9 soothing Instagram accounts to calm a frazzled brain
With posts ranging from step-by-step painting videos to dream-like photographs, these Instagram accounts are the home of aesthetically pleasing, relaxing content.
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last couple of years, you’ll have heard all the warnings about how bad social media can be for your mental health. From the dangers of doomscrolling to the perils of blue light exposure before bed, most self-care guides will include some kind of tech-related tip, such as cutting down your screen time or deleting the social media apps from your phone.
But what if social media wasn’t always bad for you? What if, alongside cutting down on your screen time, there was a way to boost your wellbeing through social media? To use it in a way which makes it a less stressful, more relaxing experience?
Welcome, dear reader, to Instagram’s wholesome side. Across the social media platform, there are creators aplenty producing satisfying, aesthetically pleasing and soothing content. And while they don’t sell themselves as relaxation aides, scrolling through their feeds is slowly becoming one of our favourite ways to switch off when we’re feeling frazzled.
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We’re not saying these accounts are going to magically rid you of all your anxiety or help you get to sleep, but they might provide some light relief from the stress of your day-to-day routine – something we’re all in need of at the moment.
So without further ado, here are some of our favourite soothing accounts to help you inject some calm into your Instagram feed.
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Yuki Kawae (@yukikawae)
Yuki Kawae’s account is a treasure trove of soothing videos, which show him using sand and a rake to create mesmerising patterns and designs.
The sound of the sand scratching against the rake paired with the occasional gong strike gives the videos a meditative quality which is seriously relaxing.
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Coffee Bae (@coffeebae97)
If you find watching milk swirl into a cup of coffee mesmerising, you’ll enjoy Coffee Bae’s close-up videos, which show them putting together a series of different drinks with a calming soundtrack in the background.
With drinks ranging from creamy milkshakes to iced coffee, each video brings a new surprise – we love this one inspired by the pastel hues of Bridgerton.
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Mairi Stone (@mairi_stone)
Mairi Stone is a ceramicist from Ireland who uses intricate, swirling patterns to create her eye-catching designs.
Not only is her feed beautiful to look at, but the videos she posts of her creating each of her pieces are an absolutely mesmerising watch.
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Simplicity Archives (@simplicityarchives)
Treat your eyes to an aesthetic feast by adding this account to your follow list.
Simplicity Archives’ compilation of eye-catching photos and videos may not be as traditionally soothing as some of the content on this list, but it’s still well worth a scroll.
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Maso Eden Llama and Alpaca Farm (@maso_edenalpaca)
An account dedicated to llamas and alpacas may not sound the most exciting thing in the world, but stay with us.
Dedicated to documenting the lives of the llamas and alpacas who live on the Maso Eden farm in the Italian countryside, this account will not only make your feed 100x more adorable, but its easily digestible nature makes it surprisingly soothing, too.
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Alexandra Velichko (@alexandravelichko)
Alexandra Velichko’s incredibly beautiful oil paintings aren’t the only reason why her account has made this list.
Click onto one of her videos and you’ll see what we’re talking about – the combination of the blue tones she uses in her art and the classical music which plays in the background is ultra-calming.
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Oumi Janta (oumi_janta)
If you’re looking for soothing content that’s a bit more upbeat, Oumi Janta’s rollerskating videos are a must-watch.
Not only is she bloody talented (how does she make those moves look so effortless?), but the music which plays in the background of her videos adds to Janta’s joyful, carefree vibe – perfect for watching when you need a pick-me-up at the end of the day.
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Frederikke Wærens (@frederikkewaerens)
You might want to avoid watching Frederikke Wærens’s mesmerising food videos when you’re hungry, but otherwise, feel free to dive right in.
Just make sure to have your audio on as you watch – trust us, it’s a real treat for the senses.
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Philip Boelter (@boelterdesignco)
There’s something incredibly mesmerising about the bright colours and bold brushstrokes Philip Boelter uses to create his gouache designs.
If you’re looking for something to take your mind off of everything going on right now, then try watching one of his speed lapse painting videos – you won’t regret it.
LinkedIn Makes its 20 Most Popular LinkedIn Learning Courses Freely Available Throughout August
Looking to up your skills for a job change or career advancement in the second half of the year?
This will help – today, LinkedIn has published its listing of the 20 most popular LinkedIn Learning courses over the first half of 2022. In addition to this, LinkedIn’s also making each of these courses free to access till the end of the month – so now may well be the best time to jump in and brush up on the latest, rising skills in your industry.
As per LinkedIn:
“As the Great Reshuffle slows and the job market cools, professionals are getting more serious about skill building. The pandemic accelerated change across industries, and as a result, skills to do a job today have changed even compared to a few years ago. Professionals are responding by learning new skills to future-proof their careers and meet the moment.”
LinkedIn says that over seven million people have undertaken these 20 courses this year, covering everything from improved communication, project management, coding, strategic thinking and more.
