Can cuddling sheep really reduce stress? I put six relaxation techniques to the test

Telegraph

23-02-2025

Deep in the winter blues, riddled with anxiety and regularly waking at 3am with worries, I was desperate to get my stress levels under control
Nothing helped. Filling my diary left me frantic. No amount of early nights, soaks in the bath, reading favourite books distracted me from anxieties about everything going wrong. Even doing nothing made me castigate my own laziness.
'Our stress response is designed to detect potential threats which need attention immediately – we're meant to deal with it then settle down,' says Willem Kukyen, professor of mindfulness and psychological science at Oxford University. 'Nowadays we're surrounded by things needing our attention: notifications, news, work. We're always on alert.'
The best way to relax is a disputed subject. Listen to Mozart, sit in silence, do some gentle yoga, join a dance class, drink green tea, eat chocolate, drink coffee, don't drink coffee: you name it, and someone has touted it as the solution to your worries.
So what activities really bring your anxiety levels down?
How I measured my stress levels
While it's difficult to measure stress levels in the moment, a study from Bielefeld University in Germany found that a 10 point questionnaire could assess relaxation to an 86 per cent accuracy.
Also newer fitness trackers have built-in stress tracking. As well as observing my heart rate (a slower heartbeat can indicate calmness) my Fitbit features an electrodermal activity (EDA) tracker. This measures how much I sweat using tiny pulses to measure my skin's conductance. The lower the score, the less stressed I am.
So armed with these tools I headed to the Lake District, which has been a premiere spot for rest and recuperation since the 18th Century, for the ultimate relaxathon.
My average, un-relaxed EDA score was 30, so I knew if I scored lower, theoretically I should be more relaxed. Similarly my resting heart rate is 54bpm, so the closer I was to that, the more relaxed I should be.
Finally, immediately before and after each activity, I would take the Bielefeld questionnaire, rating my responses to statements like 'My breathing is faster than usual' or 'My muscles feel loose'. Noting the difference before and after, I could see how each activity affected my sense of relaxation.
Cold water swimming
Made famous by 'Iceman' Wim Hof, immersing your body in cold temperatures combined with controlled breathing improves control of your fight or flight response.
By getting the body used to the release of adrenaline and cortisol when you're in a survival situation, you feel their effects less every day. If your body learns it can survive an icy dip, looming work deadlines stop feeling so scary, goes the theory. However, standing on the shore of Lake Windermere at 8am with Pete Kelly, co-founder of Swim The Lakes, and lifelong wild swimmer, I was anything but relaxed. 'The lake is about five degrees this morning, perfect conditions,' Kelly enthused.
The trick, Kelly explained, was to take it slowly. I gingerly inched my way into the water. I won't describe my reaction in full but it's fair to say I felt the cold. Choice words were spoken. Worse was the actual swimming. I could feel the chilly water against my throat where the wetsuit ended like an icy burn as I swam to a buoy 30 metres into the lake.
'It's not so bad, is it?' Kelly grinned. I kept my thoughts to myself. 'You'll feel euphoric afterwards. And not many people can say they've seen Windermere like this.'
The lake was like a great black void surrounding us, with a cool winter mist enveloping the nearby hills in a roiling white blanket. In the dawn light, Windermere was empty apart from the waterfowl gliding across its surface. Breathtakingly peaceful, I had to admit.
Hauling myself out 15 minutes later, I didn't feel calm. My teeth chattered, my shoulders hunched, my heart raced, and I was breathing fast. But nor had I spent a moment ruminating on worries. My mind felt clear and, yes, perhaps even euphoric.
Spa and massage
Often the first activity that comes to mind when we need to de-stress is a massage or spa visit. I was spoilt for choice at Low Wood Bay, one of the Lake District's top-rated spas, which offers four pools, four hot tubs, two steam rooms, infrared saunas, herbal saunas, salt saunas, and panoramic views of Windermere. With half of these facilities outdoors, I also benefited from contrast therapy, the swapping between hot and cold temperatures, which dilates blood vessels, lowering blood pressure and improving circulation.
I began with a massage. The stretching of muscles helps break down lactic acid in the tissue allowing muscles to relax and repair more effectively. Massage has also been shown to stimulate nerves in the skin to release endorphins which help us feel happy. I was on cloud nine afterwards.
The spa I was more wary about. I have a hit-or-miss relationship with them. Last year I visited a famously Instagrammable one in Milan, and was so exhausted from dodging the cameras of the vast crowds of wannabe influencers that I left with a headache. Hell is other people, especially when trying to relax.
Still, Low Wood Bay limits the number of people who can visit at any time and with those scenic vistas, it wasn't long before I was totally zoned out in the lakeside infinity pool.
Unfortunately, hot pools and saunas have a side effect. As the body attempts to cool down, the heart beats faster. Thus, despite my feelings of mental zen, my heart rate soared.
Nature walking
'This is one of my favourite things,' says Danni Chambers from the Cumbria Wildlife Trust, pointing out a thick mass of grey-brown lichen growing on a wall. 'This is peltigera,' she explains. 'It's a lichen which is specialised to cool climates and helps freshen the air.'
We're in Staveley Woodlands, one of England's last rainforests. 'North Atlantic or Celtic rainforests are incredibly rare habitats,' Chambers explains as we hike amid the moss-strewn cliffs and trees. 'You have to have the same humidity levels for at least 200 days per year, which gives rise to unusual plant and fungal life.'
Chambers points out wood-ear mushrooms, a family of deer creeping through the forest, a buzzard perched on a nearby fencepost, and dreys constructed by red squirrels.
The advice to 'get some fresh air' has been a panacea for mental health woes since before the term mental health was coined, but in recent years it has received new attention.
