Taking walks has been proven to relieve stress and to help you stop worrying about all of the things that are bothering you. If you make a goal of taking just one or two 15-minute walks per day, then you can help yourself get some fresh air, be out in the sunshine, and to make an effort to break your usual habits or routine. If you're feeling overwhelmed or angry and not sure how to proceed, taking a walk to clear your head can have a powerful positive effect on your mental state. Sometimes all you need is a change of scenery. Just being out in the world, seeing trees, people, and others going about their days can make you feel more peaceful. Exercising will also make you feel more mellow, and more in control of your mind and body. Just making a habit of exercising for 30 minutes a day or as many times as you can a week can help you have a lifestyle that makes you feel more calm and at peace. Any form of exercise will help you focus on your body and relieve some of the anxious energy you've been carrying around, though every person has a different form of exercise that can be best suited to his needs, such as yoga or hiking. You can even make exercise a part of your daily life, if you're short on time. Instead of driving to the grocery store, take a 15-minute walk there. Instead of taking the elevator to work, take the stairs. These little efforts at activity do add up. Being out in nature can help you feel more calm and at peace, and can give you a sense that most of your problems really aren't that big of a deal. It's hard to worry about your upcoming project or job interview when you're walking through the woods or standing on top of a mountain. If you're in a more urban environment, visit a public garden or a lake just to get a taste of nature. It's more important than you think when it comes to mellowing out. If you find a hiking, swimming, or biking buddy, then you'll be even more motivated to spend time in nature. Listening to classical music, jazz, or other music that makes you feel more calm and mellow can have a big impact on your inner and outer state. Try to minimize the death metal or other music that gets you riled up and turn to more calming sounds. You can go to concerts or just experience this music in your own home or car, especially when you're feeling stressed out. If you just plug in for a few minutes and listen to mellow music, you'll find that your mind and body will relax more easily. If you're in the middle of a heated argument, you can even excuse yourself and spend a few minutes listening to calming music before you return to the conversation. Sometimes, all you need to do is to take a few minutes of time out. If you're feeling really overwhelmed and not mellow at all, just lie down or sit down, close your eyes, and try not to move your body for a few minutes. Shut down your mind and focus on the sounds around you, and see if you can even fall into a light sleep for a few minutes. Try this for 15-20 minutes. You don't want to end up taking a long, hour-plus nap and wake up feeling groggy or worse than usual. If you feel anxious because you're tired and don't feel capable of dealing with a lot of your problems, making a power nap a part of your routine can help you feel more mellow. Making laughter a bigger part of your routine will definitely make you feel more relaxed and at ease, and thereby more mellow. You may feel like you don't have time for laughter, or that laughing isn't "serious" enough, but you should really make an effort to spend time around people who make you laugh, watching comedies, or just to do things that get you out of a serious frame of mind. Get silly with your friends and dress up in goofy costumes, dance for no reason, run around in the rain, or do whatever you can to shake yourself out of your stressed-out funk and to crack up more. Making a goal toward laughing more is something you can do today and start right now. Even if you're just watching a cat do something ridiculous on YouTube, you'll still be headed in the right direction. It's a known fact that caffeine can make you feel more anxious and less at peace. Though drinking coffee, tea, or a soda can definitely give you the burst of energy you may be looking for, if you drink too much of it, or drink it too late in the day, then you are likely to feel more jittery and less mellow than you may want. Ask yourself how much caffeine you regularly drink and slowly work to cut this number in half — if not eliminate your caffeine intake completely. It goes without saying that if you want to be mellow, you should avoid those energy drinks at all costs. They will give you a quick high and then will make you crash and feel anxious.

Summary: Take 15-minute walks every day. Exercise more. Spend time in nature. Listen to soothing music. Rest with your eyes closed to calm down. Laugh more. Minimize your caffeine intake.


Start by removing all bedding from the waterbed. This includes removing mattress pads, sheets, comforters, pillows, and everything else. Ultimately, you won’t be able to drain the bed without stripping it. After stripping your bed, take a few towels and place them around the waterbed. You may also want to position a few around the ends of the waterbed mattress so they can catch any water that spills. Keep extra towels around in case you have a spill larger than you anticipated. Go behind the bed and unplug the waterbed heater and any other plugs that might power some aspect of the bed. Without unplugging the waterbed, you could damage it or put yourself in danger. The fill-and-drain valve is the valve you use to fill or empty your waterbed. This valve is very often located toward the foot of the bed. It may be in the center, or it may be toward one side. After you find the valve, remove the cap from it. Push out as much air as you can from the mattress. Take a light broom and sweep from the top end of the mattress toward the valve. Remove as much air as you can, as air will slow down and complicate draining the bed. By placing the cap back on the valve, you’ll stop air from getting back into the mattress. Make sure you tighten the cap so water doesn’t get out, either.
Summary: Strip your bed. Place towels at the foot of your bed. Unplug the waterbed. Find the fill-and-drain valve. Empty extra air from the mattress. Place the cap back on the valve.