How does relaxing help

A certain amount of stress is necessary to deal with difficult situations in our everyday lives. Physical changes in our bodies occur enabling us to take action, which fades quickly once the problem encountered has gone. However, if we stay in a state of high stress for too long, it can be damaging to our health. Physical symptoms such as headaches, tension in the neck and shoulders, dizziness, fatigue and poor sleep can all be a result of stress overload.

Stress can affect our mental state too as it elevates levels of cortisol; a hormone that affects the function of the brain. This can result in worrying, poor concentration, difficulty in making decisions and uncontrollable thoughts. And to add to the list, emotional symptoms can present as irritability, feelings of being overwhelmed, anxiety, low self-esteem and depression.

A person in a high state of stress can cause aggressive or defensive behaviour, avoiding situations, poor communication, drinking too much alcohol and smoking. It can exacerbate mood disorders too. Being over stressed for long periods of time can also cause fatigue. Other complementary health practices such as massage therapy, meditation, yoga, and tai chi can produce several beneficial effects in the body, including the relaxation response; however, these practices are not discussed in this fact sheet.

Some relaxation techniques may help children and adolescents with pain, anxiety and depression, headaches, or difficulty with needle-related procedures. High blood pressure can lead to serious health problems, such as heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and kidney failure. Having a healthy lifestyle can help to prevent high blood pressure. One part of a healthy lifestyle is learning how to relax and manage stress. Anxiety before an operation or procedure can lead to an increase in pain levels and use of pain medicine afterwards.

People who have dental anxiety may refuse or delay treatment, which can cause problems with oral health. Relaxation techniques might help with pain after surgery, headache, low-back pain, and arthritis-related pain. Some of the supporting evidence, however, has been rated as low quality. Whether relaxation techniques help with pain related to fibromyalgia remains unclear.

Relaxation techniques are recommended by two professional associations for use during and after breast cancer treatment. Not as much research has been done on other types of cancer, and some of the research results have been conflicting. The American College of Physicians practice guidelines strongly recommend the use of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia also called CBT-I as the initial treatment for chronic insomnia.

Relaxation techniques can sometimes be one part of CBT-I. The Clearinghouse does not provide medical advice, treatment recommendations, or referrals to practitioners. Email: info nccih. RePORTER is a database of information on federally funded scientific and medical research projects being conducted at research institutions.

The site includes questions and answers about clinical trials, guidance on how to find clinical trials through ClinicalTrials. Clinical trials are necessary to find better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases.

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews is a collection of evidence-based reviews produced by the Cochrane Library, an international nonprofit organization. The reviews summarize the results of clinical trials on health care interventions. Summaries are free; full-text reviews are by subscription only.

This publication is not copyrighted and is in the public domain. Duplication is encouraged. NCCIH has provided this material for your information. It is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your health care provider s. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with your health care provider. Pain: Considering Complementary Approaches eBook. What are relaxation techniques? What are the different types of relaxation techniques? Listed below are some of the different types of relaxation techniques.

Progressive Relaxation: Also called progressive muscle relaxation, this technique involves tensing different muscles in your body and then releasing the tension. Biofeedback-Assisted Relaxation: Through feedback that is usually provided by an electronic device, you learn how to recognize and manage how your body responds.

The electronic device lets you see how your heart rate, blood pressure, or muscle tension changes in response to feeling stressed or relaxed. Breathing Exercises: For breathing exercises, you might focus on taking slow, deep breaths—also called diaphragmatic breathing. Can relaxation techniques help during labor and childbirth? Many women would like to use nondrug options for pain relief during labor and childbirth. Overall, the studies found that relaxation techniques might help women manage labor pain, but the quality of the research varied between low and very low.

Eight studies 99 women looked at relaxation. The overall findings showed mixed experiences for both methods of pain relief.

Some women who used the nondrug methods reported that they were less effective than anticipated. Can children and adolescents benefit from relaxation techniques? A review on recurrent abdominal pain in children and adolescents found that guided imagery and hypnotherapy may be helpful in reducing pain in the short term, but the quality of the research was low.

The review included 2 small studies on guided imagery and 2 small studies on practitioner-led hypnotherapy plus homework , with a total of participants.

A review of 10 studies with participants looked at the effect that remotely delivered psychological therapies had on chronic pain in children and adolescents. Nine of the studies included a relaxation component in the treatment. The review found that psychological therapies delivered remotely were helpful at reducing headache pain right after treatment but not later at follow up. No benefit was found for the other types of pain that were studied.

Overall, the research was considered to be of very low quality. Anxiety and depression. A review included 9 studies— participants total—on biofeedback for anxiety and depression in children and adolescents with long-term physical conditions such as chronic pain, asthma, cancer, and headache.

