How To Relax At Home As A Busy Mom
Mothering is an amazing experience, yet can also be stressful. If you are feeling stressed out as a mom, you are not alone. Parenting by far is the ultimate job and if it was the only job you had I would imagine 99% of us would be fine, but we also have to deal with finances, jobs, cooking, cleaning and everything else that the world decides to throw at us.
Being a parent is difficult, in this article we will look at ways of managing your stress levels so the effect will rub off on the rest of the family.
When you are de-stressed so will your kids and your partner, making your home environment more relaxing and enjoyable.
Tip 1 - Relaxing your mind.
It's easy for your mind to overthink things.
Have you washed clothes for tomorrow. Have you put the rubbish bins out for collection, do you have any meetings lined up, etc. The first tip to calm your stress levels is to relax your mind.
There are a few ways of relaxing your mind, and different techniques will work for different people.
Taking deep breaths with your eyes closed is a great way of relaxing and stopping your stress response. All you have to do is close your eyes and take deep breaths through your nose (for roughly 3 seconds) and then breathe out slowly through the mouth. Do this for as long as required. Make sure to listen to your surroundings and within minutes you will have calmed down.
Another mind relaxing technique is to soak in a hot bath, you can take this a step further by purchasing a whirlpool bath. A whirlpool bath shoots out bubbles into your muscles which are very relaxing. But if you haven't got a whirlpool bath and can't afford one, a hot bath can also work.
You can relax in a hot bath by adding Epson salts and lavender oil to your hot water. 2 cups of Epson salts and 5 drops of lavender oil will turn your bathroom into a relaxing spa in no time.
If you're the type to always be talking then you are going to need to slow down and talk less. More importantly, you are going to need to listen more. Listening more has other advantages other than health as you can improve on existing relationships which may have been damaged from high stress situations. When you listen rather than talk your body releases the feel-good hormones dopamine and oxytocin.
In scientific studies, blood pressure has also been shown to decrease when you listen to people. So if your a chatty Kathy with stress levels through the roof remember to listen more.
Finally, if the above doesn't work, you can turn to meditation. By practising mindful meditation you get your body primed to accepting there are situations happening around you out of your control. Meditation for a few weeks has been shown to shrink the part of the brain which is responsible for causing stress.
Tip 2 - Relaxing the body
Your mind is a powerful tool when it comes to managing stress, but don't neglect the body as both mind and body can affect how good you feel.
As a busy mom, you are probably feeling exhausted and fatigued, the last thing you will want to do is exercise. With that said, studies have shown that simply walking for an hour a day can lower your fatigue levels by 65%. Walking for an hour a day can make you feel more awake which can lead you to have an improved mood too.
After a busy day with work and the kids, walking may be the last activity you want to do, but try it and you will feel better immediately.
Yoga is similar to meditation in that it involves deep breathing in a zen-like state, but Yoga also uses your muscles when stretching and in doing so you are releasing tension in them.
If all of the above fails, we can move on to one of my favourite stress-busting activities. A spa day or a massage. As a busy mom, we often don't have time to brush our teeth and do our hair, but sometimes on a rare occasion someone can look after the kids for an hour or two and we get to indulge ourselves.
A back massage is a great way of relaxing your mind and body and can recharge your batteries and minimise your stress levels. Back massages can be expensive, my tip to save money is to try and get a massage on a weekday. Spa facilities are usually cheaper in the week and they may have some deals which will allow you to save money.
Conclusion
Moms and dads are often overworked and full of stress which can make family life tough on times. If you're feeling the effects of stress, read back through the above post and try out some of the techniques as they could improve your life considerably.