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How to Destress in 10 Minutes

Four Methods:Learning VisualizationWalking MindfullyRelaxing with Breathing ExercisesGetting CreativeCommunity Q&A

Everyone has to deal with stress in life. It might be work related, family, social stress, environmental stress, or health issues. Letting stress build up in your life can have negative effects on your emotional, physical, and mental health.[1] But, you can learn to relax your body, clear your mind, and manage stress. You can also reduce your anxiety, provide a buffer against depression, and improve your physical health.[2] Getting in tune with your physical and emotional feelings of stress can help you cope with life and be more productive. Fortunately, there are quick, easy methods that you can use to let go of stress.

Learning Visualization

  1. 1
    Find a private place. Using your imagination to surround yourself with calming imagery can help you reduce stress.[3] To begin, find a private place to relax for ten minutes.
    • Find a quiet place where you can be alone. It be on your break from work, in your car (parked), in the bathroom, or at home.
    • Turn off your phone so that nothing will distract you. This is time is for you and you alone. Think of it as a 10 minute vacation from daily stressors of life.
  2. 2
    Create a safe place in your mind. Focus your mind on a place you feel safe and calm. It could be a beach in Hawaii. It could be forest, a campground at night with the crackling of fire, any place that makes you feel calm. It can be real or imaginary.[4]
    • You can use any imagery that focuses your attention on feelings of relaxation. Your safe place can be a memory of any place that makes you feel relaxed. Or you can imagine a fantastical place, like in the clouds or in the stars.
  3. 3
    Imagine how your safe place feels. Try to imagine, as vividly as you can, the physical feeling of your safe place. Imagine as many sensory details as you can.[5]
    • Think about how the salt of the ocean smells. Imagine the feel of sand on your feet, the sounds of the waves crashing in your ears, the warmth of the sun on your skin. Involve all your senses in creating your visualization experience.
  4. 4
    Bring the feeling of your safe place to tense areas of your body. Notice places in your body that are holding tension and stress as you visualize your relaxation place. Consciously bring all the sensations of your imaginary retreat to the areas of your body that are physically stressed.[6]
    • For example, many people hold a lot of tension in their shoulders and neck. If you are imagining you are on a beach, focus the rays of sunlight, the salty air, or the feelings of being in the water on to your shoulders. Feel them relax into the visualization.
  5. 5
    Spread the feeling throughout your body. As you breathe and imagine yourself in your relaxation place, start a full body scan. Start at your head and move all the way down to your feet.[7]
    • Concentrate on your head being in your relaxation place, and breathe. Next, focus on your shoulders, and breathe. Become conscious of your arms, torso, midsection, and hips all being fully immersed in your visualization. All the while, breathe deeply into each part of your body. Then focus on your legs, knees, calves and finally your feet.
    • Breathe yourself into your visualization while you continue to take in the sights, sounds, the feelings, and smells of your imaginary haven.
  6. 6
    Relax and stay awhile. This technique can help you feel less stressed in as little as 10 minutes. You can also use this technique when you have more time. There is no such thing as over-doing it on relaxation!
    • Once you feel some relief from stress, open your eyes. Take a few minutes to adjust to your surroundings, then continue with your day.

Walking Mindfully

  1. 1
    Go outside and start walking. You can relieve stress with as little as ten minutes of moderate exercise like walking.
    • If possible, practice mindful walking in a natural setting. A nearby park that has walking trails or a garden is ideal. Even a neighborhood that has a lot of trees is a good choice. Walking in nature can help boost the stress-relieving effects of mindful walking. Many people find nature peaceful. It can be a good escape from a busy, city life. [8]
  2. 2
    Pay attention to your body. Mindfulness is just another word for paying attention.[9] As you walk, take note of how your body feels. You aren't trying to change anything at this point, just be conscious of the feelings in your body.[10]
    • Don't just walk with a flurry of racing thoughts going through your head. Instead, pay attention to your body and your environment as you walk. Mindful walking is about giving yourself a break from all the stressful thoughts that may be going through your mind.[11]
    • Notice how your feet feel with each step. Be aware of your posture; if you are standing up straight or bent forward or hunched over. Notice if your hips feel tense or tight. Take note of how you swing your arms. Notice how you breathe while you are walking.
  3. 3
    Observe your environment. After you've taken stock of your body feels, focus on the world around you. Pay attention to colors that are around you. Focus on your environment, whatever it may be.[12]
    • Look at the scenery around you, the buildings if you are in the city, or the nature if you are somewhere that has plants. Look to see if there is anything on the ground, or what the sky looks like on this particular day.
    • Try to immerse yourself fully in the objects that are all around you, rather than thinking about other things.
  4. 4
    Change your breathing and posture. Once you get used to being present in your body and environment, begin to shape your breathing and posture. Stand straight and take deep breaths.
    • With each step, imagine that there is a string holding you up from the crown of your head. This string goes through your entire body and is connected to your feet.
    • Become aware of your breathing, and consciously take breaths from the bottom of your belly.
    • Walk as quickly or slowly as you want and your ability allows, while remaining aware of your movements, environment, and breathing.
  5. 5
    Keep your focus. If you find your mind drifting to thoughts about anything other than walking, breathing, or your surroundings, notice your thoughts and let them pass. Return your attention back to your feet, the imaginary string holding up your head, and your surroundings.
    • You may have to practice returning your attention back to walking, but that is a part of the exercise. All that matters is that you are noticing your thoughts, then returning to mindfully walking.
    • It doesn’t matter how many times your mind may stray back. The only thing that is important is that you are walking with the intention to relieve stress. Just keep returning your mind’s attention to your walking.

