Often, what we are accustomed to consider as rest, in fact, is not such. From the point of view of benefits for the body, scrolling the VKontakte feed after an 8-hour working day, also spent in front of a computer, can hardly be called “rest”. Therefore, even those people who have enough time for recreation after work still feel chronically tired. This is due to overload with the same type of activities and the inability to rest properly. In the time management training, we briefly mentioned some rules for rest. It's time to expand on this topic in more detail and talk about how we need to rest properly so that our brain and body receive the necessary relaxation.
The basics of proper recuperation
In order for your performance to be at a high level and your mood to be on a positive note, it is necessary not only to work well, but also to have quality rest. Let's start with the basic rules:
- To relax and throw off the burden that has accumulated during the working day, you also need strength. Experts advise stopping work before all your strength leaves you;
- Don’t forget about changing activities; active and passive work, their proper alternation, will help increase productivity and energize you;
- Healthy sleep is an essential component of proper rest, because its quality affects physical and mental health;
- Rest should be not only passive, but also active. Extreme sports and exercise in the gym are perfect;
- You should get rid of the habit of taking work home and dumping all your work for the week on the weekend, since this time is intended specifically for recuperation.
There are several favorite ways for women to self-destruct. The most popular and encouraged by society is to turn yourself into a perpetual motion machine with subsequent transformation into a driven horse. Well, then the driven horses are shot, right? Have you ever wondered why?
The fact is that when a horse runs for a long time at the limit of its capabilities, its heart is destroyed and hemorrhage occurs in the lungs. It is capable of switching to anaerobic respiration, when the oxidation process occurs without the participation of oxygen. This means that during fast races the animal uses all the body's resources and can endure enormous loads, but at the same time is not able to control energy consumption. Therefore, the horse reaches the point of complete depletion of all resources and either dies in terrible agony or becomes disabled and incapable of exertion.
People are also susceptible to the cornered horse effect. You've probably heard about marathon runners and triathletes who died during competitions. The reason is still the same - overexertion and exhaustion of the body's resources. For most successful modern women, the effect of a driven horse is more extended over time, because there are breaks for sleep and food. Yes, objectively, ladies do not participate in long runs and triathlons and may well be far from sports. However, constant stress and lack of quality rest quickly wear out the body and lead to psychosomatic diseases and depression.
Modern society promotes the image of women's successful success and participation in all matters on an equal basis with men. The ideal woman on the cover today should look great, have several degrees, run a couple of profitable businesses, raise ideal children in an ideal family and live in an ideal house in an ideal country. The industrial industry has had a hand in popularizing the image of successful success in order to sell people the dream in the form of expensive cosmetics, sporting goods, gadgets, special dietary products, clothes with a unique cut and composition, etc. Most women sincerely believe that the amazing successful celestials from advertising and gloss exist in reality. And mere mortals should not be lazy and “just push a little” to achieve the ideal.
Today's women are trying alone to do everything that objectively should be done by five different people. Naturally, this leads to rapid fatigue, burnout and neuroses. Therefore, in order to maintain health, you need to give up the illusion that you can perfectly cope with everything yourself. In fact, everything that can be delegated needs to be delegated, and the sooner the better. And after that, identify all the errors of the “lifestyle” and replace them with healthy and safe options for health.
It will not be possible to effectively rest and recover if there is much more to do than one person can physically do. So you shouldn’t expect that I will now give some unique recipe for a magical holiday, after which you can walk around with even greater enthusiasm and dedication. No, you will have to consciously part with some of your tasks and delegate them to someone else, preferably for money, or reduce your demands on yourself as much as possible in areas that are not important to you, such as cooking, cleaning, etc. It is also important to free yourself from serving those family members who are able to take care of themselves, without making you a free servant.
Try writing down every activity you do for a few days. On the contrary, put plus, minus or zero - depending on whether you have more energy as a result, the same amount remains or less. For example: I danced, my condition improved - we put a plus next to it. I washed the floor, was exhausted, wanted to rest - put a minus. I chatted with a colleague, my feelings haven’t changed, we’ll set it to zero. As a result, you will end up with a list of “negative” things and contacts that you would like to get rid of as soon as possible, or at least greatly limit the amount of time you spend on them. Then the need for rest will also decrease.
After this, you need to reconsider three areas: daily routine, workload intensity and psychological state. And build your personal system of recovery and relaxation not as a separate event such as a vacation or a day off, but as a way of life in which you do not have to strain yourself too much. From a long-term perspective, this is a healthier and smarter option than the usual “we've had a good job, we'll have a good rest.”
