10 Ways to Calm Down After a Long Day

A misconception that a lot of people have is that they need to be actively productive all the time. The fear of being branded as lazy hits hard. If you don’t come home from work and instantly begin cooking dinner, doing laundry, or doing other forms of housework, then what exactly are you doing with your life?

Yes, taking care of household chores is important, but not as important as taking care of yourself. If you don’t take the time for yourself, you will find yourself burnt out.

Whether you take 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or 1 hour, there are plenty of practices that will help you calm down after a long day.

10 of the Best Ways to Calm Down After a Long Day

1) Practice meditation

2) Take a warm bath or shower

3) Sit down with a cup of tea

4) Connect with nature

5) Exercise

6) Do an activity you enjoy

7) Journal

8) Read

9) Listen to music

10) Take a nap

1) Practice Meditation

Meditation is a great way to calm down after a long day. It’s as simple as paying attention to your breathing and noticing when your mind starts to wander. When we pay attention to our breathing and our wandering brains, we learn how to return to and remain in the present moment.

It takes a lot of patients, but with a little practice, you’ll start noticing a huge change in your mental awareness.

Some of the benefits include but are not limited to:

• Understanding your pain

• Lowering your stress

• Better connection with your mind, body, and soul

• Improves your focus

• Reduces your brain chatter

How to meditate:

• Sit comfortably or lie down- The area should be comfortable to you with limited distractions.

• Set a time limit- for beginners, it might help if you set a shorter time.

• Close your eyes and notice your breathing- Allow for your breath to come through naturally and notice how your body moves with every breath you take.

• Notice when your mind begins to wander- Don’t try to change these thoughts, just notice them, and appreciate them.

• Be kind to your wandering mind- Allow for your thoughts to come through naturally and release them. It helps to imagine these thoughts as a cloud passing by. Bring yourself back to your breathing and the movement of your body.

• Close with kindness- Once you open your eyes, take this moment to notice your surroundings. Notice how your body feels on the inside and the outside.

2) Take a Warm Bath or a Shower

Taking a warm bath or a shower is another great way to calm down after a long day. According to psychologist Neil Morris, who surveyed 80 people, bathing can decrease the feeling of depression and anxiety. "Baths give you...a wonderful combination of isolation, quiet, and comfort."

There are many benefits to taking warm baths and showers besides helping you calm down after a long day. Some benefits include but are not limited to: Relieving muscle pain, reducing blood pressure, and soothing irritated skin.

3) Sit Down with a Cup of Tea

There’s nothing like a nice cup of tea to calm down after a long day. Tea is known to have amino acids, aka theanine. Studies show that people who take theanine supplements have lower levels of stress. Once you combine theanine with caffeine, it won’t only boost your brain activity, but can also boost your mood.

One of my personal favorite teas to drink is Cup of Calm, an organic tea by Traditional Medicinals. It’s caffeine-free to ensure relaxation after every sip! Of course, you can choose the tea of your choice. Some of the most relaxing flavors include but are not limited to: Vanilla, lavender, honey chai, and ginger.

4) Connect with Nature

You don’t need to go hiking through the woods or go mountain climbing to connect with nature. You could simply take a walk outside, through your neighborhood. You could take your meditation to your backyard. You could even have a picnic. There’s nothing like a little fresh air to clear your mind and dirt between your toes to make you feel grounded.

One of my favorite activities is sitting outside at night gazing up at the stars and talking to the moon. I talk to the moon as if it was an old friend that I’m catching up with. I talk to it about my day, my dreams, my wishes, my goals. It’s always so peaceful at night and the air feels so easy to breathe.

5) Exercise

Believe it or not, exercise is another great way to calm down after a long day. Regular exercise helps to increase your confidence, improves your mood, and helps you relax. Exercise improves the effects on your cardiovascular, digestive, and immune system and by doing so It will help with the physical symptoms that stress can cause such as muscle tension, chest pain, blood pressure, sleep apnea, etc.

Exercise is also known to be referred to as meditation in motion. When you are working on your body, you’ll find that you are thinking about much of anything else. Once you are done, you’ll realize that you haven’t been thinking about your previous stresses. As you regularly work away your tension, your ability to focus on a single task grows stronger.

Some great types of exercise for stress release include but are not limited to:

• Yoga

• Walking/running/jogging

• Swimming

• Cycling

• Boxing

• Weightlifting

6) Do Something You Enjoy

It doesn’t have to be anything huge. Just do an activity that you genuinely enjoy doing.

Some activities include but are not limited to:

• Crafting

• Writing

• Reading

• Gardening

• Dancing

• Baking

• Drawing/painting

7) Journal

Journaling is another one of my personal favorite activities to help me calm down after a long day. It helps to write things down you wouldn’t otherwise tell your peers. Your journal is like a friend that you can tell anything to with zero judgments. If you had a bad day, write about it. If you are stressed out, write about it. You don’t need to sit there for hours to write in a journal; just allow for your words to flow naturally. Whether you take 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or 20 minutes, writing out your stresses and other feelings will help you better understand them. Once you understand your feelings, you’ll understand what works best to manage them.

8) Read

Reading a good book is another form of meditation. When you are reading, you’ll find that you aren’t thinking about much else other than what’s on the pages. Sure, you’ll probably have wandering thoughts outside of the book, but that’s when you notice your thoughts, appreciate them, and allow them to slip away while you bring your attention back to the story.

When I was younger, my mother used to make me sit in my room and read for at least 30 minutes each day. It was a teaching tactic she used after dinner. I would come home from school, complete my homework, she would let me watch a bit of TV after my homework was completed while she made dinner. Then after dinner, she would have me sit in my room and read for 30 minutes. She told me not only is it making me a stronger reader, but it’s also calming my mind down after a long day and preparing me for bed.

9) Music

I don’t know about you, but music seems to always calm me down after a long day. Listening to the lyrics and vibing to the sound is another form of meditation. Much like reading, you’ll find that you aren’t focusing on much else other than the music. This is also a reason why many use music while they meditate.

10) Nap

Okay, so this one might seem obvious, and it also might make you feel lazy and childish. But taking a 30 min nap after a long day can rejuvenate your mind and make you feel more awake/alert for your upcoming tasks. Sometimes it’s good to close your eyes for a few minutes and let yourself not do anything at all. However, if you are a parent, it might be a bit difficult to find the time to take a nap. It’s better to nap when your kids are at school.