Relaxation: The Complete Guide to Calming Body and Mind, With Techniques That Work

Relaxation is the state in which your body’s stress response switches off and the parasympathetic nervous system takes over: your heart rate, breathing and muscle tension fall and your mind settles. Relaxation techniques are simple, learnable skills, such as slow breathing and progressive muscle relaxation, that bring this state on deliberately.

Body technique · Helps with: stress, anxiety, sleep, tension, pain, overwhelm

Last updated: 23 October 2026

Reading time: about 40 minutes

How we wrote this guide
Every health claim below links to the original study, review or official guideline, such as NICE guidance on anxiety and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s insomnia guideline. Where the evidence is thin, small or mixed, we say so. We checked every app, book, course, video, podcast and account in October 2026. This guide is information, not medical advice. If stress, anxiety, sleep problems or pain are affecting your daily life, talk to your doctor.

Quick answer: what is the fastest way to relax?

• Slow your breathing, especially your out-breath. Breathing at around six breaths a minute reliably shifts the nervous system towards rest (Laborde et al., 2022). A few “physiological sighs” (a double inhale through the nose, then a long exhale through the mouth) is one of the quickest ways to do it.
• Release your muscles on purpose. Progressive muscle relaxation, tensing and then letting go of each muscle group, has some of the best evidence of any relaxation method for stress and anxiety (Muhammad Khir et al., 2024).
• Two minutes helps; twenty minutes helps more. Short practices calm you in the moment. Regular, longer practice over weeks is what builds lasting change.
• Match the technique to the moment. Breathing works anywhere, muscle relaxation suits bedtime and tension, and imagery or yoga nidra suit deeper rest. Our table below helps you choose.
• It isn’t for everyone in every form. A minority of people feel more anxious when they try to relax. That is normal, well documented and usually solvable by switching technique.

Need help now?
Relaxation is not an emergency service or a treatment for a mental health crisis. If you are thinking about suicide or cannot keep yourself safe, contact a crisis line now. USA: call or text 988. Canada: call or text 9-8-8. UK and Ireland: Samaritans, free on 116 123. Australia: Lifeline on 13 11 14. India: Tele-MANAS on 14416. Anywhere else: find a free, local line at findahelpline.com. If someone’s life is at immediate risk, call your local emergency number (for example 911, 999, 112 or 000). Lines: 988 Lifeline, 9-8-8 Canada, Samaritans, Lifeline Australia, Tele-MANAS.

Contents

1. What is relaxation?
   • Relaxation at a glance
2. What happens in your body when you relax
3. Breathing techniques
4. Body-based techniques
5. Mind-led techniques
6. Everyday relaxers: heat, nature and music
7. Which technique for which situation
8. Relaxation for sleep, anxiety and pain
9. Quick routines: 2 minutes and 20 minutes
10. Does relaxation work? The evidence, honestly
    • Evidence at a glance
11. Risks and who should take care
12. Apps
13. Books
14. Courses and professional help
15. Watch, listen and follow
16. Frequently asked questions
17. Key takeaways
18. Sources

What Is Relaxation?

In everyday speech, relaxing means putting your feet up. In physiology it means something more specific: a shift away from the “fight or flight” state towards “rest and digest”. Your heart slows, your breathing deepens and becomes slower, your muscles let go, your digestion restarts and your mind becomes less vigilant.

You can’t simply decide to relax, any more than you can decide to fall asleep. But you can do things that reliably make relaxation more likely. Those are relaxation techniques. Most work through one of three routes:

• The breath. Slowing your breathing, and particularly lengthening the out-breath, is the most direct lever you have on your nervous system.
• The muscles. Deliberately releasing physical tension sends a signal of safety back to the brain.
• Attention. Focusing on a sound, image, phrase or body sensation gives your mind something calmer to do than worrying.

Heat, time in nature and music can help too, through partly different routes. This guide explains how each technique works, gives step-by-step instructions, and is honest about how strong the evidence is.

Relaxation overlaps with meditation, mindfulness and hypnosis, but the goal is different. Meditation and mindfulness train attention and awareness; relaxation may be a pleasant side effect, but it isn’t the point. With relaxation techniques, feeling calmer is the point.

Relaxation at a Glance

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What Happens in Your Body When You Relax

To understand relaxation, it helps to understand what it is relaxing from.

The Stress Response

When your brain detects a threat, real or imagined, it triggers two linked systems. The first is fast: the sympathetic nervous system releases adrenaline and noradrenaline within seconds. Your heart rate and blood pressure rise, your breathing quickens, your muscles tense and blood is diverted to them, and your attention narrows. The second is slower: the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis releases cortisol over minutes, which raises blood sugar and keeps you alert.

This is useful in a genuine emergency. The problem is that the same response fires for traffic jams, emails and 3am worries, and it often doesn’t switch off properly. The neuroscientist Bruce McEwen described how repeated or prolonged activation creates “allostatic load”, wear and tear that is linked to high blood pressure, poor sleep, weakened immunity and low mood (McEwen, 1998).

