How to Reduce Stress: Proven Ways to Stress Less, Fast

The fastest way to reduce stress is to calm your body first: slow your breathing, move for a few minutes, or step away from the screen. The way to stress less over time is a handful of habits that official health bodies agree on: regular exercise, enough sleep, mindfulness, social connection, time in nature and less news.

Below you'll find both, split into what helps right now and what helps over weeks and months. Then you'll see where ASMR videos fit, what the research really shows, and when stress is a sign to get help.

What stress is, and why it matters

The National Institute of Mental Health describes stress as a physical or mental response to an outside cause, like a big assignment or an illness. It usually fades once the situation is resolved (NIMH).

When it doesn't fade, it shows up everywhere. The CDC lists signs such as worry, anger or numbness, changes in appetite or energy, trouble concentrating, sleep problems, headaches or stomach problems, and drinking or using substances more (CDC).

You can't remove every stressor. You can change how your body and mind respond to them.

How to relieve stress fast (in the moment)

These take a few minutes and work almost anywhere.

1. Slow, belly breathing

The NHS recommends a simple calming exercise: breathe gently into your belly, in through your nose and out through your mouth, counting from 1 to 5 on each in-breath and each out-breath. Keep going for at least 5 minutes (NHS).

Don't worry if you can't reach 5 at first. The NHS says you'll get the most from it by making it part of your daily routine, not only saving it for bad moments.

2. Try a "cyclic sigh"

A cyclic sigh is a slow inhale, a second short inhale to top up your lungs, then a long, slow exhale. In a 2023 Stanford trial with 108 adults, people practiced a breathing exercise or mindfulness meditation for 5 minutes a day over 28 days (Balban et al., 2023).

Cyclic sighing produced a bigger rise in positive mood and a bigger drop in breathing rate than mindfulness meditation. All groups, including meditation, reported less anxiety. It was a small, early study, mostly with university students, so treat it as promising rather than proven.

3. Move for 10 minutes

You don't need a full workout to feel a shift. Mayo Clinic notes that almost any exercise can act as a stress reliever, and suggests breaking activity into short bursts, such as several 10-minute walks instead of one long one (Mayo Clinic).

Mayo Clinic calls exercise "meditation in motion": focusing on your movement and breathing can make the day's irritations fade.

4. Write it down

Keeping a journal is on both the CDC and NIMH lists of ways to cope (CDC, NIMH). Getting the to-do list or the worry out of your head and onto paper can make it feel more manageable.

5. Reach out to someone

Mayo Clinic points out that even one friend who listens can make a difference, and that laughter lightens your mental load (Mayo Clinic). A short call or message to someone you trust counts.

Long-term habits that lower stress

Quick fixes calm a spike. These habits lower the baseline.

6. Get regular physical activity

The CDC suggests building up to 2½ hours of activity a week, which you can split into 20 to 30 minutes a day, and says any amount helps (CDC). Mayo Clinic gives the same target: at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week, plus strength training twice a week (Mayo Clinic).

Exercise won't make stress disappear, but the NHS says it can lower the emotional intensity you feel and help you deal with problems more calmly (NHS).

7. Protect your sleep

Stress and poor sleep feed each other. The CDC recommends a consistent bedtime and wake time, and says adults need 7 or more hours a night (CDC). Mayo Clinic puts most adults at about 7 to 9 hours and suggests a calm bedtime routine in a cool, dark, quiet room (Mayo Clinic).

If stress keeps you awake, our guide on how to fall asleep fast covers methods that help.

8. Practice mindfulness or meditation

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a structured program that teaches mindful meditation and ways to use it in stressful moments. A 2015 meta-analysis of 29 studies with 2,668 healthy adults found MBSR had a large effect on stress and moderate effects on anxiety, depression and quality of life, and the gains held at an average follow-up of 19 weeks (Khoury et al., 2015).

There are caveats. The studies varied a lot, and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says much of the research on mindfulness is preliminary. It also notes that a small share of people have unpleasant experiences, and that meditation shouldn't replace medical care (NCCIH).

9. Stay connected

The CDC recommends talking with people you trust and joining community or faith-based groups (CDC). The NHS adds that friends, family and colleagues can help you see a problem differently and find solutions by talking it through. It also suggests helping others, through volunteering or small daily favors (NHS).

10. Spend time in nature

In a 2019 study of 19,806 people, those who spent at least 120 minutes a week in nature were more likely to report good health and high well-being than those who spent none. Benefits peaked at 200 to 300 minutes a week, and it didn't matter whether the time came in one long visit or several short ones (White et al., 2019).

That study shows an association, not cause and effect. Still, a walk in a park is low-cost and fits the CDC's advice to spend time outdoors, active or relaxing.

11. Limit news and doom-scrolling

The CDC advises limiting time on news and social media, because constant negative news can be upsetting (CDC). The American Psychological Association gives similar advice: if the 24-hour news cycle stresses you, read enough to stay informed, then plan activities that give you a regular break (APA, 2017).

