The deadlines, meetings, and constant emails of the workday can leave you drained and stressed, negatively impacting your personal time after work. Without ways of destressing, you can experience long-term mental and physical health struggles.
If you have a difficult commute or work in a high-pressure environment, check out our tips on unwinding and enhancing your well-being below.
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Deep Breathing – Reset Your Nervous System
Breathwork is a simple and effective method for calming the mind and reducing stress. Try box breathing, which involves inhaling, holding the air, exhaling, and then holding for four seconds. Alternatively, try cyclic sighing, where you inhale twice through your nose, followed by a slow exhale through the mouth.
The 4-7-8 pattern involves inhaling for four seconds, holding for seven, and exhaling for eight and has also been noted to reduce cortisol levels. It can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, your body’s natural ‘rest and digest’ mode.
Short Mindfulness and Body-scan Sessions
Mindfulness can help you break cycles of overthinking after work, helping support better sleep and mood regulation. Practice it while brushing your teeth or spending time in the garden by focusing on the sensations of your surroundings, such as the sound of the wind or the sensation of the ground beneath your feet.
You can apply mindfulness to a body scan, where you gently move your awareness through your body from head to toe to improve your ability to recognise emotional triggers and stay in the moment. Apps like Calm and Headspace can guide you through breathwork in under ten minutes after work to transition into a calmer evening.
Gentle Physical Activity to Release Tension
You don’t need to rely on intense after-work workouts to unwind. Gentler activities, such as yoga, pilates, and progressive muscle relaxation, can be just as effective in lowering stress without requiring a trip to the gym.
Practising them in the evenings away from screens can improve your circulation while clearing mental clutter. Aim to avoid looking at screens for an hour before bed to reduce the chance of blue light disrupting your sleep and the temptation to check your emails.
Create a Calming Sensory Environment
Adjusting the lighting in your home in the evenings can have a profound effect on your mood. Turn off overhead lights, and aim to create a warm glow with your lamps and reading lights in your living room or bedroom. Apply a similar technique to your screens by enabling blue light filters or switching to a black-and-white mode to reduce the temptation to scroll through social media.
Low-effort, engaging activities, such as puzzles and top slot games, can provide gentle mental stimulation without requiring too much focus. You can enjoy them with your partner while lounging in your pyjamas on the sofa or sitting under the pergola after finishing dinner.