▶ “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: Stress and Health” by Dr. Robert Sapolsky – Beckman Institute at Illinois. Stanford neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky explains why the stress response that saves a zebra from a lion makes humans ill when it never switches off.

The Parasympathetic “Brake”

The parasympathetic nervous system is the counterweight. Its main nerve, the vagus nerve, runs from the brainstem to the heart, lungs and gut. When it is active, your heart slows, digestion resumes and the body turns to repair.

You can see the vagus nerve at work in your own heartbeat. Your heart speeds up slightly each time you breathe in and slows each time you breathe out. This rhythm, called respiratory sinus arrhythmia, is one reason why heart rate variability (HRV), the beat-to-beat variation in your heart rate, is used as a marker of how well your “brake” is working. Slow breathing at around six breaths a minute amplifies this rhythm. It is the most consistent physiological effect in the relaxation research (Russo et al., 2017; Zaccaro et al., 2018).

Benson’s Relaxation Response

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Harvard cardiologist Herbert Benson studied people practising Transcendental Meditation and noticed the opposite of the stress response: lower oxygen consumption, slower heart and breathing rates, and calmer brainwaves. He called it the “relaxation response” and argued that anyone could trigger it, without any religious or cultural framework, using four elements (Benson et al., 1974):

1. A quiet environment.
2. A mental device, such as a repeated word, sound or phrase, or a fixed gaze.
3. A passive attitude: not worrying about how well you are doing, and gently returning to the device when your mind wanders.
4. A comfortable position that lets your muscles relax.

Benson’s insight was that very different practices, from prayer to progressive muscle relaxation, share this common core. His idea still underpins much modern stress-management teaching, including at the Benson-Henry Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital.

▶ Relaxation Response: Dr. Herbert Benson Teaches You The Basics – MassDPH. Herbert Benson walks through the simple steps of the relaxation response in a short public-health film.

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Breathing Techniques

Breathing is the only part of the automatic nervous system you can easily control by choice, which makes it the quickest relaxation tool you have. A large review of 223 studies found that voluntary slow breathing reliably increases vagal activity, as measured by HRV, during practice, straight afterwards and over multi-session programmes, with few adverse effects (Laborde et al., 2022). A key detail is that a longer out-breath than in-breath tends to be more calming.

Do breathing exercises sitting or lying down, never while driving or in water. If you feel dizzy, tingly or short of breath, stop and breathe normally.

Diaphragmatic (Belly) Breathing

When you are stressed you tend to breathe fast and high in the chest. Diaphragmatic breathing moves the work down to the diaphragm, the dome-shaped muscle under your lungs, so your belly rises rather than your shoulders. It is the foundation for every other breathing technique here, and the method the NHS recommends for stress (NHS).

How to do it:

1. Get comfortable. Sit with your back supported or lie on your back with your knees bent. Loosen anything tight around your waist.
2. Place your hands. Rest one hand on your upper chest and the other on your belly, just below your ribs.
3. Breathe in through your nose. Let the air flow down into your belly so the lower hand rises while the upper hand stays fairly still. Don’t force it. Counting slowly to four or five can help.
4. Breathe out gently. Let the breath flow out through your mouth or nose, a little longer than the in-breath, and feel your belly fall.
5. Repeat for 5 minutes. Aim for slow, smooth, quiet breaths. Practise daily so the pattern becomes automatic when you need it.

What the evidence says: in a small trial of 40 adults, 20 sessions of diaphragmatic breathing over eight weeks lowered negative mood and cortisol and improved sustained attention compared with controls (Ma et al., 2017). Slow breathing in general has consistent short-term effects on HRV and feelings of calm (Zaccaro et al., 2018).

Box Breathing

Box breathing, also called square or tactical breathing, uses four equal phases: in, hold, out, hold. It was popularised by former US Navy SEAL commander Mark Divine and is used by police, military and emergency staff to stay steady under pressure.

How to do it:

1. Breathe out fully. Sit upright and empty your lungs gently.
2. Breathe in for 4. Inhale slowly through your nose, counting to four.
3. Hold for 4. Keep your lungs comfortably full; don’t clamp your throat.
4. Breathe out for 4. Exhale slowly through your nose.
5. Hold for 4. Pause with your lungs empty, then begin again. Continue for about 5 minutes. If the holds feel uncomfortable, shorten every count to three.

What the evidence says: in Stanford’s 2023 breathwork trial, five minutes of daily box breathing improved mood and reduced anxiety over a month, though slightly less than cyclic sighing (Balban et al., 2023). A 2021 study comparing it with breathing that has a prolonged exhale found box breathing produced lower physiological arousal, but the prolonged-exhale group performed better on a demanding task (Röttger et al., 2021).

▶ The Power of Routines & Box Breathing with Mark Divine – Mark Divine. Former Navy SEAL commander Mark Divine explains why and how he uses box breathing.

4-7-8 Breathing

The 4-7-8 technique was popularised by the American integrative-medicine doctor Andrew Weil, who calls it “the perfect, portable stress antidote” (Weil). The long hold and very long out-breath make it a strong calming signal, and many people use it to fall asleep.