The optimal daily routine for a woman includes a mandatory 9-10 hours of good sleep, physical activity and proper nutrition. In sleep, the body recovers and “repairs problems.” Scientists conducted an experiment on mice, not allowing them to sleep for three days. As a result, on the fourth day, the mice died from numerous hemorrhages of internal organs. The awake brain could not effectively coordinate the work of all body systems, and an avalanche-like accumulation of “errors in the system” occurred. Mice that were allowed to fall asleep a little earlier, on the third day, slept for several days. After which their organs completely recovered on their own, without external intervention or treatment. It is clear that sleep is the last thing you should save time on.
In addition to tissue regeneration, during sleep the brain actively absorbs information received during the day and forms new neural connections. Therefore, if you are intensively learning something new, be sure to increase your sleep time. Many people mistakenly think that if you sleep less, you will be able to accomplish more in a day. This is wrong. After 28–30 years, the body begins to react very sensitively to lack of sleep. After a maximum of a month of living in the mode of such a stupid strategy, fatigue accumulates, and the brain begins to think much more slowly, become “dull” and spend 2-3 times more time on basic mental work than in the normal state. So a woman simply needs to get enough sleep; this is her No. 1 investment in her health and well-being.
Now let's move on to the issue of physical activity. Daily physical activity improves overall tone, energy, performance and mood. As a result, you begin to solve work problems more effectively because your concentration increases noticeably. Therefore, during breaks, it is much more advisable not to bury your nose in gadgets, but to turn on music and dance, do a few stretches, or, if you work in an office, walk around the floors with a smart face and a stack of documents. Ideally, physiologists recommend breaking away from sedentary work every 1–1.5 hours and actively moving for 10–15 minutes. In this mode, you will be able to maintain a high focus for several hours a day longer.
In the modern world, people have to cope with a huge number of tasks. In fact, the human brain is not designed for such a dense information flow. The insane amount of information coming from outside quickly becomes boring. The brain protects itself by turning similar signals such as music, droning TV, and colleagues’ conversations into “white noise.” And the body spends a lot of energy to maintain the “white noise” mode. Try to pay attention to how tense the surface of your head is during work, especially the back of the head, temples, eye sockets and the area behind the ears. These unconscious tensions serve as a kind of barrier between you and the excessive “noisiness” of the environment. These tensions have long become chronic and cause many problems, from headaches to hair loss and poor vision. It is no coincidence that television and gadgets are prohibited at retreats. A total reduction in the information flow and contact with living nature is the fastest and most accessible way to get rid of accumulated stress and recover. I recommend providing yourself with contact with wildlife for at least an hour a week - walking through the forest, sitting by the river, tinkering in the ground. Personally, I really love looking at live fire.
In addition to the above, in the list of daily tasks, first of all, you need to include what gives you pleasure and enjoyment, preferably for all five senses. Try to start every day with bodily pleasures, be sure to set aside an hour or two for activities that please you, and plan the rest after allocating the obligatory time for what makes you happy. Pleasures energize and improve your mood so that if you get enough sleep and exercise, you won't need additional rest.
I don’t see the point in somehow organizing a special period of time in order to “rest effectively.” In my opinion, it is much wiser to free your life as much as possible from what is stressful and not pleasing, and instead fill it with useful pleasures and interesting work. Then you won’t need rest - your favorite activities will give you more energy than you spend on them.
The article was published in the New Year's issue of “Psychology of Effective Life”.
Olga Yurkovskaya on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/olgayurkovskaya
From the editor
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Rest after work
Many people mistakenly think that aimlessly lying on the couch refers to relaxation. In fact, relaxation of this kind does not lead to anything good.
Yes, you rest physically, but your brain can scroll through plans for tomorrow or events that happened today during the work day. It is better to go for a bike ride, to the sauna or swimming pool.
Massage is great for relaxation. You can perform either self-massage or visit a specialist who will help relieve tightness and muscle blockage.
Literature will help you take your mind off the drab everyday life. According to research, reading calms you down and helps you relax.
How to learn to relax psychologically
In order to learn to relax psychologically, you need to stop rushing. The constant feeling of lack of time is more annoying than dragging bags. The ability to plan your affairs and strictly follow the plan is necessary for everyone who wants to get extra hours to their life. But it’s also important to be able to turn off the alarm clock, stop living by the clock, and not worry that something will be done later or not done at all.