A review of 7 studies involving children looked at the effects of relaxation training on migraine headaches, tension-type headache, or both. Although some studies reported decreased headache frequency, duration, and intensity after relaxation training, other studies did not. Overall, the results were inconsistent, and the research was of very low quality. A review of 5 studies involving children and adolescents found that biofeedback seemed to be helpful with migraines, especially with reducing their frequency.

The number of participants in the studies, however, was small. A review indicated that self-relaxation, biofeedback, and self-hypnosis may be reasonable alternatives to using medicine in managing childhood migraine, particularly in adolescents.

According to this review, however, some of the best evidence seen in any pediatric migraine therapy study has been for cognitive behavioral therapy added to treatment with standard antimigraine medicines.

Pain and distress related to needle procedures. A review looked at various psychological strategies for reducing pain and distress in children and teens getting a needle procedure, such as a vaccination or blood draw. The review found that hypnosis, cognitive behavioral therapy combined with other strategies including relaxation techniques, and breathing exercises were all helpful. Two of the eight hypnosis studies were on self-hypnosis, and two were on hypnosis plus additional relaxation techniques.

The quality of the overall research in the review was low to very low, but the possible benefits were deemed to be enough to recommend using the strategies in clinical practice. Can relaxation techniques lower blood pressure? A review of 17 studies involving 1, participants indicated that slow breathing exercises led to a modest reduction in blood pressure and may be a reasonable first treatment for people with prehypertension or low-risk high blood pressure.

The studies in this review, however, differed in how they were done and had short follow-up periods and high risk of bias. A review found that relaxation therapies and biofeedback might be helpful for reducing blood pressure, but only weak recommendations were made for their use because the quality of data from the 29 studies ranged from low to very low.

Following your treatment plan is important because it can prevent or delay serious complications of high blood pressure. Do relaxation techniques help anxiety? General stress and anxiety. A review looked at 24 studies— participants total—on heart rate variability HRV biofeedback and general stress and anxiety.

HRV biofeedback involves receiving data on your heart rate from a device and then using breathing techniques to change your heart rate pattern.

The review found that HRV biofeedback is helpful for reducing self-reported stress and anxiety, and the researchers saw it as a promising approach with further development of wearable devices like a fitness tracker. A review of 3 studies, with a total of participants, found preliminary evidence suggesting that diaphragmatic breathing exercises may help to reduce stress. Promising positive changes were seen in mental health self-evaluations and in certain physical measures, such as cortisol levels and blood pressure.

Anxiety after a stroke. About 20 percent of stroke patients have anxiety at some point after their stroke. A review looked at interventions for anxiety after stroke.

The review included one study on 21 stroke survivors with diagnosed anxiety. The participants used a relaxation CD five times a week for a month. After 3 months, the participants had reduced anxiety. Anxiety related to surgery or dental procedures.

A study included adolescents who were randomly assigned to nature sounds, relaxation exercises, or silent rest before undergoing scoliosis surgery. A study included 68 periodontal patients with dental anxiety. Patients received either progressive muscle relaxation and oral health education or only oral health education before periodontal treatment once a week for 4 weeks.

The people who received progressive muscle relaxation had reduced dental anxiety and depression symptoms 4 weeks and 3 months after treatment. An earlier review on dental anxiety included 12 studies— participants total—on relaxation training or relaxation training combined with other treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy or graduated exposure.

The researchers noted, however, that many of the studies were small and poorly designed, and the study designs differed from each other. Anxiety disorders. Meditation involves focusing your attention to help you feel more relaxed. Practicing meditation may help you react in a calmer way to your emotions and thoughts, including those that cause stress. Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years, and there are several different styles.

Biofeedback teaches you how to control some of your body's functions, such as your heart rate or certain muscles. In a typical session, a biofeedback therapist attaches sensors to different areas of your body.

These sensors measure your skin temperature, brain waves, breathing, and muscle activity. You can see these readings on a monitor. Then you practice changing your thoughts, behaviors, or emotions to help control your body's responses. Over time, you can learn to change them without using the monitor.

This is another simple technique that you can do almost anywhere. Starting with your toes and feet, focus on tightening your muscles for a few moments and then releasing them. Continue with this process, working your way up your body, focusing on one group of muscles at a time. Yoga is an ancient practice rooted in Indian philosophy.

The practice of yoga combines postures or movements with focused breathing and meditation. The postures are meant to increase strength and flexibility. Postures range from simple poses lying on the floor to more complex poses that may require years of practice. You can modify most yoga postures based on your own ability. There are many different styles of yoga that range from slow to vigorous.

If you are thinking about starting yoga, look for a teacher who can help you practice safely. Make sure to tell your teacher about any injuries. Tai chi was first practiced in ancient China for self-defense.

Today, it is used mainly to improve health. It is a low-impact, gentle type of exercise that is safe for people of all ages. If you are interested in tai chi for stress relief, you may want to start with a class. For many people, it is the easiest way to learn the proper movements.

You can also find books and videos about tai chi. You can learn more about any of these techniques through local classes, books, videos, or online. Minichiello VJ.