'Forest bathing is the therapeutic practice of exploring the forest with all of your senses,' explains Georgie Dreher, a wilderness therapy guide and founder of The Wild Revival. 'The practice has its roots in Japan, where forest bathing was prescribed to overworked people to reduce stress and burnout. There are a host of benefits, including reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety, helping us sleep better and promoting a sense of mental relaxation.'
As we tramp through wet leaves, across a gurgling stream, clambering over fallen trees I feel lighter, so focused on spotting the wildlife that I'm not thinking about anything else.
Sheep cuddling (animal therapy)
The Herdwick Experience is hosted at Yew Tree Farm in Coniston. Like many farms in the Lake District, the land is leased from the National Trust with a regulation (laid down by original owner Beatrix Potter) that it must have a certain number of Herdwick sheep. The heritage breed isn't suitable for intensive meat farming and wool production in the UK is essentially worthless, so the farm had to diversify. Hence, sheep cuddling.
The sheep element is unusual, but animal therapy is known to have positive effects on mental health. If nothing else, I've never felt as ridiculous as I did standing in a field, palms full of pellets, being grazed upon by a small flock of fluffy sheep.
'There is a lot of evidence about animals being good for us,' explains Dr Rachel Harland, a consultant psychiatrist at Bristol Priory. 'Hormones like oxytocin and endorphins are released; it lowers your blood pressure, it lowers cortisol. The part of the brain that animals stimulate is similar to the response of a mother to a baby with the focus being on this cute thing in front of you. It helps people take themselves out of themselves. You're looking after something which doesn't ask anything of you. It's not a complex relationship, it's stripped back and simple.'
That was borne out by my results. In spite of the cold, 45 minutes in the field flew by, surrounded by soft 'baas' and the sheep clamouring for a chin-scratch.
Full Moon Meditation
As twilight approached in the Skelghyll Woods, I lay on a yoga mat gazing up at the gleam of moonlight filtering through the clouds above.
'The moon affects us,' explains manifesting coach Karen Whybrow. 'It's a release. Police officers and paramedics will tell you how much busier they are on the night of the full moon. It activates something in us.'
It was all a bit woo-woo for me. As I lay there, I felt my heartbeat and thoughts rattling around my brain – 'is anything happening?', 'am I doing this right?', 'what's for dinner?'
'Calm your mind,' Whybrow says, instructing me to breathe deeply, before I'm invited to imagine myself in a lake, putting worries into bubbles and letting them drift away.
' Guided meditation allows us to clear out our emotions and limiting beliefs to help us feel lighter,' Whybrow explains. 'Letting go of mental clutter reduces anxiety and stress and creates space for new opportunities. It can deepen connection to nature and inner wisdom.'
At first, the woods filled my ears. The soft hoot of a tawny owl, the rustle of creatures moving through the undergrowth, the crack of branches clattering against each other in the breeze. But then, to my surprise, I realised I was drifting on the edge of sleep.
It wasn't always relaxing. When considering the negative thoughts I wanted to banish, I found myself ruminating. But lying still, immersed in my imaginary world, cleared my mind.
Afterwards we sipped tea and I took my readings. To my surprise, my questionnaire showed I was more relaxed than ever, and my heartbeat had plummeted to its resting rate.
Journaling
I've always been suspicious of journaling, which I view as keeping a diary but pretentiously. To my chagrin, it is officially a thing, with all manner of mental benefits ascribed to it.
'I began journaling twelve years ago,' explains Niki Smirni, a mindful leader who has worked with wellness luminaries like Deepak Chopra through her retreat business, Travelgems. 'In the beginning, I just jotted down three things I was grateful for each day, from meaningful experiences to little moments. It helped me start my day with a smile.
'Over time my journaling evolved,' Smirni says. 'I write at length about the love I feel from my family, the warmth of my morning coffee, the birdsong outside my window. It gives me a sense of calm. Reflecting on the positives keeps me grounded and able to see the light when things don't go to plan.'
Well, in for a penny – I pulled out a notebook and pen and set to scribbling. Except, it wasn't quite as simple as I imagined – what was I grateful for? It provoked some anxiety – what if I couldn't think of anything? Would that mean I was ungrateful?
I worked through the day's activities. I was grateful for the duck egg omelette for breakfast at Low Wood Bay, I was grateful for the views, the cool weather, the lack of rain, the sheep, the quiet, the company, the fresh air, the warm jacket I'd brought with me. Large and small, all sorts of things tumbled out of me as I wrote.
Reading the list of good things in my notebook was cheering and brought a smile to my face.
How to relax better, according to science
Judging by my results, there's some merit to every relaxation method I tried. Some surprised me – who'd have thought a walk in the woods would prove as efficacious as a trip to the spa?
What stands out though is that whether I was freezing myself in a lake, lying on a forest floor, or writing in a notebook, I wasn't worrying, getting stressed or feeling down.
This is precisely the point, argues Professor Kukyen. 'The way we make sense of our minds makes all the difference,' he says. 'The level of stress in the body is exactly the same whether you're anxious or excited, but one we enjoy and the other we dread. If we can get better at changing our self-perceptions, that can have a huge impact on how we feel.
'I think that's empowering,' says Professor Kukyen. 'If you're doing something consciously focused on relaxing, whether that's a trip to the spa or a walk, that is reflected in your state of mind. Find out what relaxes you, and build it into your life. Whether that's journaling or getting a few extra hours of sleep. Do experiments on yourself and find out what works.'
We don't all have the opportunity to swim in Windermere or go sheep cuddling when we're stressed, but we can choose to give ourselves a break and do something nice.
Mondays will always loom and stress will always encroach but as my experiment proves there are dozens of ways to relax, the most important step is choosing to seek them out.