Ways to Relax at Night Without Wine
It is a common cliche that women tend to unwind with wine after a long day. It is important, however, for women to be conscious of their alcoholic levels. According to The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, women drinking three drinks in a day or seven in a week is considered binge drinking and one bottle of wine is consider five glasses. By learning about healthier ways to relax after a long day, you will not have to worry about the health harms of binge drinking.
Calming Bath
Letting the hot water soak every inch of your body after a hard day will help soothe your mood. You can add bubbles or Epsom salts to better make the experience more enjoyable. Play some relaxing music in the background like classical, smooth jazz, or new age genres to put help you relax. Taking a bath is also a good opportunity to read a good book or listen to an audiobook as bath times are supposed to be private and uninterrupted where you can enjoy some peace and quiet.
Exercising
Exercising is a great way to experience those feel-good hormones every time you move your muscles, hands, or feet. You can either have a heavy workout at the gym or go for a nice walk. There are other relaxing exercises to do like going for a swim, walking the dog, hiking, yoga, or working out at home. When you exercise, you are alone in your thoughts and think more about what happened today and what tomorrow will be like. You can also do a variety of different activities every night so that your exercise routine does not become tedious. This will help you see which exercises help you relax more at the end of the day.
Brain Teasers
While it is important to make sure your body is active, the brain is a very important muscle that deserves exercise when the day is over. Getting your brain working on something challenging but fun at the end time is another way to help you relax. This may involve doing crossword puzzles, putting together a jigsaw puzzle, or doing brain teaser trivia on your own. This will help you avoid feeling sluggish, fatigued, and exercising your brain before it is time for you to sleep.
Creativity
While creativity may be stressful when you must use these skills for work, it can be more fun during your off hours. This can mean doing indoor activities as soon as you get off work like taking a painting class or knitting, sewing, or making a quilt at home. You can also be creative in the kitchen by trying out new recipes from a cookbook or a cooking show. You can even launch your creativity outdoors by going for a jog and taking pictures of the nature around you. Get those creative juices flowing to help reduce your end of the day anxiety.
Read a Book
Nothing like sitting on the couch, bathtub, or bed snuggling up to a book that you have been looking forward to finishing. It can be a good escape to listen to the voice of someone you enjoy or be transported to a new world. If your eyes are too tired to follow through with your book, listen to an audiobook to fall asleep to. You can also read from an ebook as you look at how much longer it tells you how long a chapter will take you to finish to have an idea of when to get some shut-eye.
Clean the House
You may be feeling too tired to worry about having to keep the house in order after a long day at work, but you will feel more depressed coming home to a mess. Your stressed levels will be reduced and you will sleep better knowing you have a clean room in a clean house. Take one room at a time and start rearranging your closets, cabinets, bookshelves, etc. You will feel like cleaning will help clear your mind by finding an activity that will distract you away from any issues you faced today or the urge to head for the bottle.
Communicate with Someone
Sometimes, we all just need to clear our heads after a long day of work by venting to someone. We tend to forget how good it feels to speak to someone via phone or video chat. You can talk about what is stressing you out or just be a good listener to someone else. You may realize that talking about your stresses out loud or hearing someone else’s will make you realize that your struggles are not worth struggling about. Even if you do not feel like talking, snuggle up with a pet as animals will relax as long as you are relaxed.
Alone Time
You may just want to unwind by yourself as you have been around people all day. This can mean going to a movie by yourself or to your local coffee shop with your book and beverage of choice. You can also use this opportunity to go to the grocery store alone without having to worry about anyone. Drinking a bottle of wine does not need to be your go-to solution to unwind. Finding healthy activities to do will make you feel good by the end of the day and will help you look forward to the next day.
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