Psychology of Relaxation
In life, when you have had enough time to work, follow principles, and join in the hustling and bustling of each day, there is a time in a day or a moment when an individual wants to cool off. That is a psychological state called relaxation.
From this image, what I could deduce is that the herd of cattle are relaxing. So, one could simple say that *Relaxation* is what the image tries to showcase.
According to the Oxford Dictionaries Relaxation could be described as an emotional state of an individual to be in low tension from negative feelings of fear, anxiety, and anger.
In all, an individual can cheat stress that is causing the most number of recorded mental cases across the world by engaging in relaxation activities, making the frontal cortex of the brain find mild ecstasy.
The idea of relaxation in psychology was supported by Dr. Jacobson in one of his books titled Progressive Relaxation in 1929where he stated clearly the rudiments of emotional trauma that relaxation would help cure.
Benefit of Relaxation To Humans & Animals
There are three major benefits of relaxation to both man and animals. The benefits spread across physiological, mental, and physical domains.
Physiologically: When an individual is at rest, it helps the digestion process to be fast and easy. Relaxation on the other hand is referred to as rest which keeps the body built for activeness afterward. Hence, relaxation has been recommended as a therapy for AIDS and cancer patients.
The immunity of the body is made stronger in mammals when they relax their bodies. Hence, compounding the volume of antibodies helps fight germs and attack the cells in the body of both men and animals. The most healthy mammals are those that have enough time to relax.
Mentally: to keep mentally, there is a need to learn about our mental health. Individuals who have enough time to relax are better at processing information. They become highly thoughtful too.
It is no more news that relaxation reduces stress and with that, all the negative emotional attachment that comes with stress won't come close to a relaxed person.
Another benefit of relaxation on our mental health is that it causes sleep. Sleep is the emotional state where someone is unconscious of his present environment. When one is relaxed, the hypothalamus, a hormonal gland secrets the brain which results in sleep. With sleep, mental illness can be drastically reduced.
Someone may not need medication to drive insomnia if they take time to relax. Relaxation is a cure for sleeplessness, no doubt. So, we should always find time to relax.
Physically: respiration, blood pressure, and heart rate will reduce when someone is relaxed. Relaxation to some extent helps to build muscle and helps to reduce muscle pull in sportsmen and women.
The physical benefit of relaxation is also seen in exercise or healthy eating. It's important to relax with exercise sometimes too so that the body's metabolism can be reduced.
For athletes, relaxation helps to perform better. Little wonder, individuals who engage in games and are relaxed before competition tend to do better.
During relaxation time, individuals can enter into a phase of meditation. Hence, when we need to relax, some of the below steps could be taken.
Comfortable Position
To relax, one must find a comfortable place to be. In the course of finding a suitable place, then relaxation can take place. Sometimes, individuals go far away from places where they are known so that they could be all to themselves.
A quiet environment
Relaxing in a quiet environment helps the individual to focus their mind on certain issues where there is no distraction whatsoever. So, if we intend to relax, the best place to do so is a place that is isolated, away from the noisy and busy surroundings that may disturb our reflexes.
Repeated Sound or Word
Words or music could help in relaxing the body too. When a particular word is said repeatedly, it could form a lullaby that makes the head cool and relaxes.
As seen in the image above, it is in the nature of living things, I mean animals (man inclusive) to relax and have enough rest for the same of continuing life.
Relaxation is a natural phenomenon. It sometimes comes at us when we least expect it.
