5 Ways to Use Technology to Relax After an Intense Workout

Key Takeaways

• Use mindfulness apps to reduce stress and promote relaxation after a workout. They can help lower cortisol levels and provide pain relief.
• Listen to podcasts during your commute or post-run walk to unwind and relax. It’s a great way to catch up on episodes and take the edge off.
• Create calming music playlists or listen to pre-made ones to settle into your day after an intense workout. It helps with recovery and alleviates fatigue.

Exercise triggers the release of endorphins and regulates cortisol levels, relieving stress and making us feel better about ourselves. But sometimes, depending on the type and intensity, you may feel stressed after a workout. A run with a new personal record (PR) or an intense leg day at the gym could leave you feeling this way.

There are many options for unwinding and relaxing after a workout, and your technological devices provide some of them. Continue reading to learn how you can use technology to re-realize your zen after some grueling physical activity.

1. Choose a Consistent Mindfulness App

Mindfulness and meditation apps help you pause for a reflective moment, enabling you to control your reaction to daily events. But they can also help with many other things, such as stress, anxiety, and pain relief. A professor at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Deepak Bhatt, affirms that meditation can reduce your cortisol levels, heart rate, and breathing rate.

Also, research by the Journal of Neuroscience confirms that meditation and mindfulness can influence the brain to lower pain perception, acting as a natural painkiller. So, using a mindfulness app would be even more beneficial if you are both stressed and sore after a workout.

Headspace is a great option if you’re considering a mindfulness app. The app not only offers breathing advice and suggestions to cool down, but also has courses that teach you to approach different areas of life mindfully.

2. Listen to a Podcast

Podcasts are a nice way to take the edge off and just relax. Before you realize it, your feelings of stress may disappear, replaced by amusement caused by listening to a relatable story.

If you work out at a gym, you could listen to an entertaining podcast on the walk or ride home, depending on the distance. Many other options for relaxation require using your eyes and other parts of your body, so it may be difficult to commute and still engage in them. Listening to podcasts, however, only requires connecting to your car speakers or earphones/earbuds.

Also, podcasts are a great way to unwind as you return from a run. Runs often require a lot of exertion because you’re trying to cover the required distance as quickly as possible. As you slow down and gradually switch to a walking pace at the end of your run, you could listen to your favorite podcast for a few minutes while you walk the rest of the distance.

If you love podcasts, infusing them into your day like this not only helps you relax after an intense workout, but also helps you create time to catch up on your new episodes. It’s a win-win.

3. Use Music Playlists to Unwind and Revitalize

On different music streaming services, you can find music for relaxation—instrumentals, lo-fi beats, and similar. This could be useful for getting back your calm after an intense workout. However, you can also find playlists specifically created for relaxing after a workout on various streaming services. A good time to listen to a calming music playlist after a workout would be while you shower.

A study by the Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology affirms that listening to relaxing music after a workout helps recovery and alleviates fatigue. So, relaxing music helps you settle into your day post-workout, regardless of what you plan to do after: Sleep, dinner, lunch, or even work.

4. Use Virtual Reality Experiences

Virtual reality (VR) can also be instrumental in helping you relax after intense physical activity. There are many great options of virtual reality headset brands and options in the market today, and Apple has entered the industry, announcing the Vision Pro mixed reality headset.

Nonetheless, there are several other options for engaging in quality VR experiences. For example, you can play VR games on both Android and iPhone apps. You can also benefit from immersive VR experiences using mobile apps.

Away from mobile apps and gaming, you can also relax after a workout using VR meditation, an approach to mindfulness that utilizes virtual reality experiences. While more traditional forms of meditation may require closing your eyes and breathing to stabilize your mood, VR meditation takes it further by introducing graceful nature views like waterfalls and mountain summits.

VR has improved general healthcare in many ways, and one such avenue is stress relief. A 2019 study by Frontiers in Psychology confirms that VR can be instrumental in managing stress. The study also suggests a more personalized approach to VR’s role in managing stress. This approach would involve user research to create a VR experience more tailored to the individual’s life and preferences.

5. Take Advantage of Ambient Sounds and ASMR

There are many options for listening to ambient sounds on mobile devices. For example, on your iPhone, you could listen to background sounds that imitate oceans, streams, and rain. These sounds are relaxing and can help you experience nature through your auditory system. Playing such sounds after a workout can generally help you feel better.

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is another way to use sound to relax. ASMR is a tingling sensation that some people feel in response to certain mild auditory stimuli such as whispers and scratches. It creates feelings of calm, relaxation, and in some cases, euphoria. ASMR could also help you focus, so it is a good option if you have something productive to do after working out.

Multiple recent studies show that ASMR helps reduce stress and induce relaxation. A 2018 study by Plos One shows that participants reported lower stress and heightened calmness after watching ASMR videos. Another study showed that exposure to ASMR content improves mood and can help ease the symptoms of insomnia and depression.

So, even though everyone feels ASMR differently, it is still worth trying, as research suggests its effectiveness. A good place to start would be YouTube ASMR channels for sleep and relaxation.

Experiment With These Post-Workout Relaxation Options

Some of these relaxation options will prove to be more effective than others based on the type of exercise engaged in, your preferences, and access to technological devices. However, there’s something here for everyone. So, you should play around with these different approaches and find one best suited for you.

Choosing post-workout relaxation options is just one part of rest and recovery. For optimal fitness development, it is also important to eat and sleep properly. Remember to incorporate these to further promote general hormonal balance and lower post-workout stress.

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