Learning to relax is such an important skill to enable our bodies and brains to recharge.

Relaxation also has enormous physiological and psychological benefits. These include:

• decreased heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure and muscle tension
• increased energy and productivity
• improved concentration and memory
• reduction of insomnia and fatigue (because learning to relax leads to better and sounder sleep)
• increased availability of feelings (because muscle tension is one of the main blocks to an awareness of feelings)
• feeling calm.

The best way to find out which relaxation exercises are most useful for you are to try them out and see which ones suit you best.

It’s also important to know that you are unlikely to notice results straight away, so you’ll need some support or other motivation to help you stick with it until you start to get some of the benefits.

Ideally, try and practise the relaxation exercise you have chosen at least once every day, and it helps to build a habit if you practise at a similar time each day.

Remind yourself you’re doing it because research shows that if you practise relaxation exercises regularly, you will significantly reduce your levels of body tension and get all the physical and mental benefits outlined.

Forming healthy habits
Changing old habits or forming new ones can be challenging.  The following links can help:   Successful new habits  |  Strengthening new habits