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Home Health Information Relaxation Techniques: What You Need To Know. Relaxation Techniques: What You Need To Know. What are relaxation techniques? What are the different types of relaxation techniques? Listed below are some of the different types of relaxation techniques.

Progressive Relaxation: Also called progressive muscle relaxation, this technique involves tensing different muscles in your body and then releasing the tension.

Biofeedback-Assisted Relaxation: Through feedback that is usually provided by an electronic device, you learn how to recognize and manage how your body responds. The electronic device lets you see how your heart rate, blood pressure, or muscle tension changes in response to feeling stressed or relaxed.

Breathing Exercises: For breathing exercises, you might focus on taking slow, deep breaths—also called diaphragmatic breathing. Can relaxation techniques help during labor and childbirth? Many women would like to use nondrug options for pain relief during labor and childbirth.

Overall, the studies found that relaxation techniques might help women manage labor pain, but the quality of the research varied between low and very low.

Eight studies 99 women looked at relaxation. The overall findings showed mixed experiences for both methods of pain relief. Some women who used the nondrug methods reported that they were less effective than anticipated. Can children and adolescents benefit from relaxation techniques?

A review on recurrent abdominal pain in children and adolescents found that guided imagery and hypnotherapy may be helpful in reducing pain in the short term, but the quality of the research was low. The review included 2 small studies on guided imagery and 2 small studies on practitioner-led hypnotherapy plus homework , with a total of participants.

A review of 10 studies with participants looked at the effect that remotely delivered psychological therapies had on chronic pain in children and adolescents. Nine of the studies included a relaxation component in the treatment. The review found that psychological therapies delivered remotely were helpful at reducing headache pain right after treatment but not later at follow up.

No benefit was found for the other types of pain that were studied. Overall, the research was considered to be of very low quality.

Anxiety and depression. A review included 9 studies— participants total—on biofeedback for anxiety and depression in children and adolescents with long-term physical conditions such as chronic pain, asthma, cancer, and headache. A review of 7 studies involving children looked at the effects of relaxation training on migraine headaches, tension-type headache, or both.

Although some studies reported decreased headache frequency, duration, and intensity after relaxation training, other studies did not.

Overall, the results were inconsistent, and the research was of very low quality. A review of 5 studies involving children and adolescents found that biofeedback seemed to be helpful with migraines, especially with reducing their frequency.

The number of participants in the studies, however, was small. A review indicated that self-relaxation, biofeedback, and self-hypnosis may be reasonable alternatives to using medicine in managing childhood migraine, particularly in adolescents.

According to this review, however, some of the best evidence seen in any pediatric migraine therapy study has been for cognitive behavioral therapy added to treatment with standard antimigraine medicines.

Pain and distress related to needle procedures. A review looked at various psychological strategies for reducing pain and distress in children and teens getting a needle procedure, such as a vaccination or blood draw.

The review found that hypnosis, cognitive behavioral therapy combined with other strategies including relaxation techniques, and breathing exercises were all helpful. Two of the eight hypnosis studies were on self-hypnosis, and two were on hypnosis plus additional relaxation techniques.

The quality of the overall research in the review was low to very low, but the possible benefits were deemed to be enough to recommend using the strategies in clinical practice. Can relaxation techniques lower blood pressure?

A review of 17 studies involving 1, participants indicated that slow breathing exercises led to a modest reduction in blood pressure and may be a reasonable first treatment for people with prehypertension or low-risk high blood pressure.

The studies in this review, however, differed in how they were done and had short follow-up periods and high risk of bias. A review found that relaxation therapies and biofeedback might be helpful for reducing blood pressure, but only weak recommendations were made for their use because the quality of data from the 29 studies ranged from low to very low.

Following your treatment plan is important because it can prevent or delay serious complications of high blood pressure.

Do relaxation techniques help anxiety? General stress and anxiety. A review looked at 24 studies— participants total—on heart rate variability HRV biofeedback and general stress and anxiety.

