17 Things That Help Us Relax

If you’re looking for a challenge that’ll keep the wheels of your brain turning, the Areaware Gradient Puzzle is a gorgeous, 500-piece puzzle. This puzzle starts as one color (like yellow or teal) and gradually morphs into another (red or purple). It’s especially soothing if you’re the type of puzzler who revels in a slow build.

For something a bit easier, BetterCo. puzzles are a good place to start. These beautiful, modern puzzles, recommended by writer Roxane Gay, are manageable even if, like Gay, you’re “bad at puzzles.” BetterCo. offers only eight puzzles, so there’s less decision fatigue while you shop. The puzzles themselves have bright, crisp images and solid cuts, and you’ll likely be able to sort pieces and assemble your BetterCo. scenes more easily than piecing together an ombre of similar-but-not-quite-identical colors.

“I’ve found that building Lego sets to their exact instructions provides a deep sense of calm,” said supervising editor and staff Lego expert Joshua Lyon. “Staring into a chaotic jumble of nubby shapes and following precise steps, accompanied by a symphony of ASMR clicks, takes me into a deeply meditative state with an end result that’s exactly what was promised.”

There are tons of adult Lego sets to choose from. But we find Lego’s dreamlike, Vincent Van Gogh–inspired The Starry Night particularly striking. The undulating layers, vibrant colors, and textural beauty of this set create a gorgeous finished piece.

Another of our favorites, the Lego Bonsai Tree 10281, requires patience, but the finished piece is beautiful enough to display in your home.

Even if you’re not particularly adept at playing music, it can be incredibly relaxing. If you’re just starting out, the ukulele is one of the easiest stringed instruments to pick up, and many beginners on staff have found learning to play especially gratifying. “I’ve found the ukulele to be simple enough to deliver relaxation and enjoyment yet still challenging enough to deliver a sense of satisfaction with every new chord or strumming pattern learned,” said senior editor Adrienne Maxwell, who started with the Monoprice Idyllwild Sapele Soprano Ukulele. “Now, whenever my brain is in overdrive and refuses to be quieted, I’ll channel that mental energy into a practice session. I always come away feeling better, even when the notes aren’t there.”

“When I’m feeling wound up, my go-to relaxation method is to sit outside,” said senior editor Marguerite Preston. “I like to feel grounded, with my butt on the earth and my bare feet in the grass, but I also like having back support, which is why the ALPS Mountaineering Weekender Seat is perfect.” These handled, portable seats are more compact than camp chairs, so they’re easy to grab when you’re on the go. They also have a roomy mesh pocket that’s big enough to stash essentials like a picnic blanket, a book, and bug spray. And when you kick back in the Weekender seat, the chair’s design allows you to gently rock back and forth in a soul-soothing motion.

Research has shown that meditation and mindfulness practices can ease symptoms of anxiety and depression. Headspace, one of our favorite meditation apps, offers a variety of programming for beginners and seasoned meditators alike, and adding a soothing meditation session to your day is easy. With its user-friendly interface, the app is easy to navigate, with clearly labeled and categorized sessions, so you’ll be able to find what works for you.

Many staffers turn to knitting, embroidery, and other fiber crafts when they want to de-stress. Working with your hands is relaxing, and these crafty activities often require a mind-quieting concentration that can create a calming atmosphere. If you’re new to knitting, we suggest starting with the Purl Soho Learn to Knit Kit. It will teach you to knit with a large, detailed instruction book that includes color photos and links to video tutorials. Although it’s on the pricier side, the kit comes with two skeins of high-quality yarn, a set of wooden knitting needles, and a tapestry needle.

If you’re more interested in stitching beautiful patterns with a needle and thread, try the Dropcloth Sampler Embroidery Kit Drawing Stitches. Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned stitcher, this kit allows you to practice different stitches and try new techniques while creating a fun, vibrant piece of art. The kit includes fabric with a preprinted pattern, an embroidery needle, a wooden hoop, three assorted skeins of embroidery floss, a drop-cloth pin, a bonus mini sampler, a free Creativebug class trial card, and beginner’s info on various ways to use some of the stitches.