How to do it:

1. Position your tongue. Rest the tip of your tongue on the ridge just behind your upper front teeth and keep it there throughout.
2. Breathe out fully. Exhale through your mouth with a soft “whoosh”.
3. Breathe in for 4. Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a count of four.
4. Hold for 7. Hold your breath gently for a count of seven.
5. Breathe out for 8. Exhale through your mouth with a whoosh to a count of eight. That is one breath. Do four breaths in total. If the hold is hard, count faster: Weil says the 4:7:8 ratio matters more than the exact timing.

What the evidence says: honestly, very little. One small study in healthy young adults found that 4-7-8 breathing increased the high-frequency HRV that reflects vagal activity and lowered heart rate and systolic blood pressure (Vierra et al., 2022). There are no good trials of 4-7-8 breathing for insomnia or anxiety. It follows the same slow-exhale principle as better-studied methods, so it is reasonable to try, but treat claims that it puts you to sleep “in 60 seconds” as marketing.

▶ How To Perform the 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise – Andrew Weil, M.D.. Andrew Weil demonstrates his 4-7-8 breath step by step.

The Physiological Sigh (Cyclic Sighing)

A sigh is your body’s own reset button. You sigh spontaneously every few minutes to reinflate tiny air sacs in your lungs, and more often when stressed or relieved. Belgian researchers found that a deliberate deep breath increased feelings of relief and, in anxiety-sensitive people, reduced physiological tension (Vlemincx et al., 2016). Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman popularised a deliberate version called the “physiological sigh”.

How to do it:

1. Breathe in through your nose. Take a slow, fairly deep inhale.
2. Top it up. Without breathing out, take a second, shorter sniff through your nose to fill your lungs completely.
3. Breathe out slowly through your mouth. Let the exhale be long and complete, longer than both inhales together.
4. Repeat. One to three sighs can take the edge off in the moment. For the version tested in research, continue for 5 minutes.

What the evidence says: in a remote trial of 108 people, most of them Stanford students, five minutes a day for 28 days of cyclic sighing, box breathing, cyclic hyperventilation or mindfulness meditation all reduced anxiety. Cyclic sighing produced the biggest improvement in positive mood and the largest fall in resting breathing rate (Balban et al., 2023). The trial was small, was registered only after it had begun, and found no changes in HRV or sleep. It is a promising result, not a settled one.

▶ Reduce Anxiety & Stress with the Physiological Sigh – Andrew Huberman. Andrew Huberman explains the physiological sigh and how to do it in under three minutes.

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Body-Based Techniques

These techniques work from the body inwards, either by releasing muscle tension directly or by paying close, calm attention to physical sensations.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

In the 1920s the American physician Edmund Jacobson noticed that anxious patients carried tension in their muscles that they couldn’t feel. He developed a method of tensing and then releasing muscles to teach people the difference, published as Progressive Relaxation in 1929. His original programme took months; the shorter versions used today work through 12 to 16 muscle groups in about 15–20 minutes.

How to do it:

1. Settle. Lie down or sit in a supported chair, close your eyes and take a few slow breaths.
2. Start with your feet. Curl your toes and tense your feet firmly, but not to the point of pain, for about 5 seconds.
3. Release and notice. Let go suddenly and completely. Spend 15–20 seconds noticing the difference between tension and relaxation.
4. Work up your body. Repeat with your calves, thighs, buttocks, belly, hands, forearms, upper arms, shoulders, neck, jaw, eyes and forehead.
5. Finish with a whole-body scan. Notice any remaining tension and let it soften as you breathe out. Rest for a minute before getting up slowly.

Skip or gently tense any area that is injured or painful, and stop if you get cramp. Once you know the method, you can drop the tensing and simply release each area (“release-only” relaxation).

What the evidence says: PMR is among the best-studied relaxation methods. A 2024 systematic review of 46 studies with more than 3,400 adults found it effective for stress, anxiety and depression, with stronger effects when combined with other treatments (Muhammad Khir et al., 2024).

▶ Progressive Muscle Relaxation – Female Voice – NewcastleHospitals. A free guided PMR session from Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, about 16 minutes long.

Body Scan

A body scan moves your attention slowly through the body, from your toes to the top of your head, noticing whatever sensations are there without trying to change them. It is a core practice in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, and many people find it deeply settling, especially in bed.

How to do it:

1. Lie down comfortably. Close your eyes or lower your gaze and take a few natural breaths.
2. Start at your toes. Notice any sensations: warmth, coolness, tingling, contact with the floor, or nothing at all.
3. Move slowly upwards. Spend 20–30 seconds on each area: feet, ankles, lower legs, knees, thighs, hips, belly, chest, back, hands, arms, shoulders, neck and face.
4. Return when your mind wanders. It will. Notice where it went and come back to the area you’d reached, without criticising yourself.
5. Finish with the whole body. Sense your body as a whole, breathing, for a minute before opening your eyes.

