​Discover science-based tips and strategies to help you create a more peaceful mind.

​Peace of mind is a mental state of calmness or tranquility. It may also include freedom from worry and anxiety. When our minds are buzzing with thoughts, it can be intense and overwhelming. We just want a calm, relaxed, and content mind.
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A lot of research has pointed to ways we can decrease stress and calm down an overactive mind. It’s fueled by our sympathetic nervous system activation, the release of cortisol, and the release of the catecholamines norepinephrine and epinephrine (Charmandari, Tsigos, & Chrousos, 2005). So what are some of these science-supported ways to create a more calm mind?

When our minds are full of stress and To-Dos, sometimes it can be helpful to replace thoughts with something more soothing. One way to do this is with visualization. For example, you can imagine yourself on a white-sand beach, sitting in the sun, with a slight breeze carrying the scent of fruit.
The cool thing about visualization is that when we imagine things, our brains react in very similar ways as they would if those things were happening in our real lives. So, when we visualize something calming, some parts of our brains think it's real. As a result, we can start to feel calmer, or happy, or peaceful, or whatever emotions the visualization evokes (Quoidbach, Wood, & Hansenne, 2009). So, if you want to have a calm mind, try to imagine a scenario that cultivates peace of mind.

Mindfulness is quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to turn down the speed of a racing mind, ease anxiety, and help us live in the moment. Many people engage in mindful meditations to calm stress and anxiety. Although mindful meditation doesn't always work for everyone (Krick & Felfe, 2019), it can indeed be a useful tool to try out. Guided meditations (which you can find on YouTube) can help us stay with the meditation long enough to induce a sense of calm.

Previous research had shown that listening to calming music can reduce cortisol, one of the key stress hormones (Khalfa et al., 2003). In addition, research suggests that there are benefits of listening to music with binaural beats. Binaural beats are when two tones with slightly different frequencies are played to each ear. Listening to binaural beats before a task may help improve performance, perhaps by calming the mind (Garcia-Argibay, Santed, & Reales, 2019).

​Perhaps one of the best ways to calm the mind is to get outside. Getting out into the wilderness, a park, a local botanical garden, or even your front yard may be beneficial for your well-being (Ulrich & Parsons, 1992). Whether it's because of the fresh air, sunlight, or breathing in the scent of trees (all of which are good for our health), it doesn't really matter. All we know is that being outdoors helps calm and soothe us.

Sometimes we can get stuck feeling anxious or just yuk when our lives are providing us with little inspiration, excitement, or joy. Luckily, we have a lot of power to change this aspect of our lives. We just need to do more of the things we love. Maybe we love painting, cooking, playing softball, playing with our dog, or watching old movies. Whatever it is, by doing things that make us feel good, we can dissolve some of the negative thoughts and emotions that clutter our minds.

Discover science-based tips to help you calm down an anxious mind and body.

Maybe we're feeling anxious about the future, angry about being slighted, frustrated about the direction our life is going in, or all of the above. These emotions can lead to increased sympathetic nervous system activation (Charmandari, Tsigos, & Chrousos, 2005). As a result, we can feel wired, strung out, anxious, or even tired (from being wired for too long).
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So, calming anxiety usually means we want our body to return to homeostasis (or its normal resting state). Generally, it involves feelings of relief, a reduction in negative emotions, and a general sense that we're okay. Given how unpleasant we might be feeling at times, learning strategies to calm down can be a great boon to our well-being. Check out the strategies below to start calming your anxiety:

​A recent meta-analysis showed mindfulness-based therapy can reduce anxiety and depression (Khoury et al.,  2013). Although mindfulness doesn't work for everyone and can result in negative experiences for some (Krick & Felfe, 2019), when it works, it is a great tool for calming down. Often, mindful meditations are guided, which helps us stay focused on our breathing and our bodies and not on the thoughts that are making us anxious. 

It's not uncommon for us to think about the bad stuff. We might replay that horrible interaction we had with a friend over and over again in our minds. Or, we might keep going over what we'll do if the worst happens. But at some point, this is just rumination, and we're better off stopping the thought cycles and taking a break from trying to mentally solve all of our problems.

Unfortunately, it's not always easy to stop rumination. You may have heard the saying, "Neurons that fire together, wire together." Basically, this means that when we think in certain ways, it becomes easier for our brains to keep thinking in those same ways. So when we decide we want to break out of negative thought patterns, it can be tough.
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Some of the best ways to stop these repetitive thoughts involve forcing the brain to focus on something else. I don't just mean will the brain to stop—that rarely works. I mean give it something so distracting that it can't help but change focus. For example, taking a cold shower or doing a few sprints can work well. And the science suggests that both of these strategies do indeed help calm us down (e.g., Mourot et al., 2008).

​Daily journaling, especially about emotional experiences, has been shown in research to result in small but meaningful improvements in mental and physical health (Pennebaker, 1997). ​Although ruminating about the past and playing it over and over again in your head is not helpful, sometimes writing it all down and getting it out of your head can be. Perhaps that is why journaling can be such a useful tool.
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Other types of journaling may help induce feelings of calm or well-being as well. For example, gratitude journaling is a popular type of journaling that has been shown to be beneficial (Kaczmarek et al., 2015). By shifting our focus to the things we're grateful for, we can potentially decrease negative emotions and feel a bit calmer.

​Yoga has become a popular activity in recent years. For some, it helps them get exercise. Others use it to increase flexibility. And others use it to calm and relax the body and mind. The calming effect of yoga appears to be more than anecdotal. Research has shown that doing yoga regularly can result in reduced cortisol, a key stress hormone (Thirthalli et al., 2013). So if yoga feels like a good fit for you, it may help you calm down your anxiety.

​For some people, relaxation techniques like the ones described above can function as a way to avoid unwanted negative emotions—and they paradoxically end up increasing emotional distress. The antidote seems to be to adopt acceptance and passivity (versus control) over the body and mind (Wilson, Barnes-Holmes, & Barnes-Holmes, 2014). In other words, we need to engage in calming or relaxing strategies without focusing obsessively on how well it will work for us. For example, instead of doing deep breathing while we continually ask ourselves, "Do I feel calm yet?" we have to be present, let the emotions come out as they want to, and then fade in their own time.