Well, that's good. XD The only music I kno is gaming music... >.>

I usually listen to music ^^ Though playing games is something i do to de-stress o.0 Of course I also chat with my friends and read books that I like, or play with my dog ^^

For ready-made playlists, may I suggest 8tracks?

There's countless fanmixes for different series and moods. I'm sure you'll be likely to find one or two that strike your fancy if you give it a look.

I light candles. Also, scent is very important to me. I am addicted to great smelling body lotions, body sprays, salt scrubs, perfume, you name it, all of which have a calming, soothing affect on me. I have plug in misting atomizers that use essential oils that make my house smell great! I love long, hot baths with candle light and these great smelling, fizzing bath balls that I throw in there.

Also, baking! When I bake up some goodies, like homemade banana bread, cinnamon rolls, etc, it's like therapy. And when the whole house smells like one giant cinnamon roll, it's hard not to be happy. lol

The only thing with sleeping is that if you sleep too much you can actually make yourself more tired, not less, and I find being tired tends to add to my stress level considerably.

I have a personal theory that stress is about balance. When life breaks me down, one of the best things I've found to do is to create something. That way rather than doing something that might be relaxing but is ultimately non-productive (thus compounding my stress), I replace my negative feelings with positive ones about my accomplishment(s). I have a really stressful job situation right now so finding that balance is very important to me personally.

A couple of years ago I picked up baking as a hobby, mostly out of boredom. I quickly discovered that I really enjoy it, and it probably helps that I seem to have a knack for it. So instead of sitting around stewing in my own thoughts of inadequacy, I'm focused on actually doing something. I tend to make cookies a lot and then share them with other people. That way I don't eat them all myself and sharing and making my friends feel good makes me feel good too, which also really helps my stress levels. Nothing like a little pride and accomplishment to turn the day around. Cookies are also really forgiving recipes as long as you don't overcook them and are really easy to modify for flavors.

I've started to branch out into cooking a little, honestly I find it a little overwhelming because of how subjective it is. Baking is pretty standard because of the required ratios of ingredients. I can cook fine from a recipe but give me a random pile of food and I can't even begin to tell you what to do with it. Made chicken and pineapple enchiladas last night even though I accidentally fell asleep after work yesterday and ended up sleeping until ~7 p.m. I was really tired but they turned out well and even though I did nothing else, I still felt good by the time I went to bed because I made something that ended up being delicious.

I'm also a writer and I make sure I set aside time to work on my stories. It's not necessarily every day but whenever I can fit the time in I do it. I have a lot of them bouncing around in my head so getting them down onto the page helps a lot. It also helps that characters and plots tend to reflect my subconscious emotions, fears, etc, so it can be cathartic at times. I also journal whenever I need to really get some feelings out; keeping it bottled up is bad, very bad. Having outlets is so critically important to staying healthy and keeping the stress at bay.

One other thing--are there any little things that make you happy? Make time to do them on a regular basis. Doing your nails, watching a favorite TV show, etc. Sitting outside for a few minutes when the weather's nice. Need that vitamin D!

Finally, one of the most important things I've discovered is to make goals to work towards. The more you can do to make your life positive and stable, the less stress you'll have in general. Baking and cooking are hobbies, yes, but also life skills. I was never really taught to cook so I've been learning on my own. The confidence of being able to provide for yourself and survive on your own makes such a huge difference. Plus it's way healthier too. ;)

One thing I will note about exercise--it is critical to health and it does help with stress, but it won't help at all if you don't enjoy it. Try finding something you like to do that isn't necessarily exercise but is fun and gets you moving. Learn how to dance, train to be an assassin with parkour, whatever. ;) Weight loss is mostly diet; exercise is to get/stay fit and toned. I'm currently doing circuit training via DVD but honestly I'd much rather be out there learning some form of martial art. I just don't have the time/money to do it right now so at the very least I can get myself in shape in the meantime. I have a number of hereditary health risks I need to mitigate anyway so even though I don't exactly enjoy it, I do push myself to keep at it. It helps that I got a compliment from a coworker the other day, too.

MUSIC!!!
I'll admit depending on the game I play it can be de-stressing.
showers are nice and relaxing, also bubble baths, they actually make a bubble bath formula that, supposedly relieves stress when used. the good thing about a bath is your water bill wont be to high, and I suggest nice warm water.
I ask my bf to rub my bk :D although its not nice to make ppl do it for long periods of time.
they say spending time with pets help.
Taking a nice walk on a warm day with/without pets.
Sometimes for me just laying on the floor or on my bed and blanking out is relieving to me.
Yoga is suggested for relieving stress, which is believable with all that breathing.