Here are the top 20 LinkedIn Learning courses right now, which you can access via the relevant links:
- Goal Setting: Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) with Jessie Withers
- Excel Essential Training (Office 365/Microsoft 365) with Dennis Taylor
- Interpersonal Communication with Dorie Clark
- Cultivating a Growth Mindset with Gemma Leigh Roberts
- Project Management Foundations with Bonnie Biafore
- Using Questions to Foster Critical Thinking and Curiosity with Joshua Miller
- Essentials of Team Collaboration with Dana Brownlee
- Unconscious Bias with Stacey Gordon
- Learning Python with Joe Marini
- Communicating with Confidence with Jeff Ansell
- Speaking Confidently and Effectively with Pete Mockaitis
- Learning the OWASP Top 10 with Caroline Wong
- Power BI Essential Training with Gini von Courter
- Strategic Thinking with Dorie Clark
- SQL Essential Training with Bill Weinman
- Developing Your Emotional Intelligence with Gemma Leigh Roberts
- Communication Foundations with Brenda Bailey-Hughes and Tatiana Kolovou
- Agile Foundations with Doug Rose
- Digital Marketing Foundations with Brad Batesole
- Critical Thinking with Mike Figliuolo
If you’ve been thinking about upskilling, now may be the time – or maybe it’s just worth taking some of the programming courses, for example, so that you have a better understanding of how to communicate between departments on projects.
Or you could take an Agile course. If, you know, you don’t trust your own management ability.
The courses are available for free till August 31st via the above links.
Instagram has added a few more social features to the platform, with Reels Replies being rolled out. Along with the Replies, anew feature is being tested that shows when two users are active together in the same chat.
Reels has been performing much better than perhaps even Instagram ever anticipated. The TikTok-inspired new video format (which officially claims to have absolutely no relation to the former) had some trouble really finding its footing initially. However, Reels has grown massively and while it may not be a source of the most direct competition to TikTok, it is indeed a worthy alternative.
Reels has grown to the point that it has a massive creator program attached to it, and the video format has even been migrated to Facebook with the goal of generating further user interest there. Naturally, with such a successful virtual goldmine on its hands, Instagram has been hard at work developing new features and interface updates for Reels, integrating it more and more seamlessly into the rest of the social media platform. Features such as Reels Replies are a major part of such attempts at integration.
Reels Visual Replies are essentially just what they sound like: A Reel that is being used to reply to someone. It’s a feature that’s been seen frequently across TikTok as well. Reel Replies essentially take a user’s comments, and reply to them in video format. The comment will then show up within the Reel itself as a text-box, taking up some amount of space, and showing both the user who issued said comment along with the text. The text-box is apparently adjustable, with users having the ability to move it around and change its size depending on where it obstructs one’s Reel the least.
Overall, it’s a fun addition to the Reels format, even if the credit should be going to TikTok first. At any rate, it’s an example of Instagram really utilizing Reels’ social media capabilities, outside of just serving it up as a form of entertainment.
Speaking of social media capabilities, a new feature might help alleviate one of the most common frustrations encountered across all such platforms. Isn’t it annoying when you see that a friend’s online, but isn’t replying to your chat? Sure, they’ve probably just put their phone down to run a quick errand, but there’s no way for you to know, right? Well, there sort of is now! Instagram is beta testing a new feature via which if both users are active within a chat, the platform will display that accordingly. It’s a work-around, sure, and one that’s currently being tested for usefulness, but it’s still a very nice, and even fresh, addition to the social media game.
Now, the active status will only appear when you are both active at the same time.#Instagram #instgramnewfeature@MattNavarra @instagram @alex193a pic.twitter.com/2chGZP9hr4
— Yash Joshi (@MeYashjoshi) December 10, 2021
Read next: Instagram Plans On Allowing Users To Return To Its Old Chronologically Sorted News Feed
Alright, we get it. You’re an Instagram Nostradamus.
You know exactly what you want to post and when you’re gonna want to post it. Maybe there’s a meme or comment you want to make that you know will be totally relevant for a future moment or event. Or it could be that you’re an influencer and you want to make sure you keep a steady stream of content coming, so you want to schedule posts for times when you know you won’t be active (or won’t have internet access).
You’ll be happy to know there are apps that are specialized for just such situations. So listen up, InstaNostradamuses…Instagrostra…Instadam…Insta…uh…you guys (we’ll workshop it. No we won’t. We’ll probably just abandon that effort completely. You’re welcome) — these are the Instagram-post-scheduling apps for you.
While all of the iPhone apps below are free to download, they all have some in-app purchases.
1. Planoly
We’ll start with “official partner” of Instagram, itself, Planoly — an Instaplanner that uses a grid to let you plan, schedule, and publish posts (as well as Reels) on Instagram. The app also lets you see post metrics and analytics so you can make sure your post didn’t flop.
Planoly is available for iOS on the Apple App Store and the Google Play store for Android.
2. Buffer
Credit: buffer / app store
Buffer is another Instagram post scheduler that helps you plan your posts and analyze feedback once they’re published. Use a calendar view to drag and drop posts into days/time slots for easy scheduling.
Buffer is available for iOS on the Apple App Store and the Google Play store for Android.
3. Preview
Credit: preview / app store
Preview offers typical post-scheduling tools and analytics along with a few helpful extras. Get caption ideas, recommendations for hashtags, and more.
Preview is available for iOS on the Apple App Store and the Google Play store for Android.
4. Content Office
Credit: content office / app store
An Instagram post scheduler with a visual boost, Content Office allows users to plan and schedule Instagram posts while learning “marketing and visual guides to grow your brand on Instagram.” Like aesthetics and using visuals to create cohesive themes? Maybe this is the Instaplanner for you.
Content Office is available for iOS on the Apple App Store.
5. Plann
Credit: plann / apple store
You’ll never guess what “Plann” lets you do…
Aside from scheduling posts, get content ideas and recommendations, as well as strategy tips to ensure you’re maximizing your Instagram engagement. Ever wonder when the best time to post something is? Plann can offer you some help with that.
Plann is available for iOS on the Apple App Store and the Google Play store for Android.
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