No one doubts that we’re living in a stressful time during the pandemic! Our emotional stress levels are at an all time high. At Sömn, we believe in mindful living and finding natural ways of dealing with this stress.  Here are our top 3 Natural De-stressing Techniques to help you let go of all the undeserving emotions and feelings. We are in this together. Focus on your breath Our bodies need oxygen. When we become stressed or worried, our bodies take quicker, shallower breaths or even worse, we stop breathing. A great de-stressing technique is to draw attention to our breathing. This will help to regulate our body and its oxygen intake - making our bodies feel supported, stable and calm. When we take purposeful, deep breaths it’s like a signal to our brain that we are in control. Focusing on each breath can reduce physical and mental tension in your body, lower your heart rate, and even lower blood pressure.  When you’re feeling stressed, acknowledge your feelings and help your body by simply doing breathing exercises, here are a few steps to get your mind calm: Find a comfortable position to sit or lay down in a quiet. Close your eyes Take a deep cleansing breath, that’s enough to fill up your lungs fully. Exhale slowly and evenly, focusing on breathing out any stress or tension. Repeat this until you feel more relaxed and in control.Tip: Listen to calming music to guide your breaths or to block out unwanted noise. Try the Alternative Breathing Technique. This breath technique has so many benefits and is our go-to at Sömn. It is great for concentration, cleansing and is a fantastic headache cure!  Acknowledge your feelings Sometimes just taking a few moments to journal or write down your thoughts is a great natural de-stressing technique. It is just like having a conversation with your best friend. This helps you acknowledge your worries and anxieties and focus on the take-aways and lessons learned. Journaling takes many forms:  Stream of consciousness: Just write without stopping or worrying about spelling or grammar. Just write what you feel compelled to write.  Recall the story: Write the story of how you got here and where you want to go next. Bullet journal: If you have a bullet journal, now is the time to add a new page to express your feelings. We love this part, it has worked like a charm for us personally. Colouring book: Adult colouring books are amazing because when you colour you really focus and forget the “outside” world for a while. It’s a great way to take your mind off the stress. Video: If you’d rather, talk through your feelings on video or audio recording. You don’t have to share these...they’re just for your own reference (or you can delete them when you’re done). Get physical...then rest up! Doing physical activity is a great de-stressing technique! When you’re feeling stressed, go for a run, do a set of strengthening exercises, open up your body with some deep stretches, or even rhythmically drum your palms on a table top can help refocus your energy. Perhaps the most important de-stressing technique we can share here at Sömn is to get enough rest (8-9 hours per night). When we lack adequate physical rest, we are compromising our body's natural power to regenerate and recover, which means we’re less able to function efficiently or with vitality. It’s like we’ve got a short fuse or out of battery - we know the feeling! Sleep to live⁠Sleep to rest⁠Sleep to healSleep to reset⁠Sleep to recover⁠Sleep to sustain⁠Sleep to perform⁠Sleep to empower⁠Sleep to regenerate⁠Sleep to loose weight⁠Sleep to find balance⁠Sleep to find peacefulness⁠Sleep to bring happiness⁠Sleep to bring performance⁠ The best way to help get a good night's rest is to treat your bedroom like a sanctuary - have fresh clean bed sheets and create a comfy bedroom and bed. Discover the most comfortable linen sheets you’ve ever had from Sömn today.