Why Even Just 15 Minutes Of Restorative Time Is Worth YOUR Time
Hey ladies of the internet. (And fellas). Time is something that a lot of us are never easy to come by these days. In a fast-paced world, with a plethora of fast-tracked plans, we move too quickly 24/7 to even realize that our “relaxing” time isn’t really giving us relaxation at all. Recently, the hubs and I have been conversing about what we really need out of each other regarding our own space and what decompressing looks like for each of us. It’s different for everyone, and that’s precisely what I’d like to talk about today. Stress relief. How Our ‘Chill Time’ Has Become Just Another Way to Scroll So usually, relaxation looks pretty similar to most of the world (see my last post for more context on this topic!). We get up, we scroll. We work, we scroll, even ON THE WAY to work, we scroll. (PSA: Please don’t scroll and drive!) And then my friends, we get home to order takeout on our handy-dandy scroll machine only to continue to scroll some more while waiting and/or eating for said takeout. It’s hard not to anymore. Everything is on our phones, or laptops, or tablets, or tvs, or watches, or rings… Although I am so here for learning all about my physical health via my watch and ring, I’d really like to quit the rest of the screens for a significant period of time, more often…and psst…it’ll benefit you too! I came home yesterday to my husband that had just gotten there moments before me. We both had super long, draining days and wanted to just “chill.” That looks different for us. Not being able to be on his phone most of the day, he looks forward to vegging on the couch with a snack for a bit, binging some videos or his favorite show. Me? I’m more of a face down starfish laying blob in the complete darkness away from the ping of his video noises or tv show. I want to snuggle with my dog, put on a comfy jumper and bury my face into the pillow (my dog does the same, don’t judge us). I never really embraced this fully until now. Because, thanks to that tech-device on my ring finger, I noticed something change. It’s all about balance, peeps. Yesss even when it comes to those tiny tech things. Although I always want to go full-starfish mode, I never actually do it. But, as I was just vegging waiting on him to finish his decompressing so we could take our pups for a walk, I actually did go plop my potato-feeling self on the bed with my dogs. It was glorious. My eyes felt better, less burn-y. My headache went away. My body felt less tense. All because of laying in the dark with my eyes closed for fifteen minutes. Sure, 15 minutes is a blip in time most days, but these ones were rejuvenating. And guess what? When I checked my Oura ring to see how much stress relief I had over the day (a lot, since I tried to help track down a puppy on the loose!), I noticed that the only time my stress was in the “green restorative” mode, was those recent 15 minutes! I was flabberghasted! Related: Shining Light on Stress and Mental Health Barriers Surely, I had more rest time over the day. Surely I had sat still at least once over the previous 12 or so hours to refresh my physical and mental state. But according to this tracker, I had done none of that. None at all. Not even after those 15 minutes. It was an astounding awakening. Not only do I now know that I need just a few 15 minute breaks during my days to feel refreshed and ready to get after it, but I also know that his decompressing cycle does not work the same as mine. (I’ve tried the watching Netflix after work thing, although it brings down my stress slightly, it’s still never been in the “restorative” mode. Embrace Your Own Comfort: Creating a Stress Relief Routine Here’s what I’m suggesting. Try a few different routines that you find enjoyable. Rotate through them over a few weeks and track what you’re feeling if you’re able to. If you have a tech device that does so for you, even better. If you need to write it in a journal, congratulations! You’ve tackled both journaling and tracking your progress in the same go. Double win! Maybe you’re an early bird that doesn’t care much for staying up to watch games or shows. No problem, hit the hay early and see how it affects your next day ahead. Maybe you’re not into naps and would prefer the scrolling method. If Netflix and Chill is your wind-down routine at the end of a long day, don’t fight it. Instead, lean into it and absorb the good vibes you get from vegetating for awhile. I think too often we don’t embrace what really gives us pure comfort. Whether it be a certain food or snack, a long walk or sitting still to meditate, we should be instead focusing on those things that make us feel most at home with ourselves. Once we are able to truly be in our on element and let our guard down about silly excuses why we can’t “just sit still” or “get too antsy not being productive,” we will be able to truly relax. (I’m talking to you mom). <3 We are most often labeled as people pleasers, who try to incorporate any free time we may have with giving it away to others for free or for something that doesn’t benefit us back. It’s time we started adulting properly and gave ourselves the proper amount of recharging time to allow in the peace and comfort so that we can learn how to be our best selves. Set your alarm
Sleep Deprivation: The Enemy of Productivity
