The food and drinks you consume can put you on edge or promote greater relaxation of body, mind, and emotions. When you are relaxed you are able to be more focused, creative, and, ultimately, more productive

It is more natural for the human body to be relaxed rather than stressed. Unfortunately, the going pace of modern life may have you stressed beyond what is natural for the human body to endure. While your body's capacity for adapting to stressors is great, you may find that the stress and anxiety impedes more than you would like on how you function in everyday life. Give your body an advantage with specific nutrition guidelines, designed to help you to achieve greater levels of relaxation.

Hydration

While water is excellent, and a simple glass of water can improve a sour mood when dehydration induces moodiness, other rehydrating beverages may be beneficial when it comes to helping you to relax. Yes, drink plenty of good, clean water every day, but also consider adding super-hydrating drinks such as pure aloe vera juice and coconut water to your relaxing nutrition regimen. These drinks contain antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals as well as helping you to retain water and stay hydrated.

Another great way to hydrate when relaxation is your goal is to enjoy one to three cups of hot tea every day. Choose herbal tea blends that have no caffeine in them. Relaxing herbs such as chamomile, lavender, hops, valerian, and kava kava are excellent choices for your relaxing tea break.

Smaller Meals

Eating smaller meals earlier in the day can help you get better sleep and experience less up and down feelings during the day. Try finishing up your eating for the day a couple hours before bedtime. If you feel hungry before bed, try a light snack like plain yogurt with a drizzle of honey and fresh blueberries. You don't want anything heavy or more difficult to digest since digestive processes can be disruptive to deep sleep.

Adequate deep sleep, of course, heavily ties in to your overall ability to have a relaxed state of mind, body, and emotions. Eating smaller meals puts less stress on your body throughout the day. Waiting until you're very hungry or even skipping meals puts a lot of stress on your body and can even activate survival mechanisms in the body that release a lot of stress biochemicals.

Whole Foods

Toxic overload in the body can cause a great deal of stress throughout the body and also affects your mental and emotional health. Toxins can contribute to foggy thinking, impaired memory, anxiety, depression, and other symptoms. Many people inadvertently introduce toxins to their bodies through diets containing heavily processed foods laden with added sugar, preservatives, and other substances your body cannot easily process. Switching to eating mostly whole foods is a great way to support a greater level of relaxation in your life. Whole foods are often considered "clean" foods that are unprocessed and therefore maintain nutritional integrity.

Slowing Down

When you eat, try to chew and swallow food mindfully. Feel the textures, taste the flavors, and allow mealtime to be slower and more singly focused. Sometimes we want to do more than just eat. Having a conversation, playing a game, or watching a movie may be a common mealtime activity for some people. Try cutting out distractions during mealtime, perhaps light a candle and make it an almost meditative experience. Really experience your food and how it affects you as you eat it.

Taking a more mindful approach to eating can also help you to eliminate foods that may not actually be very good for you when you stop to think about it. Mindlessly consuming a bag of chips may not sound very appealing as you bring your attention more fully to the experience.