This rule is especially significant for those who decide to travel to new places. You can’t travel around all of Paris in one day, and when you arrive in an unfamiliar city, it’s better to take a good look at a small part of it. Running from one museum to another is not much different from flipping through the pages of a website. Is it worth leaving home for this? Will such a vacation give you pleasure or will it just be a note about your visit?
The most popular types of holidays
We have already said a little about relaxation methods, but there are five most used relaxation methods:
- Sleep lasting 6-8 hours. It will help restore strength and give good spirits. It is better to go to bed before 22 o'clock. To do this, the bedroom must be ventilated, which will enrich the room with oxygen;
- Visiting cultural events. People often choose this way of relaxation. Many attend concerts, theaters and cinemas, and various exhibitions. This helps to take your mind off the hustle and bustle and tune in to the positive.
- Home family movie watching. A fairly common type of relaxation, when relatives gather near the screen, drink tea and watch their favorite movie. This promotes relaxation and pleasant pastime;
- Handicraft classes. They help you relax after work and express yourself creatively;
Cosmetic care. In fact, not only women prefer to spend their leisure time in this way. Many representatives of the stronger half visit salons, take care of themselves, and treat spas and other procedures for the beauty of the face and body with trepidation.
Self-care allows you to simultaneously take care of your physical health and enjoy the results.
A day off is meant for relaxation.
If you have at least one day off a week, be sure to dedicate this day to a break from the hustle and bustle of work. This time can be spent with family, friends or alone.
On your day off, you can go into nature, organize a picnic in a city park, take a mini-hike, gather friends for a team game of volleyball, etc. The main thing is that the activity brings you joy and helps you take your mind off work matters.
At the end of the day off, you can take a bath or a contrast shower, which will help relieve fatigue and consolidate the results.
Gymnastics to relieve tension
Many of us, upon returning home, feel very tired after a day of work. Everyone has their own recipe for recovery, but there is a universal one - gymnastics.
For those who lead a sedentary lifestyle, special emphasis should be placed on warming up and strengthening the spine and its muscles, as well as eliminating blood stagnation in the pelvic organs.
People whose work involves constant standing should pay attention to the condition of the lower extremities, effective prevention of varicose veins with the help of special exercises and medications to relieve heaviness in the legs.
Those who spend a lot of time in front of a computer monitor should take care not only of correct posture, but also of their eyes. Eye exercises should be done every half hour to an hour. Gymnastics will help relieve tension, strengthen the eye muscles and help maintain vision.
Gymnastics will help improve blood circulation, cheer you up and set you up for relaxation after work, so it must be done every day.
Recreation for men and women
It may not be strange, but the relaxation of men and women is in some sense different concepts. Women can relax after work, leafing through a glossy magazine, knitting or floristry. And men can relax by watching a football match, hockey game or simply visiting the bathhouse in the company of friends.
The division of recreation into male and female is a very relative concept, but it still has its place. Since the same needlework can be perceived not as a way to find balance and relax, but as another type of work activity.
It is worth noting that for proper rest there is a need for sufficient energy. Therefore, breaks from work should be taken throughout the day so that by the evening your energy reserves remain at a high level.
No matter how strange it may sound, being able to relax and rest is a lot of work, a real art that not many people master. We hope that our article will help you learn how to spend time after a hard day actively, fun and beneficial for your soul and body.
What prevents us from relaxing?
Many people don’t even realize that they need to learn to relax. Why else study if after a hard day at work it’s so nice to plop down on the sofa in front of the TV? Tea with something tasty, beer or wine, TV shows or the Internet - what else is needed for happiness? On the weekend you need to do what you don’t have time to do on weekday evenings, and then it’s time to pull the strap again. This is if there are no children. Otherwise, there’s no time to turn around, what kind of rest is there? I wish I could live to see my vacation.
In order to learn how to properly rest and relax, you need to know what prevents us from doing this. And the main enemy, not surprisingly, is not the lack of free time.
- Boredom and monotony
- Vanity and pursuit of new sensations
- Belief in the help of alcohol
- No daily routine
All of the above harms proper rest, turns a vacation into a season of hard work in the country, a tourist trip into a race to see the sights, and makes one evening indistinguishable from another.
The lack of new impressions and their excess are closely intertwined. Boredom occurs when there is nothing to captivate. The variety of information at a certain point begins to get boring. Alcohol, having a brief effect on the nervous system, gradually increases nervousness and does not allow you to relax completely. There is no need to explain about the habit of going to bed after midnight and working without a break until your feet reach your favorite chair.
