Forget yoga and meditation… try mashing potatoes or building flatpack furniture: Brits reveal their favourite ways to relieve stress (and some are truly bizarre)

Household chores like sweeping, hanging laundry, and ironing can be more relaxing than meditation or yoga.

That’s according to a survey of 2,000 Brits that found out what makes us stress-free.

Everyday tasks that don’t require much thought have been chosen as the best way to find a moment of peace.

But the strangest thing is that mashing potatoes, assembling furniture and watching the washing machine cycle are some tasks that Brits find the most therapeutic.

According to the survey commissioned by eBay, more than half of respondents (56 percent) believe that everyday tasks can be more relaxing than meditation or yoga.

Unsurprisingly, half of respondents (49 percent) said that making tea or coffee eased their stress and anxiety levels.

But watering plants (31 percent), grating cheese (12 percent) and even wiping kitchen surfaces (21 percent) were also among the 30 biggest stress killers.

The survey found that around half (49 percent) of people believe that tactile tasks involving an end product are among the most relaxing.

So it’s no surprise that crocheting (14 percent), cleaning out the car (12 percent) and making flat-pack furniture (six percent) were also on the list.

Homework, which many find boring, was also praised for its tension-reducing effect.

Laundry (25 percent), ironing (23 percent), going to the supermarket (20 percent) and even sorting recycling (13 percent) were described as relaxing tasks.

Just like meditation and yoga, everyday tasks can cause the brain to release hormones that improve mood, says psychologist Dr. Lisa Dorn from Cranfield University.

She said: “These everyday tasks can also release endorphins, which are linked to the “pleasure centers” in the brain, producing a general feeling of well-being.

“Regularly increasing your endorphin levels can also improve your mood and brain function and ward off anxiety and stress.”

This could be because we are able to detach ourselves from worries and hardships in life and instead focus on the task at hand, she says.

Dr. Dorn added: “From a psychological perspective, people enter a zone or mental state where they no longer have to think and are completely immersed in a feeling of energized focus and joy.”

“It is as if action and awareness merge when people focus on the task and not on their worries and fears.”

The concerns that preoccupy and stress most Brits include money, work, family and health, the survey found.

On average, Brits have ten moments of relaxation a day, with one in three (33 percent) saying they have fewer stress-free moments now compared to three years ago. Almost half (49 percent) would like more periods of calm in their lives.

More than half of respondents (58 percent) said phones and computers made it harder for them to relax, but 71 percent watched TV to unwind.

Others said a long walk (58 percent), a movie (48 percent) and reading (45 percent) helped them relax.