One practical step is to pick one or two set times a day to check the news, and keep your phone out of bed.

12. Go easy on caffeine and alcohol

The NHS warns not to rely on alcohol, smoking and caffeine to cope: they may bring short-term relief but create new problems (NHS). NIMH recommends limiting excess caffeine from coffee and soft drinks (NIMH).

If you drink, the CDC advises no more than 2 drinks a day for men and 1 for women, or choosing not to drink (CDC).

13. Say no, and plan what you can control

Always saying yes can lead to resentment and more stress. Mayo Clinic suggests learning to say no or delegate (Mayo Clinic), and to give a clear, short, honest answer instead of a vague "maybe later" (Mayo Clinic News Network).

The NHS recommends working smarter: do the tasks that make the biggest difference first, leave the least important for last, and accept that you won't finish everything. Taking action on the parts you control can also ease the feeling of powerlessness that drives stress (NHS).

Where ASMR fits as a calming tool

ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) videos feature soft sounds and gentle attention, like whispering, tapping or brushing. Some people feel a pleasant tingling and a deep sense of calm when they watch them.

The research is early, but a few results stand out:

• People use it for stress. In a 2015 survey of 475 people who experience ASMR, 70% said they used it to deal with stress and 82% to help them sleep (Barratt & Davis, 2015).
• It can slow the heart. In a 2018 lab study from the University of Sheffield with 110 participants, people who experience ASMR had heart rates about 3.4 beats per minute lower while watching ASMR videos than while watching a non-ASMR video. In a larger online study by the same team, ASMR experiencers reported feeling calmer and less stressed after the videos (Poerio et al., 2018).

The limits matter just as much. In that lab study, the stress ratings of ASMR experiencers didn't differ significantly from those of non-experiencers. Not everyone gets the response: in a 2023 study, people who don't experience ASMR felt less relaxed after ASMR videos than a comparison group felt after walking-tour videos (Lohaus et al., 2023).

So ASMR is best seen as one more way to wind down, alongside breathing, movement and sleep, not as a treatment for anxiety or stress-related conditions. For a fuller look at the evidence, read ASMR for anxiety and stress. If you've tried it and felt nothing, why some people can't feel ASMR explains what's going on.

How to use ASMR for stress on Tingly Room

Tingly Room is a free video finder for ASMR. It lists public videos from YouTube creators, sorted by trigger, mood, voice, pace and length, so you can skip the endless scrolling. Videos play in YouTube's official player, so your views still count for the creator. There are no ads and no third-party trackers.

To build a short stress-relief routine:

1. Pick the "relaxation" mood on the video finder to see videos tagged for unwinding.
2. Choose a voice. Some people find whispering soothing; others prefer soft-spoken or no talking at all.
3. Choose a pace. For stress, start with slow, gentle videos.
4. Match the length to your break. A short video fits a work break; a longer one fits your wind-down before bed.
5. Pair it with a habit. Try the NHS breathing count during the first few minutes of the video, or watch on a phone with the news apps closed.

If you'd rather not choose, the personal swipe feed on Explore lets you browse videos one at a time.

When to see a professional

Self-help works best for everyday stress. NIMH advises talking to a professional if you're struggling to cope or your symptoms won't go away. It also notes that stress and anxiety may point to an anxiety disorder when they interfere with daily life, make you avoid things, or seem to be there all the time (NIMH).

Mayo Clinic suggests counseling when new stressors are hard to handle, self-care isn't helping, or you feel overwhelmed or trapped (Mayo Clinic). Talk therapy and medication are the two main treatments for anxiety, and many people benefit from both (NIMH).

If you're in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US, or chat at 988lifeline.org. It's free, confidential and available 24/7 (CDC). You can also contact 988 for emotional distress, anxiety, loneliness or stress, or if you're worried about someone else (SAMHSA).

Sources

1. I'm So Stressed Out! Fact Sheet, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
2. Managing Stress, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2026
3. Breathing exercises for stress, NHS, 2026
4. 10 stress busters, NHS, 2026
5. Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal, Cell Reports Medicine, 2023
6. Exercise and stress: Get moving to manage stress, Mayo Clinic
7. Stress relievers: Tips to tame stress, Mayo Clinic
8. Mayo Mindfulness: When and how to say no for stress relief, Mayo Clinic News Network, 2019
9. Mindfulness-based stress reduction for healthy individuals: A meta-analysis, Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2015
10. Meditation and Mindfulness: Effectiveness and Safety, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, 2022
11. Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing, Scientific Reports, 2019
12. Many Americans Stressed about Future of Our Nation, New APA Stress in America Survey Reveals, American Psychological Association, 2017
13. Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state, PeerJ, 2015
14. More than a feeling: Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is characterized by reliable changes in affect and physiology, PLOS ONE, 2018
15. The effects of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) videos versus walking tour videos on ASMR experience, positive affect and state relaxation, PLOS ONE, 2023
16. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Fact Sheet, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration