The two practices Well+Good readers swear by for stress relief

Welcome to our every-so-often series of questions to discover how you, our readers, live a super interesting, healthy life. We totally invite you to dish on your habits, preferences, and know-how in the Comments, and we may even use our favorite ones in an up-coming article!

This week, we wanted to know: What’s your go-to stress management practice? When and how often do you do it? How does it help you relax?

Here are the results, culled from the Comments section: When it comes to stress, an overwhelming majority of readers agreed: exercise and meditation go a long way.

On the active side, readers cited daily runs, yoga classes, and HIIT sessions as providing instant relief (and science would back them up). “Taking the time in your day to sweat and release all the stress and negative energy is hugely cathartic” said one reader, Ali.

Morning meditation routines and deep breathing exercises were praised for banishing stress, too. For example, Well+Good reader, Liz, said meditation helped in “decreasing anxiety, improving stress management, and my relationships with my loved ones.” (Woot!)

There were plenty of other great ideas, including adding calming lavender essential oil to your moisturizer, taking a bubble bath, and a recent favorite, coloring. Maybe give them all a shot and see which works best for helping you ditch all traces of that to-do list.