What the evidence says: a 2022 meta-analysis of 14 trials found that a body scan practised on its own produced only a small increase in mindfulness and was “not effective enough” to improve health outcomes by itself; the studies were of low quality (Gan et al., 2022). It seems to work best as part of a broader programme. That doesn’t mean it can’t help you relax tonight.

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Mind-Led Techniques

These methods use words, images or guided attention to lead the body into relaxation. They usually take longer than a breathing exercise, but many people find they produce a deeper rest.

Autogenic Training

Autogenic training was developed by the German psychiatrist Johannes Heinrich Schultz and first published in 1932. “Autogenic” means “self-generated”: you silently repeat short phrases about heaviness and warmth that your body gradually learns to respond to, in a state Schultz called “passive concentration”. It is widely used in Germany and the rest of Europe. Schultz’s own record in Nazi Germany, including published support for compulsory sterilisation, is well documented; the method has since been taught and researched independently of him.

The standard method has six stages, usually learned one at a time over eight to ten weeks. Most people start with the first two.

How to do it:

1. Take a comfortable position. Lie down or sit in a supported chair, close your eyes and breathe naturally.
2. Heaviness. Silently repeat “My right arm is heavy” about six times, slowly, letting the sensation come without forcing it. Then move on to the other arm, the legs and finally “My arms and legs are heavy”.
3. Warmth. Repeat “My right arm is warm”, then the other limbs, in the same way.
4. Add the later formulas once the first two come easily. These are: “My heartbeat is calm and regular”, “My breathing is calm” (often phrased “It breathes me”), “My solar plexus is warm” and “My forehead is pleasantly cool”.
5. Come out deliberately. Finish every session by clenching your fists, bending and stretching your arms, taking a deep breath and opening your eyes. Practise for a few minutes, two or three times a day.

What the evidence says: a meta-analysis of 60 studies found medium-sized benefits compared with no treatment, and generally similar effects to other psychological treatments, for tension headache and migraine, mild high blood pressure, anxiety, mild to moderate depression and functional sleep problems (Stetter and Kupper, 2002). A 2019 meta-analysis also found reductions in anxiety and depression, though the anxiety data came from only 85 people (Seo and Kim, 2019). An earlier review of eight trials found most were too flawed to draw firm conclusions (Ernst and Kanji, 2000).

If you have a heart condition, diabetes, epilepsy or a serious mental health condition, learn autogenic training from a trained practitioner rather than on your own.

▶ Autogenic Training with Rich Crislip – Optum. A guided autogenic training session from the US health services company Optum.

Guided Imagery

Guided imagery uses your imagination to create a calm scene, such as a beach, a forest or a favourite room, in as much sensory detail as you can. Your body responds to vividly imagined experiences in some of the same ways it responds to real ones. You can follow a recording or guide yourself. For goal-focused imagery, see our visualisation guide.

How to do it:

1. Settle and slow your breathing. Close your eyes and take five slow belly breaths.
2. Choose your place. Pick somewhere real or imagined where you feel safe and at ease.
3. Build it with every sense. Notice what you can see, hear, smell and feel: the light, the sounds, the temperature, the ground under your feet.
4. Stay and explore. Spend 5–15 minutes there. If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to one detail of the scene.
5. Return slowly. Count down from five, notice the room around you, wiggle your fingers and open your eyes. Many people create a cue, such as a word, that they can use later to recall the feeling quickly.

What the evidence says: in a 2021 experiment with 60 students, a single 20-minute recording of guided imagery, PMR or deep breathing all increased self-reported relaxation. PMR and imagery produced a steady fall in physiological arousal, whereas deep breathing caused an initial rise before returning to baseline (Toussaint et al., 2021).

Yoga Nidra and Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR)

Yoga nidra, “yogic sleep”, is a guided practice done lying down that aims for a state between waking and sleeping. Its modern form was set out by Swami Satyananda Saraswati of the Bihar School of Yoga in the 1970s, and the American psychologist Richard Miller adapted it as iRest, which has been used with US military veterans. Andrew Huberman coined the term “non-sleep deep rest” (NSDR) for yoga nidra-style scripts without the spiritual language.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your back. Use a mat or bed, with a pillow under your knees and a blanket, because your body cools as you relax.
2. Set an intention. Traditional yoga nidra starts with a sankalpa, a short positive resolution in the present tense, such as “I am at ease”. NSDR scripts usually skip this.
3. Rotate your attention. Follow the guide’s voice as it names body parts in quick succession, moving your attention to each one.
4. Follow the breath and images. Most scripts then guide you through breath awareness, pairs of opposite sensations, such as heavy and light, and brief images.
5. Return gradually. Repeat your intention, then slowly become aware of the room, move your fingers and toes, and roll onto your side before sitting up. Sessions run from 10 to 45 minutes.

What the evidence says: the evidence is early. In an online study, an 11-minute daily yoga nidra recording for 30 days reduced stress and improved wellbeing and sleep quality compared with a waiting list, with very small to small effects (Moszeik et al., 2022). A widely quoted brain-scanning study found a 65% increase in dopamine release during yoga nidra, but it involved just eight experienced male teachers doing a 72-minute session (Kjaer et al., 2002). It doesn’t show that a 10-minute NSDR script boosts dopamine.

