63 Simple Ways to Reduce Stress and Relax – A Lighthearted List of Stress Relief Techniques!

It’s no secret, we all live stress-filled lives. In fact, it’s estimated that seventy-five percent to as high as ninety percent of all doctor’s office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints.

Stress is called the silent killer. It not only lowers our quality of life, but is also a leading contributor to heart disease. Pay attention baby boomers; as we get older, it’s no exaggeration to say stress can literally kill you!

We all need to learn some simple steps to manage and reduce stress. Boomers Know How would like to offer the following list of suggestions. Pick and choose as you see fit, and forgive me for sprinkling in a few lighthearted suggestions. Simple silliness is my go-to stress release technique.

1. Watch a funny movie or sitcom—one that makes you laugh out loud!
2. Listen to your favorite music through headphones while relaxing in a recliner. (Headphones and recliner are required. Also, see number 58.)
3. Watch a child sleep.
4. Watch a cat sleep.
5. Don’t watch a fish sleep unless you’re preparing it for dinner. By the way—cooking is a terrific form of stress relief! (Just get someone else to do the dishes.)
6. Take your dog for a walk.
7. Close your eyes and think of five things you are grateful to have in your life.
8. Close your eyes and force yourself to smile for a 60 count.
9. Look at old family photo albums.
10. Write a nasty letter to the person causing you stress, and then tear it to shreds and while saying, “I forgive you!”
11. Read a verse from the Bible.
12. Read a chapter from the Tao Te Ching. (I am a fan of Dr. Wayne Dyer’s “Living Wisdom of the Tao with Affirmations.”)
13. Have a bowl of decadent ice cream and eat it with a baby spoon savoring each mini bite!
14. Fill your home with the delicious aroma of a big batch of cookies baking in the oven.
15. Start your workday stress-free by sharing a plate of your home baked cookies with those crabby co-workers. (Won’t they be surprised?)
16. Relax with the scent of a Lavender Aromatherapy candle. (Multiply the candle’s stress relieving power by combining numbers 32 and 34.)
17. Lose yourself in the dancing flames of your fireplace.
18. Do this short Deepak Chopra meditation– As seen on Doctor Oz
19. Try this longer meditation CD- Meditations for Manifesting available from Amazon.
20. Listen to a meditative sound track like – Temple in the Forest by David Naegele – available on YouTube
21. Pick dust motes from the air until the voices in your head fall silent.
22. Take 10 deep cleansing breaths—breathe in—hold—breathe out.
23. Make room for something new – toss or recycle five things that are cluttering your life.
24. Take a 5-minute yoga break.
25. Is yoga too stressful? Gather some chi energy with a short Qigong session instead. You’ll love it! Try this DVD: Qigong for Beginners or check out YouTube for free lessons.
26. Take a walk all by yourself while humming a favorite tune. (Humming is mandatory!)
27. While you are on your walk, turn your darn cell phone off. (Also, see number 58.)
28. Visit a zoo and have a stare down with a monkey, or feed a goat. Just make sure you keep your head covered in the aviary.
29. Swap neck rubs with your honey.
30. Or just neck with your honey.
31. Walk through a toy store and be thankful those marauding noisemakers are not going home with you!
32. Take a bubble bath for one.
33. Take a bubble bath for two.
34. Sip a glass of red wine.
35. Sip another glass of red wine.
36. Or, forgo the wine and have a cup of tea. Since before your mom’s, mom’s, mom’s time tea has been recognized for its anti-anxiety properties. Sit back, sip, and relax.
37. Call a friend you’ve been meaning to call forever, but make sure it’s someone that makes you laugh—not someone you’d invite to a pity-party!
38. Do something you know you have to do—even if you don’t want to. Just get it done and then bask in the glory of your accomplishment.
39. Write out a to-do list so you can quit stressing about forgetting what you need to do.
40. Volunteer! It will help you forget about –YOU!
41. Look for your name in the obituaries – if you’re not there, quit stressing, already!
42. Do you hate your job? Scan the job ads online, you may find an exciting opportunity—or you may realize it’s not so bad where you’re at — either way, you win.