HRV biofeedback involves receiving data on your heart rate from a device and then using breathing techniques to change your heart rate pattern. The review found that HRV biofeedback is helpful for reducing self-reported stress and anxiety, and the researchers saw it as a promising approach with further development of wearable devices like a fitness tracker.

A review of 3 studies, with a total of participants, found preliminary evidence suggesting that diaphragmatic breathing exercises may help to reduce stress. Promising positive changes were seen in mental health self-evaluations and in certain physical measures, such as cortisol levels and blood pressure.

Anxiety after a stroke. About 20 percent of stroke patients have anxiety at some point after their stroke. A review looked at interventions for anxiety after stroke. The review included one study on 21 stroke survivors with diagnosed anxiety.

The participants used a relaxation CD five times a week for a month. After 3 months, the participants had reduced anxiety. Anxiety related to surgery or dental procedures.

A study included adolescents who were randomly assigned to nature sounds, relaxation exercises, or silent rest before undergoing scoliosis surgery. A study included 68 periodontal patients with dental anxiety. Patients received either progressive muscle relaxation and oral health education or only oral health education before periodontal treatment once a week for 4 weeks.

The people who received progressive muscle relaxation had reduced dental anxiety and depression symptoms 4 weeks and 3 months after treatment. An earlier review on dental anxiety included 12 studies— participants total—on relaxation training or relaxation training combined with other treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy or graduated exposure.

The researchers noted, however, that many of the studies were small and poorly designed, and the study designs differed from each other. Anxiety disorders. A review of 16 studies that included people with anxiety disorders generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and panic disorder found that relaxation therapy reduced symptoms of anxiety, depression, phobia, and worry.

This review found relaxation therapy to be more effective than cognitive behavioral therapy for reducing anxiety. Another review of 50 studies and 2, people found that relaxation therapy seemed to be less effective than cognitive behavioral therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

No difference was found between relaxation therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy for other anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobias.

The review noted, however, that most studies had a high risk of bias, and there was a small number of studies for some of the individual disorders. Can relaxation techniques relieve pain? Pain after surgery.

A review looked at various interventions done before surgery on pain after surgery in people who had elective surgery with general anesthesia. An analysis of 13 studies that involved relaxation techniques as part of the intervention found that relaxation techniques helped reduce pain after surgery.

Two reviews looked at the effect of relaxation techniques for postsurgical pain—one on abdominal surgery and the other on total knee replacement surgery. In most of the included studies, the interventions were done after surgery; in a few, the interventions were done both before and after surgery; one intervention was done during surgery.

Because of a lack of high-quality studies, neither review found evidence to support the use of relaxation techniques for postsurgical pain.

In a review of 6 studies participants , 5 studies found that autogenic training or biofeedback-assisted autogenic training helped to reduce headache pain.

But because there were few studies and limitations within the studies, the review authors said the findings should be viewed cautiously.

In a review, five of eight studies found that hypnosis—usually self-hypnosis and often paired with guided imagery —resulted in less headache activity in people diagnosed with migraine or chronic headache disorder.

None of the studies in this review, however, were rated high quality. A review looked at 19 studies 2, total participants on psychological interventions for migraine and tension-type headache. Most of the interventions involved relaxation training, cognitive behavioral therapy, or biofeedback —either individually or in some combination.

Fifteen of the studies saw headache improvements, but the amount of improvement differed among the studies. Depending on the study, participants reported a decrease in daily headache frequency ranging from 20 to 67 percent.

While relaxation training paired with cognitive behavioral therapy appeared to have the most supportive research, the review authors said that the overall research was lacking in quality. Low-back pain. The American College of Physicians recommends using nondrug methods for the initial treatment of chronic low-back pain.

Chronic back pain is defined as back pain that lasts more than 12 weeks. Progressive muscle relaxation and biofeedback are two of several nondrug approaches suggested in the most recent guideline.

