International Relaxation Day is celebrated on the 15th August, 2024. Since 1985, National Relaxation Day has been held annually on the 15th August in the USA.  This was a great idea by a nine-year-old, Sean Moeller from Michigan. In more recent years, social media platforms have helped people around the world to share with each other how they celebrate National Relaxation Day and this was the catalyst for the launch of International Relaxation Day. In the lead up to the 15th August, checkout the hashtag #internationalrelaxationday on social media platforms including Facebook, X and LinkedIn and learn about the benefits of relaxation techniques and interventions to enhance the Relaxation Response, manage stress, reduce anxiety and improve wellbeing.  We have set up an International Relaxation Day website which includes a range of relaxation methods, techniques and interventions that both health professional and the public could consider using to enhance relaxation.

The International Relaxation Day website includes a Research Hub section for health educators, teachers, psychologists, therapists, coaches and other practitioners may wish to learn more about relaxation techniques and methods they could use within their client groups. In this section, we intend listing research and information on relaxation techniques that could inform the practice of relaxation.

This year the Association for Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy and the International Society for Coaching Psychology and various organisations are supporting a free online International Relaxation Day Conference which will have presentations from experts who will share their knowledge about relaxation techniques. For ease of watching internationally with the different time zones, the conference has been pre-recorded. The links to the video recordings go live on 15th August.
Although International Relaxation Day and National Relaxation Day are only celebrated annually on the 15th August, the UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab 'Relaxation for all' is an on-going project. Over the coming months, the 'Relaxation for all' team will continue to update the website and add additional relaxation techniques and research.

Links below:
International Relaxation Day Online Conference
International Relaxation Day 'How to Relax' 
International Relaxation Day Research Hub