Tag: #recover

Do you schedule days off work to do other work?

Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay

I am incredibly fortunate with the amount of annual leave I can take from my employer. Having been an employee for over 20 years I have racked up the maximum number of days off, plus as an office worker, I get Bank Holidays off too.  Sometimes this feels like too many days to try and fit in throughout the year.  This is particularly increased given that I do a four day condensed week.  I get the same level of annual leave and Bank Holiday leave, but I also don’t work on a Friday, so that’s like an extra day.  Worse problems to have, right?

I do find that I usually book days off when I have other things to do, like #bellringing meetings and events, baking for commissions, or as a way to catch up with other chores or must dos.  The majority of my 33 days leave is taken up for these reasons. 

Then there’s the guilty feeling of taking time off to do… nothing!  How is that even possible?  I look around the house thinking about all the things that I should do or could do now I have some time, but usually feel unmotivated to actually do any of it. 

Conversely it’s quite difficult to completely switch off  and disconnect from everything as emails and messages still ping though on the phone.  It’s a discipline that I’m not always successful at.

We have not had a holiday since summer 2019, like so many others, and my 50th birthday plans earlier this year were put on hold.  Again, we’re missing out on our usually summer holiday this year.  I have booked a week off in September though and we feel a bit more comfortable in booking something to go away for the week.

C has actually booked a hotel for the week and already I’m looking forward to getting away.  I don’t usually bother to look into the area we go to and leave it until we get there, but I’ve had a quick look at what there is in the area to visit and see, and thinking about what else we can do. 

We usually book a cottage and do self-catering, but C has booked a hotel for a change.  This means that we’ll have to eat out every evening. Oh dear, how sad!  It also means that we won’t be restricted so much by timescales and can stay out longer than we might have done if we had to get back to cook our own dinner. 

Of course there are many benefits to taking some time off including reducing stress levels, although sometimes the getting there and back can be stressful, improved mental health and motivations, greater wellbeing therefore decreased burnout, and happiness boosted by spending time with loved ones. 

I am ready for a holiday, to go somewhere else for a few days and explore, to turn the phones and emails off (except for emergencies).  We will probably still be taking precautions and using masks in public places etc, but look forward to a bit more freedom.

The power of the power nap

Image by 영훈 박 from Pixabay

I love sleep.  I can sleep through thunderstorms.  I can sleep through pretty much anything.  If it were an Olympic sport, I’d be a gold medallist. I don’t lack sleep.

I can also nap to order.  If I’m relaxed at home, not really doing much (not very often), I can actually set myself a mental time limit on having a nap.  I curl up and look at the clock, then tell myself I have fifteen or twenty minutes for a quick nap. More often than not, I will actually wake up, without the need for an alarm, in that timeframe.

Research suggests that a twenty minute snooze in the afternoon provides more rest than if we were to extend our morning sleep by twenty minutes. Enjoying a nap in the afternoon has been shown to greatly improve cognitive function, recover any sleep deprivation, prepare us for upcoming sleep loss, relax our mood and increase energy levels. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-hygiene/napping

Some people say that they feel groggy after a nap and no better for it.  This is because of the stages our body cycles through during sleep. A five minute nap is too short to be beneficial at all.  Sleeping for longer than thirty minutes gives the body a chance to enter deep sleep which is when you may feel groggy afterwards.

Although there are benefits for having a short afternoon siesta, for some it can be counterproductive by interfering with the natural ability to fall asleep at bedtime.  Insomniacs should avoid napping.

The Sleep Foundation offer advice for taking the best nap:

Set an alarm – the best nap length is for about ten to twenty minutes, providing restorative sleep without the drowsiness. Of, if you’re like me, just tell yourself how long you can nap for.

Nap early – about halfway between the point when you wake up and the time you intend to go to bed.  Don’t leave it too late otherwise it would affect your chance to get to sleep when you do go to bed.

Create the right environment – make yourself comfortable, quiet, cool and dark.  I don’t have a problem falling asleep in the bright sunlight, curled up on the sofa.

Relax – put aside what’s worrying you, forget the to-do lists, or use a relaxing meditation.

Set your intentions – think about what you want to get from your nap whether restorative, or catching up on your Zzzzz’s.

There’s something to be said for some Mediterranean countries who officially recognise the benefits of a siesta. Can we petition the UK government to adopt this? I’m off for a nap now!