If your mood is elevated or anxious, there are specific, research-backed behaviors you can engage in to feel more relaxed and emotionally balanced. (Clinically, emotional balance is known as emotional regulation—the state in which you have good control over your emotional responses to stimuli and feel "in sync.") Try one or all of the strategies below the next time you feel elevated, anxious, or dysregulated. Many of these approaches have solid research support, and some have helped countless individuals manage nervous energy effectively.
🔑 Executive Key Takeaways
- Nervous energy is physiologically similar to excitement: Reframing anxiety as anticipation can shift your mental state from fear to focus.
- Brief physical activity delivers fast relief: Even 60 seconds of movement (jumping jacks, a brisk walk, desk dancing) can release endorphins and reduce tension.
- Yoga Nidra shows measurable stress reduction: Research finds that 11-minute daily sessions reduce anxiety and improve life satisfaction, while 30-minute sessions can reshape your cortisol rhythm.
- Mandala coloring reduces anxiety significantly: Studies show 20 minutes of mandala coloring can lower anxiety levels with medium-to-large effect sizes, especially for self-induced stress.
- Building a "behavior menu" increases follow-through: When you're dysregulated, decision-making is impaired—having a pre-written list of healthy options makes you more likely to choose one.
📋 Table of Contents
- 1. Do a Five-Minute Bonus Self-Hygiene Routine
- 2. Clear Out Unnecessary Emails and Organize Your Inbox
- 3. Engage in Physical Activity (Even Just a Few Minutes)
- 4. Try Yoga Nidra Meditation (The "Do Almost Nothing" Technique)
- 5. Try Coloring Mandalas or Free-Form Drawing
- 6. Write a Helpful Behavior Menu for Anxious Moments
- The Ultimate Point: Reframe and Use Your Energy Wisely
1. Do a Five-Minute Bonus Self-Hygiene Routine
Taking five minutes to practice a few self-hygiene behaviors is an effective way to reduce anxiety or elevated mood because these activities require mental focus—and focusing on something concrete helps distract you from any thoughts or feelings that were previously causing stress or anxiety. In addition, self-care routines are purely solitary activities that remind you that you're mentally organized and capable of taking good care of yourself, even when stressed or uncomfortable.
Why not use this extra energy to brush and floss your teeth, wash your face with a washcloth, clean your ears, apply moisturizer, and trim your nails? Instead of allowing your nervous energy to waste your time or cause you to wallow in your dysregulated emotional state, use the time to take care of yourself and to complete hygiene tasks now so you don't have to do them later. This approach turns nervous energy into productive self-care that leaves you feeling more grounded and organized.
2. Clear Out Unnecessary Emails and Organize Your Inbox
This is one of those annoying tasks many people avoid—but it's perfect for channeling nervous energy. The next time you feel restless or anxious, open your email account and systematically clear out your inbox of unnecessary items. Delete spam and outdated messages, unsubscribe from newsletters you never read, and create a new folder or two to keep important emails organized.
This activity requires just enough mental engagement to distract you from anxious thoughts without being so demanding that it overwhelms you. Plus, the next time you open your inbox, you'll feel more relaxed and in control—and that sense of accomplishment can help regulate your mood for the rest of the day.
3. Engage in Physical Activity (Even Just a Few Minutes)
The benefits of exercise for mental health are indisputable and well-documented. The effectiveness of traditional cardiovascular exercise in reducing stress and anxiety has been confirmed by decades of research. When you feel nervous energy building up, go for a run, swim, dance in your living room, shadowbox, or take a cardio class—you can do many cardiovascular exercises in your own home without any equipment.
Even brief bursts of movement make a difference. Research shows that just 60 seconds of "desk dancing" or a few jumping jacks can release endorphins, reduce physical tension, and help you reset mentally. If you have more time, you can find online yoga classes ranging from just a few minutes to hours. The key is to move your body in a way that feels good and matches the intensity of your nervous energy—vigorous movement for high-energy restlessness, gentle stretching for anxious tension.