Relaxing with Breathing Exercises

  1. 1
    Practice belly breathing. Breath work can help relieve stress quickly and in any situation. Deep breathing lowers blood pressure and heart rate and oxygenates the body. All these help promote feelings of relaxation. Belly breathing is just what it sounds like: breathing from the belly.[13]
    • Place one or both hands on your belly and breathe right into your hands. Many of us only breathe into our upper chest cavity, which actually activates the stress response. This cause more feelings of stress.
    • Take ten minutes to sit comfortably with your hands on your belly and just breathe.
    • Try to focus your mind on your breath, letting all your stressful thoughts pass through your mind as though they are cars on a highway.
    • Listen to the sounds your body makes as it breathes. Feel the rise and fall of your belly underneath your hands.
    • Pay attention to the places in your body that are holding tension, such as your neck, shoulders, arms, or knees. Breathe all the tension through your hands into your belly.
  2. 2
    Take grounding breaths. Grounding breaths are a type of deep breathing in which you imagine the stress in your body leaving through your feet. Here is how it's done:[14]
    • Sit with your feet planted firmly on the ground. Imagine there is a string holding up your head from above. Now, imagine two heavy, metal rods that are attached to the bottoms of your feet and connect you to the earth. Feel the heaviness of the rods weighing your body down.
    • Focus on your feet and breathe from the top of your head all the way down to your feet, all the way down through the metal rods and into the earth.
    • Once you have done two or three breaths like this, imagine all the things you are stressed about flowing from the top of your head out through the bottoms of your feet. Let them flow down through the metal rods and into the ground.
    • For example, lets say work has been particularly stressful for you. Imagine all the stressful things about your work flowing out of your head and down through the rods. The task that kept going wrong, your irritation with a coworker, and the problem with the printer should all flow into the ground.
    • Give yourself permission to release your responsibilities for these 10 minutes. Your goal is to be in your body and let go, clear your head, and lighten your mood.
  3. 3
    Try full body breaths. This type of breath work focuses on your entire body and helps to relieve stress physically. It helps encourage healthy spinal and organ movement, as well as the flow of oxygen and lymphatic fluid throughout the body.[15] It is a process of breathing deeply, imagining the break entering each part of your body. As you do, you'll release the stress in each area. Here's how it's done:[16]
    • Begin by belly breathing.
    • After taking a few deep belly breaths, begin relaxing yourself from head to toe.
    • Breathe into your head, noticing your skull, forehead, eyes and ears. Consciously relax any tension you might become aware of in these areas.
    • Next, focus on your shoulders. Then move down your arms, and elbows, and imagine breathing out through your hands.
    • Breathe into your torso, feel and relax your rib cage, sternum and digestive organs.
    • Breathe into your hips, and again, keep noticing and breathing away any tension you might become aware of.
    • Breathe into your thighs, relaxing and releasing. Then breathe into your knees, calves and finally your feet.
  4. 4
    Use a podcast or internet video. There are many guided breath work videos and podcasts available on the internet. Do a quick internet search, try out some different styles of guided breathing and see if they work for you..
    • Having a voice and instruction to keep your breath focused can help you stay focused.[17]
    • There are also apps that you can download on your mobile device so you can take your guided breath work videos with you anywhere. This can be a great place to start practicing breath work if you are finding it difficult to focus and sit still.
  5. 5
    Combine breath work with visualization. This combination can be very useful when dealing with stress. It is also easy to combine these two techniques.
    • For example, you might imagine you are inhaling a cleansing color, such as white or blue, and exhaling a grey plume of smoke. With each breath, try to feel the cleansing color absorbing into every part of your body. When exhaling, imagine all stress being released in the grey plume.
    • This method of breath work can be helpful if you have had some kind of stressful conflict at work or in your personal life. It also works well if you are feeling overwhelmed by your responsibilities, or just over burdened by life in general.