▶ 10 Minute Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR) to Restore Mental & Physical Energy – Huberman Lab Clips. A free 10-minute NSDR script led by Andrew Huberman.

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Everyday Relaxers: Heat, Nature and Music

Not every route to relaxation needs a technique. Heat, green space and music all have reasonable evidence, and you may already enjoy them.

Warm Bath, Shower or Sauna

Warmth relaxes muscles and, after a bath, the drop in core body temperature as you cool down seems to help the body prepare for sleep.

How to do it:

1. Time it. Have a warm bath or shower about 1–2 hours before bed.
2. Get the temperature right. Aim for comfortably warm water, about 40–42.5°C, not scalding.
3. Stay for at least 10 minutes. Combine it with slow breathing or music if you like.
4. Let yourself cool down. Dress lightly and keep the bedroom cool so your body temperature can fall.
5. For saunas, go gently. Start with 5–10 minutes, drink water, cool down between rounds and get out if you feel dizzy or unwell.

What the evidence says: a meta-analysis of 13 studies found that a warm bath or shower of 40–42.5°C taken 1–2 hours before bed, even for 10 minutes, helped people fall asleep faster and improved sleep quality, though the evidence was limited (Haghayegh et al., 2019). For saunas, a Finnish study that followed 2,315 middle-aged men for about 20 years found those who used one 4–7 times a week had a much lower risk of sudden cardiac death than once-a-week users (Laukkanen et al., 2015). That is an observational link, not proof of cause.

Avoid saunas and very hot baths if you have unstable heart disease, low blood pressure or are pregnant, unless your doctor agrees. Never combine them with alcohol.

Time in Nature

Nature calms you through more than one route: daylight, gentle movement, fresher air and what psychologists call “soft fascination”, attention that is engaged but effortless.

How to do it:

1. Find your nearest green or blue space. A park, tree-lined street, canal, river or coast all count.
2. Leave the phone in your pocket. Put it on silent, or use it only for music.
3. Slow down and use your senses. Walk or sit, and notice five things you can see, four you can hear and three you can feel.
4. Stay for 20–30 minutes. This is the length of “nature pill” that gave the biggest stress-hormone drop in one study.
5. Build up to about two hours a week. It doesn’t matter whether you take it in one go or several short visits.

What the evidence says: in a study of nearly 20,000 people in England, those who spent at least 120 minutes a week in nature were significantly more likely to report good health and wellbeing (White et al., 2019). A 20–30-minute nature experience lowered cortisol by about 21% per hour beyond its natural daily decline (Hunter et al., 2019). Reviews link green space with lower cortisol, heart rate and blood pressure (Twohig-Bennett and Jones, 2018), and forest bathing with lower cortisol, although placebo may play a part (Antonelli et al., 2019).

Music

Music is perhaps the easiest relaxation aid of all. Many people find slow, steady music with no lyrics and few sudden changes works best for winding down.

How to do it:

1. Choose music you find calming. Personal preference matters more than genre.
2. Make a short playlist. Aim for 20–30 minutes, ideally slow and steady, without lyrics, so you aren’t constantly choosing.
3. Make listening the main activity. Sit or lie down and listen rather than scrolling.
4. Breathe with it. Let your breathing slow to the music’s pace.
5. Use it before stress or sleep. Play it before something stressful, or nightly at bedtime, at low volume with a sleep timer.

What the evidence says: a meta-analysis of 47 studies found music therapy reduced stress by a medium-to-large amount, though the effects were larger in weaker studies (de Witte et al., 2022). Listening to relaxing music before a stressful task sped up autonomic recovery afterwards (Thoma et al., 2013). A Cochrane review of 13 studies found moderate-certainty evidence that 25–60 minutes of daily music improves sleep quality in people with insomnia (Jespersen et al., 2022).

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Which Technique for Which Situation

There is no single best relaxation technique. The right one depends on how long you have, where you are and what kind of stress you’re dealing with. Use this table as a starting point, then keep the methods that work for you.

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Relaxation for Sleep, Anxiety and Pain

Sleep

Relaxation techniques help sleep by lowering the “hyperarousal” that keeps many people with insomnia awake. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s guideline strongly recommends cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), which usually includes relaxation, and gives a conditional recommendation to relaxation therapy used on its own (Edinger et al., 2021). In practice:

• Practise during the day at first, so the skill is familiar when you need it at night.
• At bedtime, try PMR, a body scan or 4-7-8 breathing in bed, or a warm bath an hour or two earlier.
• Don’t make falling asleep the goal of the exercise. Trying hard to sleep tends to keep you awake. Aim to rest, and let sleep come when it comes.
• If insomnia has lasted more than three months, ask your doctor about CBT-I (cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia). In England, the NHS sleep pages have more advice.