The guideline was based on a review that found that progressive muscle relaxation resulted in moderate improvement of low-back pain and function and that biofeedback led to a moderate reduction in low-back pain, though the evidence was rated as low. A study of 58 people with chronic low-back pain found that progressive muscle relaxation helped with pain, anxiety, depression, quality of life, and sleep.

Participants had taken opioid medicines without any beneficial changes in the 3 months before starting the study. A review of 7 studies— participants total—found that guided imagery may be beneficial for adults with arthritis and other rheumatic diseases.

The guided imagery was delivered by audio technology and ranged from a one-time exposure to twice daily for 16 weeks.

Four of the studies, with a total of participants, looked specifically at pain. An evaluation done in looking at nondrug treatments for chronic musculoskeletal pain found insufficient evidence for progressive muscle relaxation and no clear benefit from biofeedback for fibromyalgia.

This was based on 2 studies of biofeedback 95 participants total and 3 studies of relaxation techniques participants total. A review evaluated the research on heart rate variability biofeedback to treat fibromyalgia.

The review included 6 studies participants of chronic musculoskeletal pain and found that heart rate variability biofeedback was related to decreased pain.

Although the review saw biofeedback as a promising treatment for chronic pain, only one study looked specifically at fibromyalgia-related pain. A review suggested that a single session of guided imagery was helpful for an immediate reduction in fibromyalgia-related pain, but results on the effects of prolonged guided imagery programs were conflicting.

The review included 6 studies on guided imagery, with a total of participants. Can relaxation techniques help during and after cancer treatment?

In , the Society for Integrative Oncology updated its clinical practice guidelines on using integrative therapies during and after breast cancer treatment.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology endorsed the updated guidelines. In the guidelines, relaxation techniques were recommended for improving mood and depression.

The guidelines also said that relaxation techniques might help to reduce stress and anxiety and to control nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy in some individuals and could be offered to them.

Can relaxation techniques help you sleep? According to practice guidelines from the American College of Physicians , research is insufficient to understand how relaxation techniques might affect the sleep of the general population and older adults with chronic insomnia.

A review looked at 27 studies of psychological interventions to try to improve sleep. The studies involved 2, college students who ranged from healthy sleepers to those with a diagnosed sleep disorder. Similar to the guidelines from the American College of Physicians, this review recommended cognitive behavioral therapy to improve sleep in college students.

The review also found that relaxation approaches helped somewhat with sleep quality and sleep problems but especially with mental health. A review found that autogenic training or guided imagery helped shorten the time to fall asleep but that the treatments were no better than a placebo.

Seven studies involving a total of participants were considered. What does the research say about relaxation techniques and other conditions? Irritable bowel syndrome. A review on psychotherapeutic interventions for irritable bowel syndrome IBS included one small study that involved relaxation techniques.

Sixty-nine adults with IBS participated in a 5-week course that had an educational component, psychological component, and training in progressive muscle relaxation and diaphragmatic breathing. Compared to a wait-list control, the course led to improvements in IBS symptoms, depression, and quality of life.

A single small study, however, does not provide much evidence. A systematic review found that relaxation techniques and cognitive behavioral therapy both helped improve mental health in adults with irritable bowel syndrome.

But whereas cognitive behavioral therapy helped to improve daily functioning, relaxation techniques did not. The review included 2 studies on relaxation techniques, with a total of adults.

Similar to the prior review, this review had a small number of studies, so it does not provide a clear understanding. A review found overall evidence that paced breathing could significantly improve hot flashes.

This was based on 4 studies that included a total of participants. Researchers of a study found that five weekly sessions of clinical hypnosis delivered by a therapist reduced hot flashes in post-menopausal women.

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health NCCIH is funding an ongoing study by the same researchers on self-administered hypnosis for hot flashes.

Temporomandibular disorder TMD. A review looked at various noninvasive treatments for TMD and included 2 studies participants total that involved biofeedback. One study paired biofeedback with stress management and the other paired it with cognitive behavioral therapy.

