Relieve stress! How to relax at home or at work

You often hear people say, "Refresh yourself in a hot spring!"
In today's Japan, where we live in a stressful society, data shows that a total of approximately 1 million people visit hot springs each year.

So why are Japanese people so attracted to hot springs?

One of the reasons is the effect of changing the place. Just the thought of changing the place and going to a different world already has a positive effect on the human brain. Hot springs are almost always located deep in the mountains or in the suburbs, and just the feeling of being able to get away from reality for even a little while clearly reduces stress by half.

Another factor is the actual quality of the spring water, the effects of the hot spring water, and its medical and biological effects. Soaking in a hot spring can relax you, and the actual quality of the water can have a warming effect, make your skin smooth, and relieve muscle fatigue.

However, it's not possible to go to a hot spring every time you feel stressed.
Here are some ways to relax that you can do at home or at work.

What happens when you get tired?

There are two types of fatigue: physical fatigue and mental fatigue.

Physical fatigue can be relieved by getting plenty of rest, and you will feel refreshed the next day. However, mental fatigue is difficult to get rid of, and many modern people suffer from chronic fatigue caused by mental fatigue.

Accumulating chronic fatigue can lead to a vicious cycle of inability to recover from fatigue, as it can cause fatigue, headaches, depression and other mental illnesses that interfere with daily life, and it can also affect the quality of your sleep.

It is important to relax in order to relieve this mental fatigue.

By relaxing, the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms nervous excitement, becomes dominant, allowing the body to naturally relax and relieve fatigue.

How to relax at home

After a busy day, come home and relax so you don't carry your fatigue over to the next day.

Here are three ways to relax at home.

1. Take a relaxing bath

If you usually just take a shower, simply getting into the habit of soaking in a bathtub can help you relax.

By soaking in a bathtub, the heat expands your blood vessels and improves blood circulation, relieving stiffness in your shoulders, neck, back, etc. It can also help expel waste products that have built up in the body, which can have beneficial effects such as reducing swelling.

Also, when you soak in hot water, the buoyancy effect makes you about one-ninth of your weight compared to when you're in the air.

The strain on the muscles and joints that normally support the body is reduced, which relieves tension and makes it easier to relieve fatigue. Stimulation to the brain caused by tension is also reduced, so you can expect a relaxing effect on both the body and mind.

2. Listen to calming music

Sounds found in nature, such as the sound of waves and the rustling of trees, can act as a tonic that soothes the mind through our ears.

Pleasant sounds have a calming effect on the mind, while unpleasant sounds such as noise can arouse nervousness and cause irritation.

Relaxing music is characterized by calm melodies that use instruments found in nature, such as the xylophone mentioned earlier, and simple songs that do not contain lyrics and often feature repeated short phrases.

Listening to this kind of calming music helps produce alpha waves, which relax us, and the parasympathetic nervous system becomes dominant, causing the neurotransmitter acetylcholine to be secreted, which in turn slows breathing and heart rate, resulting in a relaxing effect.

3. Smell the aroma oil

When you smell aroma oils, the aromatic compounds enter your nose and become electrical signals that reach the hypothalamus and pituitary gland in your brain. These are also closely related to the autonomic nervous system, hormones, and immune system in the brain, which is why smelling aromas makes you feel relaxed and changes your physical condition.

To enjoy the scent of aromatic oils, you can heat and burn them in a special tool, or you can simply spray a blend of aromatic oils onto towels or bedding.

UCHINO TOUCH's blended aroma "Peaceful Dreaming Aroma Spray" has a soft, sweet scent that gives you a feeling of refreshment while you sleep deeply. It removes the physical and mental fatigue of the day and gradually leads to sleep, so it is recommended for those who have trouble getting rid of fatigue.

How to relax at work

Is there any way to relax in the workplace, where both body and mind can be stressful?

Here are some easy ways to relax at work.

1. Take a nap

Taking a short 15-30 minute nap during your break at work can give your brain a rest, which not only has a relaxing effect, but is also effective in improving your concentration and judgment.

The correct way to take a nap is to take a 6-1 minute nap six hours after waking up, or between 4:15 and 30:XNUMX pm.

You don't have to lie down to rest; simply sleeping face down on your desk can be effective.

2. Warm up your body

At work, you can easily warm your body and relax by wearing a lap blanket or cardigan to keep your body warm.

Warming the body helps us relax because it activates approximately 3,000 types of enzymes in our bodies, not only improving our immunity and relieving muscle tension, but also giving dominance to the parasympathetic nervous system.

Summary

In order to relieve stubborn fatigue, it is important to relax and relieve mental fatigue as well as relieve physical fatigue.

The methods for relaxing at home and at work that we introduced here are all easy to start, so if you feel like you can't seem to get rid of your fatigue, be sure to give them a try.

"UCHINO relax" is a concept shop that pursues the comfort of cotton materials.

With the keyword "relax," which means relaxation and tranquility, we offer a range of high-quality items, including towels and clothing, to enrich the time from bathing to sleep.