Anxiety and Panic

Relaxation is a recognised part of anxiety treatment, not just a self-care tip. NICE says that adults with generalised anxiety disorder who choose a high-intensity psychological treatment should be offered either CBT or applied relaxation, a structured, therapist-led programme that teaches you to relax rapidly in everyday situations (NICE CG113). A meta-analysis of 27 trials of relaxation methods, including PMR, autogenic training, applied relaxation and meditation, found a moderate reduction in anxiety (Manzoni et al., 2008).

For panic attacks, slow breathing with a longer out-breath can help you ride out the symptoms. But don’t use relaxation to avoid every trace of anxiety: in panic disorder, learning that the sensations are harmless is part of recovery. If anxiety is stopping you from living normally, you can refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies in England without seeing a GP. Elsewhere, ask your doctor or a licensed therapist.

For low mood, a Cochrane review found relaxation better than no or minimal treatment for depressive symptoms, but less effective than psychological therapies such as CBT (Jorm et al., 2008).

Pain

Pain and tension feed each other: pain makes you brace, and bracing worsens pain. A systematic review of relaxation for pain found that 8 of 15 trials supported relaxation, with the strongest evidence for PMR in arthritis pain and for jaw relaxation after surgery (Kwekkeboom and Gretarsdottir, 2006). Autogenic training has evidence for tension headache and migraine (Stetter and Kupper, 2002). For persistent pain, relaxation works best as one part of a wider plan agreed with your doctor or pain team, alongside movement, pacing and, where needed, medication.

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Quick Routines: 2 Minutes and 20 Minutes

The 2-Minute Reset

Use this anywhere: at your desk, in the car before you drive off, in a toilet cubicle before a meeting.

1. Pause and notice (15 seconds). Drop your shoulders, unclench your jaw and let your hands rest.
2. Three physiological sighs (30 seconds). Double inhale through the nose, long exhale through the mouth.
3. Slow breathing (60 seconds). Breathe in for four and out for six, through your nose.
4. Release one area (15 seconds). Tense your shoulders up to your ears for five seconds, then let them drop.

The 20-Minute Deep Relaxation

Use this once a day, ideally at the same time, to build a calmer baseline.

1. Belly breathing (3 minutes). Lie down, one hand on your chest and one on your belly.
2. Progressive muscle relaxation (10 minutes). Work from your feet to your face, tensing for five seconds and releasing for 15–20.
3. Guided imagery (5 minutes). Spend time in your calm place, using all your senses.
4. Return (2 minutes). Breathe normally, move gently and sit up slowly.

Alternatively, follow a 20-minute yoga nidra or NSDR recording. The 2-minute reset helps in the moment; the 20-minute session, done most days for a few weeks, is what tends to change how stressed you feel overall.

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Does Relaxation Work? The Evidence, Honestly

Relaxation techniques are cheap, low-risk and have been studied for a century, so there is a lot of research. Here is what it adds up to.

What’s well supported. Slow breathing reliably shifts the nervous system towards rest in the short term (Laborde et al., 2022). Relaxation training reduces anxiety by a moderate amount, with larger effects for longer programmes (Manzoni et al., 2008). PMR helps with stress, anxiety and low mood (Muhammad Khir et al., 2024), and autogenic training has medium effects across a range of stress-related conditions (Stetter and Kupper, 2002). Relaxation is a recommended treatment option for generalised anxiety and insomnia (NICE CG113; Edinger et al., 2021).

What’s promising but uncertain. A 2023 meta-analysis of 12 trials found breathwork produced small-to-moderate reductions in stress, anxiety and depression, but the studies had a moderate risk of bias. The authors warned of a “miscalibration between hype and evidence” (Fincham et al., 2023). Yoga nidra, the physiological sigh and 4-7-8 breathing have only a handful of small studies each.

What relaxation can’t do. It isn’t a substitute for treatment of moderate to severe depression (Jorm et al., 2008), PTSD or other mental health conditions, although it can support it. Claims that a breathing method will “cure” anxiety, “detox” the body or “hack” your dopamine go well beyond the evidence.

Why the research is hard. You can’t give someone a placebo relaxation technique, so participants know what they are getting and expect to feel better. Many trials are small, short and use self-reported outcomes. Effects tend to be larger in weaker studies. This doesn’t mean the techniques don’t work; it means effect sizes should be read cautiously.

Evidence at a Glance

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Risks and Who Should Take Care

Relaxation techniques are among the safest self-help tools there are. But “safe for most people” isn’t the same as “safe for everyone”.

Relaxation-Induced Anxiety

Some people become more anxious when they try to relax. In a classic study of chronically tense adults, 31% reported increased tension during PMR and 54% during a focused meditation-style relaxation (Heide and Borkovec, 1983). Possible reasons include fear of losing control, unfamiliar body sensations, such as tingling or heaviness, and letting worries in when you stop being busy. If this happens:

• Switch to a more active technique, such as PMR or a walk, rather than a passive one.
• Keep your eyes open and sessions short.
• Remind yourself that unusual sensations are a normal part of relaxing, not a sign of danger.

