Having worked with clients for many years now, one thing I’ve noticed is that we just don’t ‘switch off’ enough. It’s not that we are necessarily overstressed, but just we don’t switch off from stress. We don’t switch off from the day.
Letting the body switch from the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), which, put simply, helps us do the things we do and react to life, into the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), is essential for recovery and ensuring the body doesn’t resort to dipping into the cortisol stores. Increasing cortisol short term is absolutely fine, but if done too much will cause all sorts of problems with the body.
How can we implement slowing down and switching off into our day?
– Set a deadline in the evening when you finish work and stick to it. Your work can wait till the next day. Take a few hours to wind down.
– Aim to get to sleep by at least 11 pm; those early hours of sleep are critical.
– Take short breaks in the day, away from work. Properly stop for lunch, or leave the office to get a coffee.
There are lots of things we can implement, and I can hear you now telling me, yeah but…
But your health doesn’t care about deadlines or deals. This compounds over time, and then it’s too late.
You need to find what you can implement and take action today to look after your health.
You must take time out to recover and relax. Modern life gets intense, and if we don’t step back from time to time, it’ll get on top of us.
