Relaxation exercises Finding a sense of peace and calm in our day-to-day lives can be difficult. Breathing exercises Deep breathing female voice Deep breathing male voice Alternate nostril breathing female voice Alternate nostril breathing male voice. Muscle relaxation Progressive muscle relaxation female voice Progressive muscle relaxation male voice Quick tense and relax female voice Quick tense and relax male voice.

Guided visualisation Guided imagery female voice Guided imagery male voice Creative visualisation female voice Creative visualisation male voice.

More relaxation resources This Way Up - Learn simple mindfulness strategies for managing stress and boosting your wellbeing with their practical and free online program. Smiling Mind - A free mindfulness developed by psychologists and educators to help bring balance to your life.

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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.

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Clinical Rehabilitation.