Progressive muscle relaxation: tense, then let go

Progressive muscle relaxation is a simple routine. You tense one group of muscles, hold briefly, then let go, and you work through the whole body that way. It asks for about 15 to 20 minutes, a quiet place and your attention on the difference between tight and loose.

Why people do it

Most people come to progressive muscle relaxation because they want to wind down. It is one of the classic sleeping relaxation techniques, often done in the evening or in bed. People also use it during the day when stress has settled into their shoulders, jaw or back without them noticing.

The method is more than a century old. According to histories of the technique, the American physician Edmund Jacobson presented it at Harvard in 1908 and later published a book called Progressive Relaxation in 1929. His original approach was long and detailed. The psychiatrist Joseph Wolpe later shortened it to about 20 minutes, which is close to how most people practice it now.

The practice works on two levels. For the body, it gives you a direct way to find and release muscle tension. For the mind, the steady rhythm of tensing and letting go gives your attention something to rest on, which many people find calming. If you like this kind of attention to physical sensation, the body scan meditation is a gentler cousin that skips the tensing.

What the evidence says

Progressive muscle relaxation has a body of research behind it, and that research is clearer on relaxation than on sleep. In a 2021 randomized trial in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 60 healthy students did a single 20-minute recorded session of PMR, deep breathing or guided imagery. All three groups reported feeling more relaxed than a control group, and PMR and imagery also showed an immediate trend toward physical relaxation. That was one short session in healthy young people. For sleep, the US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) describes the evidence for relaxation alone in chronic insomnia as small and low quality. Progressive relaxation is often built into cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), and two trials in women with menopausal or postmenopausal insomnia found benefit. The NCCIH also notes that the American College of Physicians lists PMR among the first non-drug options for chronic low-back pain, though that evidence was rated low.

Variations

• The short version. Instead of many small groups, you work with four large ones: arms, face and neck, torso, and legs. It suits busy days or anyone who finds the full sequence too long.
• Release only. You skip the tensing and simply relax each area in turn. This is a sensible choice if you have pain or an injury that makes squeezing uncomfortable.
• Guided recording. You follow a recorded voice that tells you when to tense and when to let go, as the students in the trial above did. Beginners often find it easier to keep the timing this way.
• In bed as part of winding down. You do the sequence lying down once the lights are out, as one of several relaxation techniques for sleep. Our guide to sleep, mood and spiritual practice covers how to build an evening routine around it.

Common mistakes

• Squeezing too hard. Tension that hurts or causes a cramp works against you. Use firm but comfortable effort, well short of pain.
• Holding your breath the whole way through. Breathe in as you tense and out as you release, so your breathing keeps moving through the sequence.
• Rushing the release. The 10 to 15 seconds after you let go are where the relaxation happens. Give each area that full pause before moving on.
• Relying on it for long-running insomnia. If poor sleep has lasted for weeks, use PMR alongside a visit to a clinician, not instead of one. CBT-I is the most strongly recommended approach.

If you have an injury, epilepsy, a psychiatric condition or a history of trauma, check with a clinician before you start.