by Janette Peel

Created on: July 25, 2008   Last Updated: July 28, 2008

After a hard day at work exercise may be the perfect way to make you feel relaxed and energized again or you may wish to use aromatherapy techniques and fill your senses with relaxing aromas to help you unwind after a long and hectic day.

Many people in high-pressured jobs visit the gym, have a swim or go for a jog or brisk walk every day, as it makes them feel more relaxed. Regular exercise has both a psychological and physiological effect on your body. It can boost your mood and energy levels and relieve depression, as well as provide a healthy distraction from your daily worries and anxieties. When you exercise, you also tend to feel better about yourself.

If you are under pressure, an exercise session can work wonders. When you exercise, your muscles become less tense and your heart rate increases this makes you feel both relaxed and alert and enables you to cope with your problems more efficiently.

It takes around 30 minutes of intense exercise to reduce your body tension, but even physical activities such as gardening, housework and dancing can lower your stress levels.

Intense exercise triggers the release of feel-good' hormones in your brain called endorphins. These help to dull pain and have a similar chemical structure to the drug morphine. They are also involved in your body's response to stress and help to control your mood.

This is how regular intense exercise can lead to a sense of well-being or even euphoria.

You don't need to be an athlete to benefit from increased endorphin production, but you do need to exercise for long enough to get the best effect. Endorphin production usually begins about 15-20 minutes into an exercise session, and tends to peak after about 45 minutes, so the longer you exercise for, the happier you should feel.

When choosing a form of exercise, it is important to do something that you enjoy and that fits in with your lifestyle.

Stretching exercises help to ease muscle tension and are ideal if you are sitting for most of the time at work.

Practicing Yoga involves doing postural, breathing and relaxation exercises to increase your suppleness, boost your energy levels and relieve stress that a hard day can cause. It is best to get training from a qualified teacher so that you know you are using the right positions. A class once or twice a week will benefit you greatly.

Relaxing swimming eases muscle tension and helps you relax. An aerobic exercise, like swimming, has more effect on stress relief than weight training. Since it is a

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