3. Daily Journal

Journaling decreases stress and anxiety, per research published in the Permanente Journal in 2021 shows.

Emily Anhalt, PhD, a clinical psychologist in the San Francisco Bay area, likes Chronicle Books’ One Line a Day journals. There’s a page for every day; and all you need to do is write one line. At the start of year two, you go back to the first page of the journal and write your line for the first day of the second year directly below your entry for the first day of the first year (and so on for the rest of the second year and then the rest of the five years). By the end you can easily see how you felt on the same day over multiple years.

It can really help you notice if you tend to be more creative, stressed, or emotional, for example, during certain weeks, months, or seasons, says Dr. Anhalt, a cofounder of the mental-health "gym" Coa.

People prone to depression can especially benefit, Anhalt says, since they tend to have selective memories toward the negative. Peeking back through a journal can remind them that they have, in fact, enjoyed positive experiences and emotions, too.

4. Conversation Starter Game

Anhalt is also a supporter of the renowned relationship therapist Esther Perel’s story game, which boosts intimacy through prompt cards such as, “The last time I pretended I wasn’t crying was …” and “My most irrational fear is …” You play with up to six other people; you can play with family, colleagues, or a partner. The game encourages storytelling, which helps us deepen our relationships and feel closer to those around us.

While it’s not marketed as a stress-relief product, the game, titled Where Should We Begin?, encourages strong social connections — and strong social connections are well-linked to lower levels of stress and anxiety, as well as better physical health outcomes. “When we feel stressed, connection can make us realize we’re not alone,” Anhalt says.

The game is also fun, and, Anhalt says: “Play is an antidote to stress and anxiety.”

5. Guided Meditation Video

Vyas-Lahar endorses Ally Boothroyd’s YouTube channel, which features videos of a type of guided meditation called yoga nidra. Since this type of practice can lull you into that state of consciousness between waking and sleeping, it’s been called “yogic sleep.” Vyas-Lahar likens it to a “massage of your nervous system.”

You lie down for the full practice. “It takes away the pressure of sitting up and focusing on a mantra or your breath,” Vyas-Lahar says.

“It is actually my favorite meditation method, and probably the easiest for beginners to see quick results,” Vyas-Lahar says. Research in a 2018 issue of the International Journal of Yoga has shown the anxiety-reduction benefits of yoga nidra tend to exceed those of seated meditation.

6. Yoga App

If you want a variety of yoga class options ranging from vinyasa to “core blast” to meditation — Bruneau suggests Yogaworks, an app and online yoga platform that streams around 10 live classes every day.

“By focusing on our breath and moving our body, we stimulate the vagus nerve, which helps regulate a dysregulated nervous system and decrease stress hormone production,” she says. “It also creates a space for us to practice mindfulness, self-compassion, and gratitude.”

Indeed, research shows yoga reduces cortisol levels, blood pressure, resting heart rate, and other objective measures of stress.

7. Magnesium Bath Soak

Warm baths are associated with a drop in stress hormones and more balanced serotonin levels, which help keep your mood more even, Cleveland Clinic says. And there’s some research that magnesium supplementation may be mildly beneficial to anxiety, though it’s not clear whether absorbing it through the skin has the same impact as an oral supplement (per other research).

Still, Bruneau recommends Alo’s Magnesium Bath Soak. You add a small amount of the product to a warm bath and get in. It’s made with amla superberries, arnica, and coconut and avocado oil, as well as coconut, mandarin, and blood orange fragrances.

8. Nostalgic Candles

You know that distinctive smell of fresh pencils on the first day of school, or your dad’s grilling on July 4th, or your childhood summer camp’s cabins? Just catching an unexpected whiff can flood you with nostalgia. And research published in Consciousness and Cognition in April 2021 suggests that nostalgia can boost mood, while research published in Frontiers in Psychology in 2020 found it reduced the perception of pain.

Scented products like Homesick’s candles can help you tap into it — and, as a result, feel a bit closer to the people or places you love, Anhalt says.

“I’ve seen people say, ‘I have a candle that reminds me of my mom, or an essential oil that makes me think of my hometown, or a candle that makes me feel like I’m at the spa,’” she says. Smell is “a little baby shortcut of feeling close to something that you can’t be close to.”