Self Care for the Overwhelmed: Building in Recovery Time throughout the Day
Have you experienced increased stress levels over the past few years? If you answered yes, you are not alone. Burnout rates are high, and people are struggling. If you feel this way, I’m sure you’ve had enough. But it keeps on coming, so let’s work on building it in some recovery time.
Stress can be beneficial and used to our advantage. We have to stress something to strengthen it. Think about the muscular system. We lift weights to strengthen our muscular system, and we do aerobic exercises to improve our cardiac muscle. Stress can be helpful.
We also need to recover. We cannot go back to the gym day after day and do the same lifting routine; we can’t run a marathon every day or ride our pelotons for hours on end without a break. Eventually, we hit a wall, have a detraining effect, and will likely get injured.
Your mental and emotional muscles need a break, too. We need time to recover. It’s not an option; it’s a necessity. However, this is not how many of us have been trained to think. Most of us were taught to work hard, keep pushing, be relentless, have no excuses, and just do it. We didn’t have someone on the sidelines telling us to nap, take a break, knock off early, and do something fun; you need some time to recover.
There is a price to pay when you continue to drive yourself relentlessly: your well-being and happiness. In this case, more is not better. We need to recover physically, emotionally, and mentally. We must allow ourselves this time to function at our best and to experience happiness in our lives.
You may think that there is no way you can slow down. There are just too many things to do in a day! I know how you feel. But what if we shift the focus from what is out of our control to what is within our control?
Highly successful and happy people build in recovery time. I’ll share some options, ranging from little changes in your day to more substantial and long-term changes. Let’s start small.
1. 20-20-20 rule for your eyes. For every 20 minutes of screen time, look away from the screen at something in the distance that is about 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. Give your eyes a break. Allow them to rest. Then, do some gentle neck stretches. Sit or stand with good posture. Think about opening your chest, pulling your shoulders back while keeping them relaxed, and lifting your rib cage. Gently lower your chin towards your chest, feeling a stretch in the back of your neck. Take 2-3 deep breaths and lift your head back up. Next, slowly tip your head to the right, bringing your ear towards your shoulder. Keep the shoulders relaxed, and take 2-3 deep breaths. Repeat on the left side. Finally, do some gentle neck rotations, turning your head slowly to the right and left, allowing your neck muscles to relax and your distance vision to work as you look around the room.
2. Change your state. For every 60-90 minutes of focused work, you need to take a break. Focus on one thing at a time, and you will be much more productive. Shut off the phone, close down the email, and concentrate solely on one task at a time. Set a timer for 60-90 minutes. When the timer goes off, get up and move. Go for a quick walk, eat, check your emails, make a call, put on your favorite song, and dance. Change your state, do something different, and then return to work.
3. Just Breathe. We’ve heard it before, right? But do we practice regular deep breathing, or do we take for granted our unique ability to calm our stressed-out system?When we do deep diaphragmatic breathing, we activate the Relaxation Response. That name was coined by Dr. Herbert Benson decades ago. We often hear about the fight or flight response - the stress response. Our incredible bodies can also flip the switch and activate the relaxation response.
When we breathe deeply, we stimulate the vagus nerve, which tells our body it’s time to relax. The cool thing is you can feel the benefits immediately. The cool thing is that when you practice this simple and brief exercise, you may experience a much deeper level of benefits. Research suggests that deep breathing can reduce stress and anxiety, lower blood pressure and heart rate, and much more.
Next time you feel the need for a little recovery, a decrease in stress, a boost of happiness, or overall well-being, stop and take three deep breaths.
Sit in your chair with good posture, lengthen your spine, shoulders back and relaxed, rib cage lifted, and chest open. Imagine a balloon inside your torso, and as you take a deep breath in through your nose, that balloon inflates and expands. You feel your belly expand, your rib cage open, and your chest rise. As you exhale, picture the balloon deflating as you allow your body to relax and let go. Repeat three deep breathing cycles.Compare how you feel before and after using these tools.
In the next blog, I’ll discuss recovery through a good night’s sleep.
Wishing you an abundant life,
Karen
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