5 tips to unwind from the office
The modern-day work week comes with all sorts of stresses, worries, and complications. We have all at one stage left the office just to log onto our emails at home. Our work ‘battles’ can often leave us stressed and exhausted, and we all need to learn how to separate work from home. Especially when we are the type to bring work home.
Here is the Glandore Guide to unwinding from the office, allowing you to relax and unwind in complete bliss.
Bring back your inner bookworm
It may seem like an overly simple one to start with, but it is a quick and enjoyable solution to unwinding after a stress-filled workday. And no, reading through your Facebook feed or your emails do not count as relaxed reading. For reading to be effective, you actually have to step away from a screen or computer monitor and grab that book that has been gathering dust on the bedside table.
We all have different reading preferences, however the ultimate unwinding we recommend a fiction novel such as being able to get lost in another world for an hour or two can provide the right escape from the stresses of a workday. Also, it is a great way to forget about the tethers of daily life for just a little while.
Free your mind (the rest will follow)
Not only for the realm of zen and spirituality, clearing your mind before bedtime will allow for hours of peaceful sleep. We’re sure you have been in this situation many times, where you lie in bed for hours tossing and turning with your mind running through every minutia you need to accomplish the next day. Unfortunately, the mind has no off switch and you actually have to train your brain to slow down your thought processes at night. Mentally, you want to separate the day that has passed from the night to come.
There’s no need to go join a monastery to learn the art of meditation, trying something as simple as a breathing exercise while lying in bed will help you fall asleep faster, and enjoy a peaceful night’s sleep. Worrying while trying to sleep can be disastrous for establishing a regular sleep routine. If you find this happening to you regularly, try to focus on a positive memory, place or event to train your brain to connect sleep with positive moments.
Get out and get active
You may feel tired when you leave the office but to ensure you feel rejuvenated after a day working, take some time to get out and enjoy nature. There is no need to overexert yourself but even a brisk walk in the park will do wonders in helping you wind down and reset your mind and body for the evening ahead. By allowing yourself to focus on the activity at hand it’ll destract you from whatever you had in your head from the office. Exercise also releases good chemicals in your body to help reduce your overall anxiety levels.
Ice ice, maybe?
This tip is a bit of a sneaky one as it’s not your average bit of advice, but bear with us! Taking an ice bath to unwind at least once a week will do wonders for rejuvenating body, mind, and soul. Professional athletes and physiotherapists have long extolled the virtues of an ice bath. While they do take some getting used to, once you get the hang of it, we guarantee you will experience many benefits.
The more known benefits include the improvement of blood circulation, the increase in stress resistance and how it relieves stressed muscles, however there are some other benefits to taking the plunge. According to the ancient Japanese ritual shugendo, taking a bath in cold or freezing water helps to alleviate depression by activating the sympathetic nervous system, which sends blood to the core and brain, while also reducing systemic inflammation, said to be strongly linked to depression.
Say Sayonara to the screen
Studies show that exposing ourselves to the addictive screen of the TV, iPhone or iPad before bed can inhibit the production of melatonin in our bodies, which may prevent sleep and hinder our body’s ability to wind down. By unplugging at least two hours before bed, we can limit exposure to the blue light that these devices give off which make us more alert in the evenings and can make it much harder to properly unwind and fall asleep.