Meditation-Style Practices

Body scans, yoga nidra and other inward-focused practices occasionally bring up difficult memories, emotions or strange experiences. A systematic review found adverse effects in about 8% of people who meditate, most commonly anxiety, depression and unusual changes in thinking (Farias et al., 2020), and a study of Western Buddhist meditators documented a wide range of challenging experiences (Lindahl et al., 2017). If you have experienced trauma, choose practices that let you keep your eyes open and stay in control, and consider working with a trauma-informed therapist. Cheetah House supports people who have had difficult meditation experiences.

Breathing Exercises

• Breath-holds in box and 4-7-8 breathing can cause light-headedness. If you are pregnant or have heart disease, uncontrolled high blood pressure or a lung condition such as COPD, skip the holds or check with your doctor.
• Fast, forceful breathing (such as cyclic hyperventilation or Wim Hof-style breathing) isn’t a relaxation technique, and is not covered here. Never practise it in water or while driving.
• Over-breathing can trigger panic symptoms in some people. Keep breaths gentle and stop if you feel dizzy.

Heat

Saunas and hot baths lower blood pressure and can cause fainting. Take care, and check with your doctor first, if you are pregnant, have heart disease or low blood pressure, or take medication that affects blood pressure. Avoid alcohol, drink water and get out slowly.

When to See a Doctor

Relaxation shouldn’t delay medical care. See your doctor if stress, anxiety, sleeplessness or pain is persistent or getting worse, or if you have physical symptoms such as chest pain or breathlessness that you can’t explain. Don’t stop any prescribed medication because you have started a relaxation practice.

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Apps

All of these were checked on the UK App Store in October 2026, so availability and pricing may differ in your country. Each is free to download; some charge a subscription for most content.

• Medito – completely free, run by a non-profit foundation, with guided relaxation, body scans and sleep sessions.
• Insight Timer – a huge free library of guided relaxation, yoga nidra and sleep tracks from thousands of teachers.
• Smiling Mind – free, from an Australian not-for-profit, with programmes for adults and children.
• Headspace – polished meditation, breathing and sleep content; mostly subscription.
• Calm – best known for sleep stories, music and breathing guides; mostly subscription.
• Breathwrk – guided breathing exercises, including box and 4-7-8 breathing, owned by Peloton.

In the US, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (part of the NIH) has a free fact sheet on relaxation techniques that describes progressive relaxation, autogenic training and guided imagery. In England, the NHS also offers free mental wellbeing audio guides and the Every Mind Matters hub.

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Books

All checked on Open Library in October 2026.

• The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook by Martha Davis, Elizabeth Robbins Eshelman and Matthew McKay – the most complete practical manual, covering almost every technique in this guide.
• The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson (1975) – the short classic that introduced the idea.
• You Must Relax by Edmund Jacobson (1934) – PMR from the man who invented it; dated, but historically important.
• Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers by Robert Sapolsky – an entertaining, authoritative explanation of the stress response.
• Breath by James Nestor (2020) – a bestselling exploration of breathing; engaging, though some claims run ahead of the science.
• Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn – the MBSR programme, including the body scan.
• Yoga Nidra by Richard Miller – the iRest approach to yoga nidra.
• Autogenic Training by Kai Kermani (1990) – an accessible introduction to autogenic training.

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Courses and Professional Help

• NHS Talking Therapies – free NHS treatment for anxiety and depression in England, including relaxation-based approaches. You can refer yourself.
• Applied relaxation – a NICE-recommended therapy for generalised anxiety disorder, delivered by trained psychological therapists (NICE CG113). Ask your doctor, or in England your NHS Talking Therapies service, whether it’s available locally.
• Autogenic training courses – usually taught in small groups over eight to ten weeks by a qualified autogenic therapist. Look for a practitioner who trained with a recognised autogenic organisation.
• iRest – Richard Miller’s yoga nidra organisation offers online programmes and a directory of trained teachers.
• Benson-Henry Institute – the Massachusetts General Hospital centre that grew out of Benson’s research, with resources and programmes based on the relaxation response.
• Yoga classes – many local classes end with relaxation or yoga nidra. Look for a teacher registered with a recognised yoga body.

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Watch, Listen and Follow

All videos, podcasts and accounts below were checked in October 2026.

Videos

• Mindful Breathing Exercise – Every Mind Matters (NHS). A two-minute guided breathing exercise.
• Belly breathing exercise: Calming the body and mind – Indiana University School of Medicine. A clear diaphragmatic breathing walk-through.
• Progressive Muscle Relaxation – Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. A full 22-minute guided PMR session.
• How To Perform the 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise – Andrew Weil, M.D.
• Reduce Anxiety & Stress with the Physiological Sigh – Andrew Huberman.
• Autogenic Training with Rich Crislip – Optum.
• 20 Minute Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR) – Huberman Lab Clips. A longer NSDR script for deeper rest.
• Relaxation Response: Dr. Herbert Benson Teaches You The Basics – MassDPH.
• “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: Stress and Health” – Robert Sapolsky, Beckman Institute at Illinois. A full lecture on stress.

