“Blowing off steam” isn’t a good way to calm down. Punching your pillow, doing cardio, and screaming into the void are way less effective for managing anger than deep breathing, yoga, and relaxing practices, according to a review of 154 studies on physiological arousal and anger. Across the board, mindfulness practices that can lower your heart rate helped people chill out, while common stress-relief activities that get your blood pumping, like jogging, actually had an adverse effect.
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