pull their own hair in frustration. Think about that.
6. Using a Blanket
This is not scientifically proven because this is what I myself like to do. You can do this by lying down or standing up or even sitting down. Anywhere you personaly feel comfortable . Now grab a soft blanket, the softer the blanket the better or any other cloth that feels nice to the touch.
Make a point on the blanket by folding it into a small triangle or just use the ends of the blanket if you can’t be bothered folding. This is where the magic starts, hold the blanket and point the blanket on your face then slooooowly and softly run the tip on your face starting from your cheeks to your chin to the other cheek over the eyelids and go over every skin on your face. Experiment with what feels good for you because that’s how I did it. Just make sure the blanket or cloth is clean or you’d have other things to worry about.
5. Laugh at nothing
People call this the laughter therapy or laughter yoga. It reduces stress as our body does not know how to distinguish the response of a real life laugh to a fake laugh thus you can do this anytime you want even if you’re not happy or you don’t find anything funny at all. Also, the prolonged intentional laughter causes more carbon dioxide to be exhaled and more oxygen inhaled which further improve the oxygenation of the cells in the body and brain.
There were clinical researches conducted in India and the US which shows that the laughing actually lowers the level of stress hormones in the blood. Even Oprah and Google Offices have used it saying that it actually works.
4. Look at Fractals
Fractals are a repeat of similar or identical patterns which can be found in nature or even manmade. Some examples include leaves, flowers and ocean waves. Results of many studies have shown that exposure to the fractal patterns in nature could reduce a person’s stress level to up to 60% thus going out for a walk and just looking at sceneries with repetitive patterns like a flower bed would actually reduce one’s stress level and thus is very relaxing.
If you don’t have the luxury of going outside or you have all the luxury to not go outside, try getting random pictures from the internet such as these and just stare at them, so go and look at each repetitive pattern and see if it actually works for you.
3. Beverage Baths
Having a bath is always relaxing. You could normally go to hotsprings, use hot tubs, even just have normal bubble baths and we know its relaxing. What’s weird is that you can have a beverage bath as well.
There are different concoctions that you can use in the baths such as milk, honey, salt, vinegar and even wine. Theres a whole lot other different mixtures that you can make that doesn’t just relax you but is also good for the skin. These baths can be done at home as long as you are willing to get gallons of materials for it.
2. Listen to sounds
You don’t need music to relax. Listening to sounds such as the falling rain, woodwork, people drawing, people mumbling, whispering or even tapping sounds could help you relax. This could be classified as ASMR sounds that could be something specific to you or it could even be pretty common for everyone else. Though ASMR itself is more about the tingly feeling a sound or action makes you feel but most of the sounds in ASMR is very relaxing to listen to.
There are a few common triggers that could give you a sense of relaxation and comfort. Though it might not work for everyone since triggers may be different for specific people but there is a large community of people who does vow that it works. Its just a matter of finding the right one.
1. Pet a furry animal
This is your cue to go and get a pet if you don’t have one yet. May it be a cat, a dog or even a hamster, as long as you can pet it, it would relax you. This is because of the power of touch. If there is physical contact and touch with either humans or even animals, it can actually lead to the production of oxytocin which is a hormone that is not only good sexually but it can also reduce the stress hormones in the body. This means petting and owning a pet can also reduce the feeling of loneliness when someone is stressed out or having a bad and tiring day.
Thus, go give your pet a hug and if you don’t have any, go to a petting zoo. ahah~~~