Podcasts

• Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee – a UK GP’s long-running podcast on stress, sleep and lifestyle, with frequent episodes on breathing and relaxation.
• Huberman Lab – long-form neuroscience episodes, including on stress, breathing and NSDR. Some guests and claims are contested, so check the sources.
• Nothing Much Happens – gentle bedtime stories by yoga teacher Kathryn Nicolai, designed to help you drift off.

Accounts to Follow

• Every Mind Matters (NHS) – YouTube
• Andrew Weil – Instagram · YouTube
• Huberman Lab – Instagram · YouTube
• Dr Rangan Chatterjee – Instagram
• James Nestor – Instagram
• iRest Institute – Instagram
• Smiling Mind – Instagram

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Frequently Asked Questions About Relaxation

What is the quickest way to relax?

For most people, slow breathing with a long out-breath is quickest. Try one to three physiological sighs: breathe in through your nose, add a second short sniff, then exhale slowly through your mouth. Dropping your shoulders and unclenching your jaw at the same time adds a quick physical release.

What is the relaxation response?

The relaxation response is the term Harvard cardiologist Herbert Benson used in the 1970s for the body’s natural opposite of the stress response: slower heart rate and breathing, lower oxygen use and calmer brain activity. He said it can be triggered with a quiet place, a repeated word or focus, a passive attitude and comfort.

Which relaxation technique has the best evidence?

Slow breathing, progressive muscle relaxation and autogenic training have the most research behind them. PMR and autogenic training have meta-analyses showing moderate benefits for stress and anxiety, and slow breathing consistently improves heart rate variability. Applied relaxation, a structured therapy, is recommended by NICE for generalised anxiety disorder.

How long does it take for relaxation techniques to work?

Breathing techniques can calm you within a minute or two. Deeper skills, such as PMR and autogenic training, usually take two to eight weeks of daily practice before they work quickly and reliably. Most studies showing lasting benefits involve regular practice over several weeks, not a single session.

Is box breathing or 4-7-8 breathing better?

There is no head-to-head evidence. Box breathing has a little more research and tends to keep you alert, which suits stressful tasks. 4-7-8 breathing has a longer out-breath and many people find it more sleep-inducing, but it has been tested in only one small study. Try both and keep the one you prefer.

What is the physiological sigh?

It is a breathing pattern of two inhales through the nose, one long and one short, followed by a long exhale through the mouth. A 2023 Stanford trial found five minutes a day of this “cyclic sighing” improved mood and lowered anxiety, slightly more than mindfulness meditation. The trial was small and needs repeating.

Can relaxation techniques help me sleep?

Yes, for many people. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine conditionally recommends relaxation therapy for chronic insomnia, and it is part of CBT-I, the main recommended treatment. PMR, a body scan, 4-7-8 breathing, music or a warm bath an hour or two before bed are all worth trying.

Why do I feel more anxious when I try to relax?

This is called relaxation-induced anxiety and is surprisingly common, especially in people who are often tense. Unfamiliar sensations, fear of losing control or letting worries surface can all play a part. Try a more active method like PMR, keep your eyes open and start with very short sessions.

What is the difference between relaxation and meditation?

Relaxation techniques aim directly at calming the body and mind. Meditation trains attention and awareness; relaxation is often a side effect, but not the goal, and some meditation can feel challenging. They overlap a lot: the body scan and mantra-style relaxation sit in both camps.

What is NSDR and is it the same as yoga nidra?

Non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) is a term coined by neuroscientist Andrew Huberman for guided practices that take you into deep rest without sleeping. Most NSDR scripts are yoga nidra adapted without the spiritual elements, such as setting a resolve. The research on both is still limited and early.

Are relaxation techniques safe?

Yes, for most people. The main risks are light-headedness from breath-holding or over-breathing, relaxation-induced anxiety, and occasionally distressing memories during inward-focused practices. Take extra care with breath-holds or saunas if you are pregnant or have heart, lung or blood pressure problems, and check with your doctor if unsure.

Can relaxation replace medication or therapy?

No. Relaxation can reduce stress and anxiety and is part of some NICE-recommended treatments, but it isn’t a substitute for treatment of moderate to severe depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD or chronic pain. Use it alongside professional care, and never stop prescribed medication without speaking to your doctor first.

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Key Takeaways

• Relaxation is the body’s rest state, the opposite of the stress response, and you can bring it on with learnable skills.
• Slow breathing with a long out-breath is the fastest lever. Diaphragmatic breathing, box breathing, 4-7-8 and the physiological sigh are all variations.
• PMR and autogenic training have the best evidence for stress and anxiety; guided imagery, body scans and yoga nidra suit deeper rest.
• Heat, nature and music help too, especially for sleep and everyday stress.
• Practise regularly. Two minutes calms you in the moment; 20 minutes most days for a few weeks builds lasting change.
• It is low-risk but not risk-free. If relaxing makes you anxious, switch technique, and see your doctor if problems persist.

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