Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive Muscle Relaxation is the most active form of relaxation. Progressive Muscle Relaxation, or PMR, is designed to help the body progressively relax by letting go of tension. PMR helps in dealing with muscle tension, neck and back pain, insomnia, fatigue and muscle spasms. PMR also reduces the physiological tension caused by anxiety-provoking thoughts, which helps to reduce the anxiety response. PMR can be a quick and easy form of relaxation.

To begin, lay on the floor or sit in a chair with space around you. You can start at the top of your head or the tips of your toes, but you want to be sure to tense each muscle group for 5-7 seconds, then relax for 20-30 seconds. Muscles you want to tense include your forehead, eyebrows, jaw, tongue, lips, cheeks, throat, shoulders, chest, abdomen, arms, fingers, hands, lower back, hips, buttocks, thighs, calves, shins, feet, and toes. You will want to start by tensing and relaxing one muscle group at a time, but as you become more proficient at PMR, you can do groups of muscles at one time (e.g. forehead, cheeks, tongue, etc). Regular practice can help enhance the speed and depth of your relaxation.

*Caution: be careful when tensing your neck and back to avoid muscle or spinal damage. If it hurts, please stop.

Worrying

Most people have a lot to worry about. Being a student has its own unique challenges and stressors, and there are decisions you have to make which can feel enormous. In this situation, it's hard to not worry about how your life will turn out. Worry and stress can be productive-to a point. Some stress is motivating and helps us perform better. But too much worry and stress can decrease our performance and our ability to make decisions.

Not worrying is hard to do, but there are several techniques that can help you decrease your worry. First, think of worry as a tomato plant. The more you feed and water and pay attention to your tomato plant, the more tomatoes will grow. If you leave your tomato plant alone, it will die. Worry is similar to that - the more attention you pay to your worries, thee more they will grow.

One thing you can do to decrease the time you spend on your worries is imagine building a box in your mind that will hold your worries.. Be as detailed as you can, and be sure to put a lid and a lock on the box. That box will keep your worries safe for you until you have time to think about them, but it will keep you safe from thinking about them at inopportune times.

The second technique you can use to decrease your worries is to set aside a specific amount of time to worry. Saying "I'm going to worry from 3-3:30 pm this afternoon about my test" is better than worrying about it all day. This will help you decrease the amount of time you spend on worry and will free up your mind to think about other things.

Quick Relaxation

Relaxation can be hard to fit into a busy schedule. You may not feel like you have time to sit down and do a 10 minute relaxation recording. In those cases, you may wish relaxation was as easy as just adding water to yourself to become more relaxed. Fortunately, there are quick relaxation techniques you can use that will leave you more relaxed.

1. In one slow motion, take in a deep abdominal breath and force it all out. As you breathe out, think of the word "relax".
2. At the end of breathing out, hold your breath from six to ten seconds (or as long as you feel comfortable). To estimate the seconds, count: "one thousand one, one thousand two", etc.
3. Keep repeating steps 1 and 2 for two or three minutes or as long as it takes for you to feel calm.

After a while, thinking the word relax will become a cue to slow your breathing and calm yourself.

*taken from Help Yourself to Happiness through Rational Self-Counseling

Types of relaxation

In the Stress Management and Biofeedback Services, we offer different types of relaxation exercises. Some relaxation exercises focus on relaxing your body, and when you relax your body, your mind may follow. Other relaxation exercises focus on relaxing your mind, and when you relax your mind, your body may follow and become more relaxed. Some types of relaxation may not work as well for different people, so becoming familiar with what works well for you is important. Some people will find that physical exercise (running, walking, yoga) is helpful to them. Others may be helped by focusing on their breathing and keeping their thoughts in the present moment. Still others may find their stress is relieved through laughter, or through spending time with friends and family.

We focus on relaxation exercises which may include physical or mental relaxation. At least one recording for each of the different types of relaxation exercises can be found on the website and which you can download and listen to for free. Listening to different types of relaxation exercises will help you understand what works best for you and how you can calm down in stressful situations. Feel free to have fun experimenting with different types of relaxation.

