Relaxation: A Necessity For Good Health

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Relaxation should not be last on the to-do list. According to the October issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource, relaxation is a vital process that decreases wear and tear on the mind and body.

Refueling through relaxing can reduce the heart rate, lower blood pressure, increase blood flow to major muscles, reduce muscle tension, reduce headache and back pain, improve concentration and reduce emotional responses such as anger and frustration.

How to relax? Everyone has different ways of winding down. Most often, relaxing involves a change of pace from the daily grind. Some people practice relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, visualization or progressive muscle relaxation. Others like to read, write in a journal, take a walk with a friend or get a massage.

The key is to make the activity a regular part of the schedule. The goal is to refocus the mind and disregard extraneous thoughts and distractions. Here are some tips for getting the most benefit from relaxation:

Maintain positive emotions: Choose to focus on positive rather than negative emotions. This can help you stay on a more even keel emotionally, and when time is available to relax, recovery is swifter.

Practice self-control: Indulgence after a stressful day may bring temporary pleasure but undercut long-term well-being. For example, overeating while trying to lose weight. Relaxation time offers a good opportunity to create a list of constructive and relaxing activities to do when stress levels climb.

Avoid ruminating: Mulling over issues that occurred earlier only increases stress. Moreover, it can lead to taking out anger on others. Instead, moving thoughts in another direction can allow irritation to fade away.

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About Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty work together to care for patients, joined by common systems and a philosophy of "the needs of the patient come first." More than 3,300 physicians, scientists and researchers and 46,000 allied health staff work at Mayo Clinic, which has sites in Rochester, Minn., Jacksonville, Fla., and Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz. Collectively, the three locations treat more than half a million people each year. To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to www.mayoclinic.org/news. For information about research and education visit www.mayo.edu. MayoClinic.com is available as a resource for your health stories.