4. Try Yoga Nidra Meditation (The "Do Almost Nothing" Technique)
Recent research demonstrates that a particular meditation technique is remarkably effective in reducing stress with minimal effort. Yoga Nidra—a guided meditation practice in which you lie in corpse pose (savasana) and follow verbal instructions—has been shown to significantly reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. A 2025 study published in Stress and Health found that practicing Yoga Nidra for just 11 minutes daily can reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and rumination while increasing life satisfaction.
Even more impressively, participants who practiced 30-minute sessions showed measurable biological changes: their cortisol awakening response (the sharp spike of stress hormone that occurs when you wake up) became flatter, suggesting a more relaxed start to the day and less anticipatory stress. The U.S. Army Research Laboratory has also validated Yoga Nidra as an effective stress-reduction tool. The beauty of this technique is that it requires almost no physical effort—you simply lie down, close your eyes, and follow along with a guided audio recording, making it ideal for moments when you feel too restless to meditate traditionally but need deep relaxation.
5. Try Coloring Mandalas or Free-Form Drawing
The popularity of adult coloring books raises the question of why they weren't used to the same extent a decade or two ago—but research now provides clear answers. Multiple studies have found that adults engaging in coloring activities, specifically coloring mandalas (geometric figures representing the universe in Hindu and Buddhist symbolism), can significantly decrease both state anxiety (temporary anxiety in response to a situation) and trait anxiety (general anxiety tendency) in as little as 20 to 30 minutes.
A 2020 randomized controlled trial published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that a single 20-minute session of mandala coloring significantly alleviated self-induced anxiety in community-dwelling older adults, with an effect size above medium. Participants reported feeling significantly more calmed down, safe, at ease, rested, satisfied, and good overall. The complexity and structure of mandala designs appear to engage participants in a meditative-like state that helps reduce anxiety.
Given these research findings, you may want to purchase an adult mandala coloring book and try this activity when you have uncomfortable nervous energy. But if you don't have those resources on hand, take some blank paper and draw or color whatever comes to mind—free-form creative expression can also help discharge nervous energy and shift your emotional state.
6. Write a Helpful Behavior Menu for Anxious Moments
This tip might sound trivial, but it's grounded in an important psychological reality: people often don't stop to consider all their behavioral choices when they're preoccupied or dysregulated. In other words, you probably know logically that any of these tips can be helpful and effective, but you'll be far more likely to actually use one or two if you can select from a pre-written list in the moment—much like reviewing items on a food menu when you go out for dinner.
Create your personalized "nervous energy menu" when you're calm and thinking clearly. List 8 to 10 specific activities you can do in different contexts (at home, at work, in public) and with different time requirements (2 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes). Then, when you feel elevated or anxious mood, simply review your list and ask yourself, "Which of these do I feel like trying at this moment?" You may surprise yourself with how much more likely you are to try something healthy or productive when you use this "menu" approach—because the decision has already been simplified for you.
The Ultimate Point: Reframe and Use Your Energy Wisely
The next time you feel anxious, stressed, or have a little too much energy, channel that energy into activities that will either relax you, focus you, or accomplish something productive. Too often, we waste time when we're in this state—we feel uncomfortable and simply wait for the "nervous energy" to pass, scrolling mindlessly through social media or pacing without purpose. Instead, reframe the experience as an opportunity to use the time wisely, either to relax intentionally or to check items off your to-do list.
Remember that nervous energy and excitement are physiologically nearly identical—your body releases similar hormones and experiences similar sensations. The difference lies in how your brain interprets and labels the experience. By consciously reframing nervous energy as anticipation or productive fuel, you shift from a state of fear and avoidance to a state of focus and engagement. This single cognitive shift, combined with the concrete behavioral strategies outlined above, can transform nervous energy from a burden into a resource—giving you a satisfying sense of organization, accomplishment, and emotional balance right away.
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