Too often, we overlook our efforts that we tend to forget that taking a break is essential, too. We are so busy working hard for the future without realizing that we also need to focus today. While experiencing stress is no longer a stranger to anyone of us, it is crucial to balance our lives by doing something about it so we can be more productive in the next coming days.
If you have noticed, most professionals always say, “It is just a stressful day, not a stressful life,” which is indeed true. This can only be possible if you can manage the stress that you get from the most stressful life events you have been through.
Taking a break, according to research, can be very beneficial not only for your work but for yourself, as well. These breaks can be short, but regardless of the time span, each break can contribute something to your relationships and well-being.
In addition, if you can finally get a hold of the significant benefits taking a break can give you, you will witness the massive impact of it on your performance. For instance, taking breaks like lunchtime breaks and balancing your workload can effectively decrease your exhaustion, making you safe from suffering from a stressful life.
If you still have not learned about the effects of stress and burnout, you can read our article entitled, “Stressful Life? Why It Is Important To Take A Break” to help you understand more about your feelings as a growing and working adult. In that write-up, you will discover that though it can be challenging for you to recognize stress and burnout on yourself, you must learn how to control these aspects once you finally feel it while working. You will also learn some tips about work stress management that can help you realize why it is essential to take a break
With the reasons you will read below, we hope that you will finally take a break from the most stressful life events you are experiencing right now.
- Taking a Break Prevents Work Burnout
- It Can Increase Productivity
- More “Me Time”
- It Allows You To Do Physical Activities
- Better Mental Health
- Improves Emotional Health
Taking a Break Prevents Work Burnout
Just like what our article, “Stressful Life? Why It Is Important To Take A Break,” said, taking a break when you already feel work burnout can prevent you from compromising your work and relationships. Moreover, it can help you get rid of the negative impacts, which can cause significant consequences once prolonged.
As we have mentioned, work burnout has several stages, and you can keep yourself from taking a step by having a stress management procedure. When things get a little suffocating at work, you can just stand up and do some breathing exercises. You can also opt for a comfort room break or a coffee break, as any of these can let your brain replenish so you will not cause stress to anyone as well.
In the past few months — or years — in your workplace, you might have already exhausted yourself after you worked on the things you should not be working on in the first place. There will always be workloads, of course, but you must reward yourself with little breaks.
Moreover, taking a break at work includes not entertaining any tasks when it is your lunch break already, or if it is already your time to go home. Keeping your schedule in order and following them accordingly will surely promote a healthy working environment and, of course, a time for you to perform some self-care tips.
If you want to do a “Self-Care Challenge” for a month, you may refer to our “Glow Up Challenge You Can Try At Home During Coronavirus Lockdown” article that can offer you three challenges that you can do at home, the self-care which is also possible to do wherever you may be.
It Can Increase Productivity
When you are facing the most stressful life events at the same time, it can surely wear you out and take the time you are supposed to spend with your family and friends. Taking a break means recharging your body to do the usual things you need to do every day. Once you treat yourself right, you can notice that even a mountain of tasks can turn into a set of small things you can efficiently deal with.
Imagine this; it is Monday, and your table at work is full of tasks you have not accomplished yet in the past weekend. You had Saturday and Sunday to relax as long as you want to, or at least a night, if you do not take day breaks. A small amount of rest can help you get through the next day, what more if you dedicated a whole day to recharge, right?
As much as you want to be productive, if you do not have enough energy and enthusiasm even to start your day, you cannot expect yourself to pull all those things together in a snap. Everything truly needs a little effort before you accomplish this, and taking a break from your stressful life is the possible answer you can do right away.
More “Me” Time
Fortunately, taking a break does not only mean that you are already tired of all the most stressful life events you have encountered. Taking time out to spend more time with yourself can also be done to improve your well-being.
Maybe you have already reserved your time for your clients, loved ones, and friends all week long, and the only break you have spent with yourself is your sleep time. As you grow older, giving yourself “me time” is a must, especially when you still want to learn something about yourself or if there is something within you that you want to improve. You can perform meditation alone or do yoga at home.