Sleep and Stress

For students, getting enough sleep can be difficult. We may lay awake not able to get to sleep. We may feel exhausted, but our thoughts are racing and we cannot stop thinking about what we need to do. There may be a party we want to go to, or we may have long lists of assignments to complete. Sleep is essential to relaxation, and when we get enough sleep, our perceived levels of stress tend to drop. Insomnia can lead to lack of energy, irritability, poor performance, memory difficulties, concentration problems, and a compromised immune system.

Fortunately, there are things we can do to improve our sleep habits. Learning to have good "sleep hygiene" will help improve the quality of our sleep. Sleep hygiene refers to our sleeping habits, particularly to controlling environmental and behavioral factors related to sleep. Working on improving our sleep hygiene can help us get more restful, regular sleep, which can help decrease stress symptoms and increase our ability to use the relaxation response.Some of the items on the list may not work for you, but trying to make small changes to improve your sleep hygiene will help improve your quality of sleep.
*Sleep hygiene list found here

Visualization

We have all used visualization at some time. We are visualizing when we daydream, recall memories, dream, think, or use our inner dialogue to “talk” to ourselves about things. Visualization for relaxation means utilizing the magic of one’s imagination to allow the brain to calm, and the body to relax. Visualization can also help you create a safe and relaxing place in your mind when you need a break from a stressful situation.

Visualization is effective for many stress-related and physical illnesses including headaches, muscle spasms, anxiety, chronic pain, and insomnia (by clearing away stressful thoughts and allowing the mind to calm sufficiently to enter a deeper, restorative state of sleep). To make visualization more successful you should remember to utilize all of your senses: taste, touch, sight, smell, and sound. The more detail you add, the more real your mental image becomes, and thus the deeper and quicker you will relax.

The best time to practice visualization is when you can focus without interruptions. Decide on what kind of visualization you are going to practice, such as re-creating a memory of a time and place when you remember feeling stress-free and very relaxed. It could be a memory of a vacation at the ocean, camping, hiking, fishing, a cabin in the mountains, a day at the lake, a special Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends, a wonderful Christmas morning with family seated around the tree opening gifts, even a memory of lying back on the grass of your childhood home and watching the clouds floating by. The more vivid you make your visualization (by using your 5 senses), the more you increase the likelihood of once again feeling the good emotions associated with that memory – which will deepen your relaxation and sense of well-being.

Stress Busters for College Students

1. Whenever you feel stressed take three deep breaths and repeat a calming phrase to yourself: “One thing at a time,” “My best will be good enough,” “Calm down,” “Relax,” etc. Deep slow breathing and a change in thinking are our best defense against stress overload.

2. Take a short break at least every two hours. After two hours of studying we learn and remember less than if we take frequent breaks.

3. Notice your stress level on a scale of 0 to 10, 10 being the highest. When you are above 5, or notice you can’t concentrate, do something right then to calm yourself: take a short walk, laugh, listen to music, listen to a relaxation recording (http://ccc.byu.edu/counseling/skills.php), call a friend, take a power nap, etc.

4. Take 10 minutes or more to relax deeply at bedtime to help get to sleep and wake more refreshed. Use relaxation skills, Yoga, relaxation recordings, music, calming thoughts, etc, to help you relax.

5. Take time to eat regularly for brain power and energy.

6. Prepare mentally to take your exams by listening to the relaxation recording, “A Walk to the BYU Testing Center,” on our website under Performance Rehearsal: http://ccc.byu.edu/counseling/skills.php

7. Focus on one thing at a time and then consciously transition to a different task. Say to yourself: “I’m done studying Calculus. Now I’m going to focus on my Biology test.”

8. Take a break to try the Relaxation/Biofeedback computer program in the Academic Success Center, WSC 2590. It will help you calm down, focus better, and recharge your batteries.

9. If worry is interfering with studying, mentally yell “Stop!” or “Not Now,” to stop the flow of thoughts. Then focus on your breathing, gradually slowing and deepening it. Add a calming phrase and repeat until calmer.

10. Take a few minutes once in awhile to reassess where you are and adjust your priorities for use of time and energy as you go: Spending less time on less important exams, take a nap when needed, etc.

11. Get out of your head and into your senses while walking to and from school and across campus. Notice the people, scenery, sounds, smells, etc. Enjoy the mountains, sunset, etc. Give yourself a break from thinking.

12. Be realistic about what you can get done in the time you have: Don’t sacrifice too much sleep to study.