Whether you’re aching from stress, a tough workout, or a long day of sitting at a desk, applying pressure to your muscles with the lightweight Thera Cane is a great way to relieve back or neck tension. The Thera Cane is a curved piece of plastic with six differently sized knobs; these knobs allow you to tackle hard-to-reach areas of your back without twisting yourself into weird positions. You can also use the Thera Cane to work out cricks in your neck or other tight muscle groups, like your hips.

A generous pour of Dr. Teal’s Balance & Calm Foaming Bath can make a bath even more blissful. Dr. Teal’s is infused with relaxing essential oils that can make your bathroom feel like a spa. To amp up your bubbles, senior staff writer (and former spa worker) Lauren Dragan recommends turning the faucet on as high as you can while maintaining your desired temperature and pouring the bubble bath in a thin trickle directly into the falling water. “Do this in three stages as the bath fills. Each time you add, push the bubbles to the far side of the tub. This process creates more small bubbles and a thicker, as-seen-on-TV dense layer of foam that you can hide under.”

Artistic endeavors can be therapeutic, and watercolor paint is an especially forgiving medium for beginner painters. “I watercolor sometimes to de-stress,” said senior SEO content strategist Mackenzie Greene, who loves painting with Kuretake watercolors. “These paints are extremely pigmented and vivid, blend well and dry fast, and even though I’ve had my palette since early [in the pandemic], none of the paints have cracked in their pans.”

If you lean more toward drawing than painting, a pack of high-quality colored pencils might be a better fit. “I’m no artist, but I still want a solid variety of colors and a smooth pencil to make coloring a pleasurable experience,” said updates writer Sri Rain Stewart, who prefers to use Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils when she colors. Supervising editor Arthur Gies, who has a masters degree in fine arts, swears by these as well. Affordable, well made, and easy to sharpen, Prismacolor pencils glide smoothly on paper, so they are satisfying to use, and the soft wax’s creamy texture makes it easy to layer the vibrant colors.

A calming symphony of scents and sounds can help you unwind after a long day. The Urpower 2nd Gen 300ml Aroma is an inexpensive essential oil diffuser we love. The medium-size tank can hold water for seven hours of mist (though you’ll need to add more oil in that time for the scent to last as long). It also lights up in seven colors, with the option to automatically cycle through the hues, and this can add to the mood. (Filling your home with houseplants is another way to create a cozy atmosphere, brightening your space with life.)

The Sound+Sleep white noise machine has a range of calming colored noise variations, along with an array of real-world sounds, like the rush of a waterfall, the crackle of a fire, and the rumble of a train. It also allows you to enhance each of its sounds with the richness button, which layers in additional recordings to create a more complex soundscape. For example, if you choose the wind blowing through a meadow, you can add in the sound of chirping birds or crickets.

Video games can be a great way to relax. In one of our favorite Nintendo Switch games, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you can retreat from reality and head to an island that’s all your own. Players get to customize their islands and build it up over time, creating a personalized oasis. If the idea of spending a few hours fishing, gardening, and catching bugs sounds like a soothing reprieve, this game (or something similar) may be for you.

If you’d rather lose yourself to a visually stunning game, try Journey or Abzu (or both, since neither game takes very long to complete). Both games feature silent protagonists navigating a gorgeous scenery. In Journey, you’ll explore a vast desert; in Abzu, you’ll swim in an ocean filled with life. We consider playing these games the equivalent of slowing down to take a few deep, measured breaths.

Sipping on a steaming mug of tea can calm your senses at the end of a long day. For something especially comforting, try Big Heart’s Chai. This caffeine-free tea is spicy and sweet, thanks to a pungent blend of spices (including ginger, cardamom, and black pepper) and mellow honey-tobacco notes from the rooibos (a naturally decaffeinated leaf). If you’re a slow sipper, rest your cup on a mug warmer—this way, your drink won’t go cold as you take your time to savor.

This article was edited by Alexander Aciman and Catherine Kast.