You do it, I do it, we allll do it. Way too often. Sleep is something we’re quite literally well, sleeping on as a society in the modern world, and it’s causing us all an array of preventative health issues. Boo to that. Isn’t it time we started prioritizing our health in the most simplest way possible? What do your sleep patterns look like on average, and why the heck are you all staying up so late?!?! Today, I want to explore how sleep deprivation affects health and productivity. The Importance of Sleep to Our Health Hey! My name is Shelby and I’m a sleepaholic. I’ve never truly embraced this side of me until becoming a full grown adult woman, but I’m living in that reality right meow and freaking loving it. As far back as I remember though, I was always addicted to sleep, so much so that I was late to school and work countless times throughout the years because bed was just so much better than dealing with my social anxiety. I used to think it was a problem, in that I would feel bad anytime I wanted to sleep more instead of going out, or staying in with friends, or being a social butterfly in the classroom or workforce. I actually never realized that the lack of it had such a detrimental effect on my overall health and I sure didn’t know that it was so important to put first. Today though, I am a much more health-focused individual that wants only to think about the long game. Longevity is all I have in sight for my family and I, and anything I can do to extend this beautiful life is pushed far up on that list. Superfoods, supplements, and sleep are where its at, my friends. …Hmm. I’m feeling an upcoming superfoods and supplements post for sure! <3 But for now, let’s get back to the main topic. Actually how important is sleep to our health and why is it that we should be spending more of our lives looking at the inside of our eyelids? Related: Developing Routines & What is Sleep Hygiene Did you know?? Sleep deprivation isn’t only caused by the lack of enough sleep, but ALSO by stress, poor eating habits, and depression. And you know what else? Sleep needs to be at the times its most needed. Your body will let you know! So, stop avoiding those feelings and embrace them, your overall self will be happy you did! Here are *just a few* of the symptoms you may have experienced with sleep deprivation. Drowsiness Inability to concentrate Impaired memory Reduced physical strength Diminished ability to fight off infections Which can lead into more issues down the road such as stroke or severe mood swings, EVEN hallucinations…and ain’t nobody got time for that. (Check out this article by Hopkins Medicine to learn a little more about the causes and effects if you’re interested!) It’s truly amazing to me how many of us go about our daily lives not even knowing that this is an actual problem and how sleep deprivation affects health. Experiencing “microsleeps” or just being angry at the world because we got up on the wrong side of the bed. Having enough shuteye each evening can seriously boost not only your mental and physical well-being, but also ensure that your productivity stays at level GO all day, err day. (Especially needed for us entrepreneurs out here). Now I understand why it was (and IS) so freaking hard to roll my blah feeling body out of the bed each morning when the alarm hits at 4:30am. Everyone has different chronotypes and although my Oura Ring is tracking me as an early morning bird, TRUST that I am, in fact, NOT. Lately, I’ve been listening to others talk about how they get 4-5, *maybe* 6 hours of sleep and they’re “good to go.” PEOPLE. That is NOT okay. (Sure, this is just the opinion of one lone crazy woman on the internet telling you so, but hey, she speaks the truth…backed by other information on the interweb, of course). Why instead of building our sleep cycles around our jobs and daily activities, can we not build our daily activities and jobs around our sleep cycles? Is it really that hard?? Sleep Deprivation Affects Brought to By Your Favorite Streaming Service Most people will say yes, 100% yes. It’s the modern world, my friends, which means that going hard or going home fully applies to many situations, including on the job site or in the corporate world. Although it’s slowed down some over the last few decades and Covid has given us a solid chance to prove ourselves from home, we’ve still got a long way to go in providing the ample sleeping hours that our bodies and minds truly demand. When you think about it, it’s not really fair that we’re working at say 50-70% almost every day, simply because of our lack of desired sleeping hours. And hell, even when those hours are handy and available, we’d rather reach for the remote and sink ourselves into the latest season of the Bachelor or Yellowstone. Then, of course, the following day consists of becoming annoyed easily, feeling groggy, or reaching for an energy drink of your choice. And for some reason, we can’t trace it back to just staying up later than we should have for something that doesn’t actually bring us that much joy. I think it’s time we started prioritizing sleep more frequently and stopped staring at screens before bed. Challenge yourself and your loved ones to do the same if you want! Drop a comment letting your friends of HB know how the challenge is going after a day, a week, or even a month if you’re game. I suggest at least an hour before bedtime, shutting the screens down and turning on some dim lights to get yourself into the