Getting Creative

  1. 1
    Call a friend. Having fun, lightening your mood, and kicking back are also key elements in managing stress. Different people have different approaches to this, so pick an activity that works well for you. Many people find it helpful to talk to a friend when they are stressed out.
    • For some people, it is helpful to vent their frustrations. Getting whatever is stressing you out off your chest can help you relax. Call a friend who won't mind a 10 minute venting session.[18]
    • Other people prefer to be distracted. Call a friend who is fun, or who makes you laugh. This can help take your mind off your troubles and de-stress.
  2. 2
    Have a laugh. Even if you can't reach a friend to talk to, laughter can be a powerful way to relieve stress.[19] Fortunately, there is plenty of content online that can help you laugh your troubles away.
    • Look up jokes on the internet, and take 10 minutes to have a good chuckle.
    • Look up funny videos that will make you laugh. This could be cat videos, clips of your favorite comedy show, sports bloopers, or something else. Whatever you find funny can help you get your mind off your troubles.
  3. 3
    Get active. Many people find physical activity relaxing. This doesn't have to be something as formal as mindful walking. You can move around in your home in ways that help you relax.
    • Some people find cleaning the house to be a good way to relieve stress.[20] Find a small cleaning project you can do for 10 minutes. Vacuum your floor, wipe down some counters, or clean the tub.
    • For some people, a little dance party goes a long ways.[21] Either by yourself or with a friend, take a few minutes to dance to your favorite music. Just cut loose for a few minutes.
  4. 4
    Listen to music. If you don't like dancing, you may still find music is a great way to decrease stress levels.[22] Play some tunes that help you feel calmer.
    • For some people, this means relaxing or mellow music, like classical or smooth jazz.
    • For others, some upbeat happy tunes are what take the edge off. Experiment with different types of music and see what works best for you.
  5. 5
    Take a shower. Many people find showering to be a good way to de-stress.[23] For some people, hot showers work best. But for others, a cool shower might be most relaxing. Again, find what works best for you.
    • There are body washes and other shampoos that are designed to help relieve stress through aromatherapy. Try one of these to see if it helps you.
  6. 6
    Indulge your appetite. Some people find eating certain foods to be very calming. It might be sugary sweet,[24] a salty snack, or a favorite fruit.[25] You know your own tastes, so pick something that works well for you.
    • It is important not to overindulge as a means to managing stress. This can lead to a variety of health problems including weight gain, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Make your indulgences small. Have a single piece of candy or a handful of chips. Don't consume the whole bag in an attempt to eat your stress away.[26]
  7. 7
    Experiment. There are lots of other activities that can reduce stress, from kissing to praying to drinking tea. Try out some of your own ideas, and see what works best for you.[27]

Community Q&A

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  • Breathing exercises are great because you can use them anywhere, at any time. They also combine well with other methods of stress relief.
  • Many people find visualization difficult at first. It may take practice for you to fully conjure the imagery needed to alleviate stress. Keep working on this and you will get there.


  • If none of these methods are working and stress is consistently impacting your life, you may wish to seek the help of a mental health professional.

Sources and Citations

  1. Teasing Apart the Effects of Cognition, Stress, and Depression on Health. By: Doom, Jenalee R.; Haeffel, Gerald J. American Journal of Health Behavior. Sep/Oct2013, Vol. 37 Issue 5, p610-619
  2. Correlations among Stress, Physical Activity and Nutrition: School Employee Health Behavior By: Gillan, Wynn; Naquin, Millie; Zannis, Marie. ICHPER-SD Journal of Research, v8 n1 p55-60 Spr-Sum 2013
  3. The Development of a Short-Term Stress Management Programme for Students.By: du Toit, B. H.. South African Journal of Higher Education, v10 n1 p175-82 1996.

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Article Info

Categories: Managing Stress

In other languages:

Português: Desestressar em 10 Minutos, Italiano: Staccare la Spina in 10 Minuti, Русский: избавиться от стресса за 10 минут, Español: liberarte del estrés en 10 minutos, Deutsch: In 10 Minuten Stress abbauen, Bahasa Indonesia: Menghilangkan Stres dalam 10 Menit, Français: déstresser en 10 minutes, Tiếng Việt: Giảm căng thẳng trong 10 phút, 한국어: 10분 만에 스트레스 해소하는 법, العربية: التخلص من التوتر في 10 دقائق

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