The review found inconclusive evidence on biofeedback, but suggested that cognitive behavioral therapy, intraoral myofascial therapy, and self-care management were treatment options. Relaxation techniques were one part of the cognitive behavioral therapy and self-care management treatments.

The review included 3 studies, with a total of participants. Do relaxation techniques have any side effects? Relaxation techniques are generally considered safe for healthy people.

In most research studies, there have been no reported negative side effects. However, occasionally, people report negative experiences such as increased anxiety, intrusive thoughts, or fear of losing control. There have been rare reports that certain relaxation techniques might cause or worsen symptoms in people with epilepsy or certain psychiatric conditions, or with a history of abuse or trauma.

More To Consider. If you have severe or long-lasting symptoms of any kind, see your health care provider. You might have a condition that needs to be treated promptly. Take charge of your health—talk with your health care providers about any complementary health approaches you use.

Together, you can make shared, well-informed decisions. For More Information. NCCIH Clearinghouse The NCCIH Clearinghouse provides information on NCCIH and complementary and integrative health approaches, including publications and searches of Federal databases of scientific and medical literature.

Toll-free in the U. gov Email: info nccih. Know the Science NCCIH and the National Institutes of Health NIH provide tools to help you understand the basics and terminology of scientific research so you can make well-informed decisions about your health.

Explaining How Research Works NIH Know the Science: How To Make Sense of a Scientific Journal Article Understanding Clinical Studies NIH. PubMed® A service of the National Library of Medicine, PubMed® contains publication information and in most cases brief summaries of articles from scientific and medical journals.

NIH Clinical Research Trials and You The National Institutes of Health NIH has created a website, NIH Clinical Research Trials and You, to help people learn about clinical trials, why they matter, and how to participate.

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews is a collection of evidence-based reviews produced by the Cochrane Library, an international nonprofit organization. Key References. Abbott RA, Martin AE, Newlove-Delgado TV, et al.

Psychosocial interventions for recurrent abdominal pain in childhood. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Accessed at www.

These sensors measure your skin temperature, brain waves, breathing, and muscle activity. You can see these readings on a monitor. Then you practice changing your thoughts, behaviors, or emotions to help control your body's responses. Over time, you can learn to change them without using the monitor.

This is another simple technique that you can do almost anywhere. Starting with your toes and feet, focus on tightening your muscles for a few moments and then releasing them.

Continue with this process, working your way up your body, focusing on one group of muscles at a time. Yoga is an ancient practice rooted in Indian philosophy.

The practice of yoga combines postures or movements with focused breathing and meditation. The postures are meant to increase strength and flexibility. Postures range from simple poses lying on the floor to more complex poses that may require years of practice.

You can modify most yoga postures based on your own ability. There are many different styles of yoga that range from slow to vigorous. If you are thinking about starting yoga, look for a teacher who can help you practice safely.

Make sure to tell your teacher about any recent or past injuries. Tai chi was first practiced in ancient China for self-defense. Today, it is used mainly to improve health. It is a low-impact, gentle type of exercise that is safe for people of all ages.

If you are interested in tai chi for stress relief, you may want to start with a class. For many people, it is the easiest way to learn the proper movements.

You can also find books and videos about tai chi. You can learn more about any of these techniques through local classes, books, videos, or online. Minichiello VJ. Relaxation techniques. In: Rakel D, ed. Integrative Medicine. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; chap National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health website.

Updated August 8, Accessed August 8, Meditation and mindfulness: what you need to know. Updated June Relaxation techniques: what you need to know. Tai Chi: what you need to know. Updated March Yoga: what you need to know. Updated April Updated by: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.

Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A. Editorial team. Relaxation techniques for stress. How Relaxation Helps. Sit still or lie down and place one hand on your stomach.

Put your other hand over your heart. Inhale slowly until you feel your stomach rise. Hold your breath for a moment. Exhale slowly, feeling your stomach fall.