With those kinds of simple activities that you can do, you are also giving yourself a gift to take a deep breath alone without seeing so many people that have contributed a lot to your stressful life. Reconnecting with nature is also one of the best things you can do alone.
In addition, you can opt to turn off your phone as a sign that you are taking a break from social media. These days, the internet can be so deceiving that some of the most “unreal” things can make you feel unsatisfied with your life when, in fact, you are already lucky enough.
So go out, turn off your phone, and shut the world first. This time, prioritize yourself by taking a break and spending all your time alone.
It Allows You To Do Physical Activities
It may sound ironic since you may already be feeling physical exhaustion, but taking a break to do physical activities is actually one of the best things you can do to say goodbye to a stressful life.
Physical activities are not about work or something you are doing at home over and over again that wear you out. Taking a break to do physical activities means having some time to engage yourself with past times you used to do before but cannot do anymore due to a hectic adulting schedule. Aside from doing something you love again, you can also try something new that recently caught your interest, be it sports or recreational activity.
Aside from eliminating the most stressful life events, it can also strengthen your muscles and other physical aspects. So that is like hitting two goals by just simply taking a break.
Moreover, this reason can also make you realize that taking a break from social media can get you out of your comfort zone. To finally graduate from that stressful life, learn to take a break, at least, by going on a day tour or a week-long vacation to dedicate your time wholly to these activities.
Better Mental Health
Stress is truly where the most stressful life events begin. But if you can manage it by taking a break, you will get better mental health in return.
According to mqmmentalhealth.org, Chronic stress increases the risk of developing depression and anxiety in some people. The precise mechanisms of how stress is linked to mental ill-health are being uncovered.
When you have a stressful life, and you decide to take a break from it for a while, you are contributing a lot to the production of serotonin inside your body. All your nerve cells also respond to the exhaustion you are feeling, and it sends you a signal when you should take a break — and you should not ignore it in the first place.
By taking a break for the sake of your mental health, you are also letting yourself understand what is going through your mind by removing all the clouds that cause by anxiety. Not only that. Once you steadily take care of your health by taking a break, you are far from developing anxiety and depression, which are two of the hardest to deal with mental health illnesses.
Improves Emotional Health
Aside from reducing your risk of suffering from anxiety and depression, taking a break, most especially taking a break from social media, can gradually improve your emotional health.
We are sure that for once in your life, you have encountered someone who seemed to be too easy to get irritated over unnecessary things. That is, in fact, one of the causes of stress.
Stress, most of the time, causes a person to feel so overwhelmed and overloaded with everything around them. It is only because they lose control over their anger levels and forget how relaxation techniques can help them get through it. There are some ways to curb everyone’s anger, and it will all start by taking a break to sit down and communicate about how you really feel right now.
You must learn from this day forward how to execute deep breathing techniques so you can control your emotions. Just in case you do not know, taking several deep breaths before speaking can help you come up with better words to avoid hurting yourself and other people. By having cue-controlled relaxation, you can also improve your physical health, as unstable emotional health can only lead you to chronic diseases that you do not want to have in the first place.
You can also review your attitude and values; if you have one characteristic that adds more burden to your life. If you think that you are too irritated to talk to someone, pause for a moment, and take a break. If you believe that you are too occupied to share your thoughts, take a deep breath, and talk about it to yourself first.
It is also not surprising that our relationships with others can bring one of the most stressful life events in our lives. If you have someone in your past that hurt you, mock you, or once put you in danger, forgive them not because they deserve it, but because you deserve a peaceful life. Taking the initiative to fix relationships, though they will not go back to the way they used to be, is a sign of bravery and maturity. You already have spent so many years carrying those burdens in your life, maybe it is already time to let them go by forgiving them but not forgetting what they did.
At some point, communicating with other people about what is going through your mind can also help you cope with stressful life. Though it seems to be a small thing to accomplish, talking about your thoughts and letting them out is like crying when you became so strong for a very long time. Speak up and let your worries be heard so they can help you out though it is you who can do the most essential job in making yourself feel happy and stress-free again.
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