Yes, you heard it right. Relax
You rarely hear someone telling you to relax. Especially when you are a student. Your life seems to be going like a whirlwind.
You have so much to do in a day. You have to balance your academics, assignments, projects, and homework. All this in a day.
If this is what your day looks like, then we have just one piece of advice for you. Relax. It is important to have a balance in your life – work and play.
A student’s life can be very hectic. At times this busy schedule can be the cause of stress. There may be so many reasons that cause stress in your life.
One of the biggest causes of stress for students is exams. There may be several other reasons that cause your stress levels to soar high.
Stress causes a lot of physical and mental damage to the wellbeing of a person and that is why you must find time to relax. There are so many benefits of relaxation.
You won’t even imagine that relaxing can have so many benefits. Let’s look at the importance of relaxation and why relaxation is important. We have also mentioned some of the techniques you can adopt to feel more relaxed.
7 Important Benefits of Relaxation
1. Relaxation Rids Many Ailments
Stress causes physical agony and pain to many. A stressful day can lead to a headache, neck pain, and other such symptoms. Long term stress can also lead to certain endocrine issues.
Endocrine disorders include diabetes mellitus, Addison’s disease, and other such adverse conditions. It is not possible to rid your day of stress completely.
Everyone goes through small levels of stress every day. Your body has adapted to these small levels of stress, but prolonged stress can lead to adverse effects on the body.
A study by Salaam Ranabir and K Reetu from the Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism has revealed that stress causes a change in the serum level of various hormones including CRH, cortisol, catecholamines, and thyroid hormone.
These changes may be required for the fight or flight response of the individual to stress. However, long-term exposure to stress may lead to many deleterious consequences leading to various endocrine disorders.
Also, stress leads to a change in the clinical course or status of many endocrine conditions.
In order to avoid these adverse conditions of prolonged stress, it is important to learn to relax.
2. Relaxation Improves Emotional Well Being
Emotional well-being is a measure of how happy you are and how much your mind is at peace. Relaxing can improve your happiness quotient and keep your mind at peace.
Relaxing gives your body a chance to repair itself. It refreshes your brain and helps it to rejuvenate. One of the most important benefits of relaxation is that it improves and enhances emotional well-being.
3. Reduces Anger and Frustration
One of the most evident reasons for increased anger and frustration among students is the lack of rest or sleep. Following relaxation techniques is a tried and tested method of dealing with stress.
Deep breathing exercises, one of the most effective methods of relaxation, have been proven to reduce stress and anger among students.
A dissertation was submitted to Tamil Nadu, Dr. M.G.R Medical University Chennai states that the study samples were happy to do deep breathing exercises.
The girls said that after practicing deep breathing exercises they are able to control their anger and they said that they can do deep breathing exercises and control their anger.
The students said after practicing deep breathing they feel better and they can control anger in anger-provoking situations and also breathing exercise helps to overcome stress.
The study concluded that the present youth generation’s anger level is increasing and they are likely to indulge in violence and it is necessary to provide relaxation techniques to reduce anger.
Therefore the investigator felt that deep breathing exercises should be taught to decrease the anger expression among adolescents.
The finding of the study indicated that the Deep breathing exercise was a simple, cost-effective intervention.
4. Relaxing Improves Concentration
The importance of relaxation for students is that it helps them to concentrate. This is why relaxation is needed. Researches at Columbia University claim that relaxing can change the functioning of the brain and reduce stress, increase concentration, and improve memory.
5. Improves Energy Levels
One of the benefits of relaxation is that it improves your energy and thereby makes you more productive. A small period of relaxation in between tasks can make you more energetic and productive.
One of the highly recommended relaxation activities for students is to rest and relax in between. One of the best relaxation tips for students is to take a power nap for 10 minutes in between the day.
6. Lowers Blood Pressure and Increases Blood Flow
Research has shown that relaxing activities for students lower blood pressure levels and increase blood flow.
