Ten ways to wind down

Winding down after a busy day can be tough as our minds our often at their most active when we actually need to rest. Here are ten ways to wind down after a hectic day of work or other stressful activities.

1- Take a walk round the block. After a long day at work 5-10 minutes of gentle exercise will get help level your heart rate, tire you a little and make winding down easier. If you drive to work or even get the train, walking round the park or just round the block helps give work and home a psychological separation. Physical exercise also helps to relieve stress.

2- Read a chapter of a novel (not a magazine or non fiction). By escaping into a story you give your mind time to wander but give it focus at the same time. 

3- Meditate for 5 minutes before you leave work for home. By calming your nerves before you get in the car or train you enable your body to recover and take stock. This will help later on when you want to wind down properly.

4- Cook dinner. I know its so easy to get a takeaway or ready meal but cooking gives you a buzz when you cook a good meal and know you have saved money. Cooking yourself will allow you to eat excellent food at less cost than bland TV dinners.

5- Chat to a friend on the phone or plan your weekend. This will give you a focus and enable you to relax knowing that the future holds happy activities that you will enjoy as well as stressful one that you will endure.

6- Listen to your I pod (at home) and sit and enjoy calm or evocative music that you can listen to or even sing along to if you must. Don't fill your spare time with TV 24 hour news channel, this will really stop you winding down.

7- Make time for others. When we make time for family and friends after work we remind ourselves that there is more to life than just work. This helps us wind down

8- Have a bath and then settle in for the night. By having a bath as soon as you get in, you can either feel a burst of energy for the evening or enable you to relax depending on your needs at the time. It gives your aching muscles the break they need and means when you get tired later you simply have to crawl into bed, Perfect!!

9- Try to avoid loads of caffeinated drinks. This seems obvious but many of us have a coffee late in the evening and then wonder why we cant relax!

10- Go easy on yourself. As the line from the famous musical 'Jesus Christ Superstar' goes 'Let the world do without you tonight, everything's alright'. Peace.