You probably bought an Amazon Echo to control your music or a few smart home devices. But did you know that Amazon Alexa can help to reduce your stress in addition to giving you traffic and weather updates? Of course, if you focus too heavily on the news part, you may find yourself yelling at Alexa and wanting to throw your Echo outside.
If you’re finding yourself stressed out every day, add some Alexa self care to your daily routine. While you don’t have to try everything on this list, trying just a few might give you some much-needed relief.
Also read:15 Secret Alexa Commands You Didn’t Know About
Meditate Daily
Meditation isn’t always easy. How are you supposed to breathe when your mind is racing and you’d much rather punch a wall or cry? What if you had someone to guide you through it? You only need a few minutes a day to start a meditation practice with Alexa. You can even use meditation to help you sleep better. Some great meditation skills to try include:
- Mindful Meditation
- Headspace
- Guided Meditation
- Meditation Timer
- Be Mindful (has two-minute sessions)
Talk with a Therapist
Amazon Alexa reduces your stress, but she’s not an actual therapist. If you need professional help in controlling and reducing your stress, Alexa can help you by connecting you with a therapist. A few apps are using Alexa to provide remote therapy sessions. This is ideal if you’re not sure if therapy is right for you or have anxiety and have trouble going out.
Receive Positive Affirmations
It might seem overly simple, but who doesn’t love hearing something genuinely positive after a difficult day? Daily affirmations and positive quotes have the power to uplift your mood. But if you search for them normally, you get distracted by all the negative clutter online. Instead, ask Alexa for positive affirmation using skills such as:
Practice Deep Breathing
Deep breathing is just one of many ways Amazon Alexa reduces your stress. While it’s a form of meditation, many people find it easier to do. However, having guided prompts keeps you on track so your deep breathing is much more effective. Alexa has a variety of deep breathing skills, including:
Sleep Better
If you’re not getting enough sleep or sleeping deeply enough, it’s much harder to manage your stress. While Amazon Alexa can’t provide the perfect sleep environment, she can help you relax when you’re ready to sleep. Simply relaxing first helps you to sleep more deeply without staying up all night feeling overwhelmed with stress. The meditation skills listed earlier are great to use, but you can also try the following skills:
Call When You Need Help
Sometimes the best way to de-stress is to talk to someone else. If you’ve had a bad day or just need to vent, call someone. Ask Alexa to call a friend or family member. Sit back and relax while you talk to someone else about your problems. Keeping everything bottled up will just increase your stress. If your stress truly feels like it’s too much to handle, please don’t hesitate to call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
Shut Out the World with Music
Music has more power than many people realize. Even if you just have it on in the background, your brain is still processing it. Listening to upbeat, soothing, and/or motivational music helps reduce stress. Shut out whatever’s going on in your life, even for just a few songs, by asking Alexa to play music. Use your favorite streaming service such as Spotify or another alternative. Or, listen to the soothing sounds from some of the sleep skills.
One more thing: when you are feeling stressed, ask Amazon Alexa these funny questions to be amused. She just might help make a bad day a little bit better.
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