March 5th 2007
Health
5 comments
I was once told a nice analogy about the human body and it’s stuck with me ever since. The human body is like a battery, every so often it needs to recharge (if you have ever watched The Matrix, you will remember how humans were used literally as batteries). If you ever feel tired, depressed and just don’t feel like doing anything, don’t beat yourself up over it. It’s just your body telling you to sit down, chill out and refuel. We are only human and we need that break, however small it is. It is much better to take a small break now so as to get more stuff done in the long term, than trying to struggle on, losing all motivation in the process.
How do we recharge? In an ideal world, the best approach would be to take a few days off, go on holiday to a nice warm place, relax and get away from everything but that’s obviously not always practical. However, make no mistake that the best way to recharge is to take a break from things, however short it may be. Don’t underestimate the benefits of occasionally leaving work an hour early and having a relaxing evening. Too many people make the mistake of trying to push through the fatigue and stress, hoping it will go away. You are not a machine, you have your health and sanity to think about. Heed your body’s warning signs.
Below are the key ingredients to recharge your batteries:
- Relaxing environments. Get away from the noise and stress of your normal life. Give your senses a break from shouting co-workers, demanding managers, loud music and bright computer screens. Let your mind have a chillout session away from all that external stimulation and aggrivation.
- Enough sleep. Besides obviously helping with feelings of tiredness, lack of sleep weakens the immune system which will make you even more run-down with colds and other diseases. Sleep is the most natural and effective way to recharge and should be the first thing you do.
- Cut out stressful situations. Wind up as much stuff as possible before you take any break. You don’t want any loose strings that could catch up with you and bring on that stress again. When you leave work and go home you want to leave any problems behind you.
- Exercise. This might seem contradictory to the above points but like relaxing and getting sleep, getting a sweat on is great for de-stressing and focusing your mind. Furthermore, it ironically reduces fatigue and boosts your energy level over the long term. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a big workout at the gym, it can be something as simple as a casual walk in the countryside (lots of fresh air). I should stress that energy drinks and snacks are not substitutes for natural exercise.
- Don’t feel guilty about taking breaks. Those who struggle on are merely wrecking themselves, being less efficient and putting it poorer work. Quite the opposite of what you can produce when you are recharged.
Though you want to be avoiding stress inducing activities where possible and get plenty of sleep and relaxation, you still want to stay active by doing things you enjoy. Do not just laze on the couch watching TV and eating takeaways! Inactivity and a poor diet is just like stress and lack of sleep in that impairs the immune system as well as impacting on your mental and emotional processes. Some people tend to find that their body screaming out to be recharged is often accompanied with general feelings of negativity or even depression because of those impacted emotional processes. This is a natural consequence so don’t over-analyze your state of mind during this period. Hold onto the fact that you will feel better as your body recharges.