43. Spend a minute recalling what stressed you out the most one year ago, six months ago, last month—having trouble remembering? Hmmm, what’s that say about the value of stress?
44. If you came up with a list a mile long for number 43, refer to numbers 32, 34 and 41.
45. Okay, as somewhat of a prude, I hesitate to mention this one, but it came up so many times in my research I feel I must. The experts all seem to agree, sex is a terrific stress reliever. Enough said.
46. Buy some flowers for you.
47. Surprise someone with a gift of flowers.
48. Plant a flower garden! Gardening gets you outdoors, which is a stress reliever all by itself, and most folks find growing things very rewarding.
49. Give hugs and get hugs! Hugging supposedly lowers blood pleasure and relieves stress. How can you lose, go find someone to hug! (Who knows, it may lead back to number 45!)
50. Don’t try to lower your stress by telling yourself you are not stressed—it’ll just stress you out! Instead, try one (or more) of the suggestions in this post!
51. Relax, one body part at a time. Start with your toes—wiggle and relax. Flex your feet, rotate your ankles, and then relax. Flex your calves—relax; flex your thighs—relax. You get the picture. Relax each part of your body, from your toes to your tummy, all the way up to squinting and relaxing your eyes. (Go ahead and wiggle your ears if you can.) It’s called Progressive Relaxation; relax one body part after another, and feel the stress melt away. (Warning: Do not attempt this while operating a motor vehicle.)
52. Art, crafts, and photographs—get creative! Spend a few minutes creating something out of nothing. Doodle, fabricate, write a verse, or just pull out your cell phone and create a photograph.
53. Keep an attitude of gratitude journal. Start each day and close each night with a few words about what you are grateful for at that very moment. Review often!
54. When your problem seems insurmountable, take a nap. You’ll be amazed how much clarity a twenty-minute snooze can bring to a stressed-out mind.
55. Be Present Now! Concentrate on only what you are doing right at this moment. Whether you’re tying your shoes, washing a window, or driving a car—be present in the NOW! There is no past, there is no future, there is only now—shut out all the rest to de-stress.
56. Warm a moist towel in the microwave and wrap it around your neck and shoulders. Close your eyes and message your temples while you practice deep breathing. (See number 22.)
57. Empty your Inbox every Friday. Why start Monday stressed out by an Inbox full of neglected e-mails? (Or worry about them all weekend?) Save the ones you must, delete the junk, and unsubscribe from lists that no longer interest you.
58. And while we’re on the topic, don’t sit down for some stress-free quiet time within eyesight of any electronic gadget. Turn off your mobile phone, unplug your home phone, put your laptop and tablet in another room, shut off the T.V.—disconnect from the outside world and reconnect with YOU!
59. No news is good news! If watching the late news is the last thing you do each night—stop it! Watching a 30-minute graphic and detailed report on all the world’s tragedies and bad characters is not a recipe for a stress-free night’s rest. (You can find our recipe for a good night’s sleep HERE)
60. Give Tapping a try. Not the kind you do with your feet, but the Emotional Freedom Technique. Check it out here
61. Practice saying “NO.” Much of our stress comes from over committing our time to things we really don’t want to do in the first place. Start saying no more often to things you would stress about if you said yes.
62. Maybe the easiest of all stress relief techniques—just get moving! Get off your behind and move. Ten minutes of any form of mild exercise will do. As Nike says—Just Do It!
63. Last, but not least, when you can’t talk yourself into trying any of these other techniques—hit the shower. A long, warm shower is often all it takes to wash away a day’s worth of stress.

There you have it, 63 techniques to de-stress. Start practicing your favorites today, and as that famous Vulcan advised, “Live long and prosper!”

All the best,

RG
Editor, BoomersKnowHow.com

P.S. Please add your stress relief suggestions in the comments section below, and please SHARE this post with your social media friends—they have stress too! (Share buttons provided in the left margin.)

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