7. Relaxing Balances the Hormone Production in Your Body
Resting and relaxing play an important role in regulating the production of numerous hormones in your body. This is why relaxation is needed. Some of the hormones affected by good rest are:
- Melatonin, which helps promote sleep
- Growth hormone, which supports bone and muscle development as well as metabolism
- Cortisol, which is part of the body’s stress response system
- Leptin and ghrelin, which help control appetite
Mina Lee Ryu of the Internal medicine department, NorthShore University Health system lists the importance of relaxation and why relaxation is needed.
- Decreased heart rate and respiration rate
- Lowered blood pressure and increased blood flow
- A decrease in anxiety, depression, and insomnia
- Relaxed muscles
- Reduced pain (long-term illnesses, chronic conditions)
- A boost in energy and better sleep patterns
- A sense of calmness and confidence
- Improved coping abilities
Top 7 Techniques of Relaxation
The importance of rest and relaxation has been proved beyond doubt. Now the question arises what methods can you adopt to feel relaxed?
1. Yoga and Meditation
Yoga is the art and science of a healthy body. The term yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word “Yuj” meaning to unite. In other words, yoga is the unification of the body, mind, and soul with the Universe.
The very fact that scriptures and ancient texts speak of yoga and meditation speaks volumes of its effects. Yoga and meditation relax your mind and body, improves posture, increases focus, and relieve stress.
Yoga now doesn’t require you to attend a class with fixed timings. Yoga is one of the best relaxation techniques for students and professionals alike.
Yoga classes are now conducted online. You can learn to relax through yoga right in the comfort of your own home. It is one of the top methods of relaxation.
2. Give Yourself a Break
Taking short breaks in between your work schedule can do wonders for your mind and body. This small break in between tasks rejuvenates you and makes you feel more energetic. Allow yourself small cat naps in between the day as relaxation activities for students.
3. Allow Your Mind to Wander
This may seem bizarre, but allowing your mind to wander into dreamland can often help you relieve stress. Just stop thinking of all your tasks or anything that is worrying you.
Let your mind drift into space. Without a care in the world. You might think that is a waste of time, but try it out and see the difference.
Even if you dream momentarily it still relieves you of that moment of stress. Which is quite a big break. One of the reasons why relaxation is needed is to reduce the stress in your student life.
4. Exercise
Exercising is a big stress reliever. It has been scientifically proven that exercising relieves stress. It is one of the top relaxation techniques.
It pumps up the level of endorphins present in your body. This is one of the benefits of relaxation techniques. Endorphins are chemicals produced by the body that relieves stress and pain.
5. Sleep
We have seen the importance of relaxation. One of the best ways to feel relaxed is to get a good amount of sleep. Stress releases high levels of cortisol.
Cortisol is a hormone that increases alertness. Sleep is a powerful stress buster. It calms the nerves and the body thereby reducing the stress level. Sleep is an important relaxation tip for students. Lack of sleep can cause mental instability and loss of clarity.
An article written by Eric Suni and medically verified by Dr. Ealena Callander in sleepfoundation.org states that when you sleep your body undergoes changes that enable rest that is vital to your overall health.
Sleep allows the brain and body to slow down and engage in processes of recovery, promoting better physical and mental performance the next day and over the long-term.
6. Music as a Therapy
Scientific evidence by researchers of Stanford University states that music has a therapeutic effect on the brain. They claim that music with a strong beat stimulates the brain and ultimately causes brainwaves to resonate in time with the rhythm.
Slow beats encourage the slow brainwaves that are associated with hypnotic or meditative states. Faster beats may encourage more alert and concentrated thinking. This is one of the benefits of relaxation. Therefore listening to music is one of the important relaxation activities for students.
7. Gardening for Relaxation
There are many reasons how gardening can help relieve stress. For one, it’s something to do with nature and sunlight. It gives a stimulus to the body and mind. It is a great relaxation activity for students.
Conclusion
These are just some of the ways you can feel relaxed. There may be other methods that are unique to you.
Do what you feel relaxes you the most. Maybe cooking or solving a puzzle relaxes you more. In that case, feel free to follow your way of relaxing.
Whatever it is remember to relax. Take a deep breath, inhale a bit of peace, and exhale a lot of happiness.
