Relaxation is the process of releasing tension. The goal is to decrease levels of stress, anger, or anxiety and reach a state of increased calmness. There are various relaxation techniques that can help, including autogenic training, meditation, or yoga.

The Internet not only provides information on how to relax, there are also many great tools to help you loosen up and reduce your stress levels. Below you will find the five best ways to relax online as well as a wealth of resources to choose from.

Listen To Relaxing Sounds & Take A Nap

A natural relaxing bodily function that hopefully everyone of us enjoys for at least a couple of hours each night is sleep. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to fall asleep or take a nap when we feel stressed out or anxious. Along with a hot shower before bedtime or hot milk with honey, relaxing sounds have a calming effect and can be a remedy for those who have trouble falling asleep.

My favorite tool in this category is Rainy Mood. The website provides a 30-minute high-quality loop with sounds of heavy rain, thunder, and chirping birds.

Another great page is Sounds of Nature. You can select high quality audio loops from four different categories: Birds & Forest, Water & Waves, Rain, and Night.

You can find similar sites in the following articles:

• Sounds To Help You Sleep, Relax, Concentrate Or Wake Up!
• 6 Free White Noise Sites To Relax Or Set Yourself To Sleep

Listen To Calming Music

Did you know that music can not only support a mood, but also change your mood? Upbeat music can make you happy, so why shouldn’t relaxing music be able to calm you down? If you just want to relax, maybe while completing routine tasks, calming music can be a great tool.

GetRelaxed combines soft relaxing soundscapes with visually appealing images to help you reduce your stress levels.

If the music on this website is not appealing to you, there are many other online resources to download or stream music. Fortunately, we have covered many of them on MakeUseOf:

• 5 Websites To Play Music Matching Your Mood
• Listen To Your Favorite Music Online For Free With Grooveshark
• Top 10 Free Ways To Discover New Music Online
• The 4 Best Websites To Check Out New Music Releases First
• The Top 10 Sites To Listen To Classical Music
• 5 Online Radio Stations To Get Your Music Fix
• The 3 Best Free Classical Music Download Sites
• The 14+ Hottest Music Streaming & Discovery Sites
• 7 Websites Where You Can Listen To A Live Music Band

Smile & Laugh

Laughter is the best and cheapest medicine for reducing stress and there is not the least bit of bitterness involved. In fact, research has shown that laughter not only decreases stress, it can also “help relieve pain, bring greater happiness, and even increase immunity.” You’d better prescribe yourself a high dose.

With over 283 million views on YouTube, this must be the funniest video ever.

Hm, maybe not?

For a selection of resources that will really stimulate your funny bone, browse these articles:

• The 5 Best Joke Of The Day Sites Ever
• Check Out Hilarious Stand Up Comedy Routines And Jokes With The Laugh Button
• 8 Best Daily Jokes Sites To Lighten Up Your Mood
• 4 Really Funny YouTube Channels Worth Keeping Up With
• 55 Geeky One Line Jokes
• 9 Hilarious Websites To Visit When You Need To Kill Time
• The Top 10 Stand-Up Comedy Videos On YouTube
• The 5 Funniest Amateur Blogs On The Web
• My Top Ten Favourite Funniest YouTube Videos Ever

Play A Game

Nothing takes your mind off a nagging thought than being busy with something else, and nothing is more engaging than a fun game. Combine the two and you will literally forget your stress.

The game that had me captivated in a state of flow for days and weeks of my childhood was Tetris. It has come a long way since its release with the 1989 Game Boy and to this day, there is nothing more relaxing than a mindless, yet mentally challenging game of Tetris.

We have covered literally hundreds of online games on MakeUseOf. Here is a small selection:

• The 5 Most Addictive Games On The Web
• 3 Cool Tetris Spin-Off Online Games
• 19+ Challenging Free Online Puzzle Games You Have To Play
• 5 Ways To Play a Scrabble Game Online
• 6 Online Riddle Games to Keep You Glued to Your Computer
• The Top 9 Free Adventure Games Available Online
• 5 Fun Online City Building Games That Run In Your Browser
• 10 Extensions for Playing Fun Games on Google Chrome

Try To Do Nothing For 2 Minutes

This website challenges you to do nothing, i.e. not touch your mouse or keyboard for two long minutes. And the reward when you make it? Well done and you can like the site on Facebook! And yes, not doing anything actually helps you to relax.

If you are seriously overworked, stressed out, or anxious you should seek professional help. For a temporary immediate relief, try the Stress Analyst. According to Matthew Leitch, the guy who created this test, “80% of people who use Stress Analyst really do feel calmer as a result.” At least it doesn’t hurt, I tried it.

So what are your favorite techniques to relax? Do you need the Internet at all?

Image credits: Valua Vitaly