It’s National Stress Awareness Month, discover ways to effectively rest and relax. Life can be a doozy if we don’t find methods to calm our minds, and take control over our overall health and well-being. Take some time to celebrate de-stressing.

The stressors of everyday life can take a huge toll on your general health. From anxiety, depression, physical pain like nausea, dizziness and chest pain, stress can show up in several different ways. It’s up to you to carve out time and discover ways to relax, so that you can reduce negative effects of stress on your body and mind, relieve built-up tension and calm emotions.

What better day to focus on some of these methods than National Stress Awareness Month. Celebrate the month of April with the proper rest and recovery necessary to be your best self.

April is recognized as National Stress Awareness Month to bring attention to the negative impact of stress. Managing stress is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle.

Every year we celebrate National Stress Awareness Month to promote the importance of rest and recovery. This holiday raises awareness about the health benefits of relaxation and how vital it is to our quality of life.

Take some time to recover from the constant stress and refresh your mind and body by finding new ways to relax.

Check out 10 ways to find rest and relaxation below:

1. GET OUTSIDE: One of the simplest ways to unwind and relax is to get outside and enjoy nature.
2. MINDFUL MEDITATION: Pay attention to parts of your body that feel most tense and try to relax them. The more comfortable and relaxed you get, the less stressed and anxious you’ll feel.
3. HEAT THERAPY: Heat therapy is a holistic solution to help with muscle tension caused by stress and poor posture. Heat from a warm compress penetrates deep down into your muscle tissue, dilating the blood vessels in your sore muscles to promote better blood flow and release tension.
4. EXERCISE: After physical activity, your body experiences a reduction in the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. It also releases feel-good hormones called endorphins, which elevate your mood and reduce pain.
5. YOGA: Yoga combines several relaxation tools into one calming practice. Not only is yoga a form of physical activity, but it also combines mindfulness with deep breathing to put you into a relaxed state both physically and mentally.
6. STRESS-RELIEF DEVICE: Try stress balls, fidget spinners, or a stress monitor to help you relax.
7. WRITE: Writing down your thoughts can help you get clear on how you feel about a certain situation, which can alleviate the stress you’re carrying. Getting thoughts onto paper is a way of emptying the mind so you can take control instead of your stress instead of it controlling you.
8. BREATHE: When we get stressed, we tend to hold our breath or breathe more shallowly, which causes muscle constriction and tension. To counter this, we can practice deep and slow breathing to bring the body out of its stress response and into a more relaxed state.
9. MUSIC: Music is a powerful tool for relaxing the body and mind. Slower tempo music has a soothing quality that can calm your mind and melt away tension. In fact, research has found that music has an impact on brain function, with slower music resulting in lower frequency brainwaves.
10. GET SUPPORT: You may need support to help de-stress. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, reach out to a family member, friend or co-worker and get the weight off your shoulders. Talking it out with someone you trust can help shift your perspective and give you space to release your tension. It’s amazing how a supportive conversation can make you feel more relaxed.

Happy National Relaxation Day! Get some rest folks.