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Tag : 10 ways to relax

HomePosts Tagged "10 ways to relax"
blog-title-work-life-balance

What’s your response style?

by The Pipon 18 January 2017in PipCorporate, PipLife

Think back to a situation that made you angry in work. Perhaps you were treated unfairly by someone in a position of power, maybe your work was criticized in front of your colleagues or maybe you were snubbed at a group meeting for no fault of your own.

 

Now think about how you reacted. Did you challenge the person, attempt to fix the problem or silently mull over it for the rest of the day, week or even month?

 

Many of us easily fall into the latter approach. Sometimes unpleasant incidents are one-offs that do not merit much attention and yet they consume large parts of our attention, internally, for a long period afterwards. This type of repetitive, negative mulling over is called rumination.

 

Rumination is a type of maladaptive self-reflection in which you repetitively, passively think about the incident that upset you, and your feelings about it, without taking any action to fix the problem or change your feelings [1]. The trouble with rumination is that not only does it take up a large amount of your attention but it exacerbates the original emotion meaning that it can make you even more angry or even more upset [2]. People who have a strong natural tendency to ruminate are more likely to experience depression, anxiety and anger [1].

 

So what should you do when faced with an upsetting or angering incident? The catch-22 is that other types of self-reflection can be helpful because thinking over an incident with a view to understanding how or why it happened can lead to solving the problem. If, for example, you think over the meeting where your work was criticized you may conclude that everyone else’s work was criticised as well, that the criticism was not as bad as you thought, that you can improve your work in future or that your boss was reasonable but is not normally so and you should try to shrug it off if as an annoying but once-off incident. If, however, you find yourself focusing on how angry you felt at the time and how angry you still feel now and how angry you are likely to feel later you are probably not focussing on solving the problem but instead just making yourself more angry.

 

It can be hard to get to the stage of helpful self-reflection while still in an angry or upset mood so the first step to breaking out of a ruminative cycle is to distract yourself. Going for a walk, doing any form of exercise or doing something pleasant can clear your mind for a more rational and focused analysis of the problem if, that is, it requires it. Many studies have shown that even just thinking about emotionally-neutral things can temporarily distract someone enough to reduce anger [2]. Mindfulness, if followed correctly, can sometimes also help to reduce rumination because it allows negative thoughts to pass through the mind without judgement or getting caught up in the emotions. Cognitive therapies can also help as they challenge the types of repetitive negative thoughts that occur while ruminating.

 

There is a fine line between helpful self-reflection and harmful rumination and it can be hard to sort one from the other while emotion has too strong a hold. Some studies have shown that ruminators have more interpersonal conflict than non-ruminators and it is easy to see why if rumination means you are caught up in an emotion that should have already passed by [1]. If you catch yourself ruminating in work take a break, distract yourself and only then, if needs be, return to the problem with a fresh mind.

 

  1. Nolen-Hoeksema, S., B.E. Wisco, and S. Lyubomirsky, Rethinking Rumination. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2008. 3(5): p. 400-424.
  2. Rusting, C.L. and S. Nolen-Hoeksema, Regulating responses to anger: effects of rumination and distraction on angry mood. Journal of personality and social psychology, 1998. 74(3): p. 790.
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blog-title-KSNYIC

Why breaks are as important as the work itself

by The Pipon 12 January 2017in PipCorporate

Do you ever set aside a whole day to get one task done only to find, at the end of the day, that you haven’t done it? Where did all of that time go? Well our brains like ticking off tasks. It gives us a little boost of pleasure to say ‘finished that!’ which makes it more rewarding to do lots of small tasks than one big one. Most of us are accosted with emails and phone calls throughout the day. By attending to each one that comes in we get a little boost of pleasure at ticking off a task but the big task we aimed to get done gets put off. So how can we get big tasks done? Surprisingly, the answer may be in the breaks we take.

 

 

The human brain has difficulty focusing attention for a long time. When we have a big project we may set aside hours to do it but our brain can only maintain attention for a short period of that time. Imagine your attention is like a wind-up car, you can wind it up and watch it speed across the floor but after a few seconds it will slow down and you will need to wind it up again. Our attention lasts for longer than a few seconds but the idea is the same, we need to reboot by taking a break and then re-engaging [1]. So what should you do to reboot your attention? Try setting a timer to go off after 25-30 minutes of solid work. After this time take a 5 minute break before returning to the task for another 25-30 minutes. After a series of these blocks of work take a longer break.

 

 

In your short breaks try stepping away from your workspace for a few minutes, making a cup of tea or stretching. During a longer break give your mind and body a rest. In our blog last week we discussed how exercising during the work day can improve productivity (link to blog on exercising during the workday). Exercise can improve creativity for up to 2 hours afterwards [2]. Working with breaks will not only help you to complete that big task but will likely also put you in a better mood. Generally people are less happy when their minds are wandering than when engaged in a task [3]. So give your attention a boost with regular breaks and you’ll finally be able to say ‘finished that!’ on that big task you’ve been putting off for too long.

 

 

1. Ariga, A. and A. Lleras, Brief and rare mental “breaks” keep you focused: Deactivation and reactivation of task goals preempt vigilance decrements. Cognition, 2011. 118(3): p. 439-443.
2. Blanchette, D.M., et al., Aerobic exercise and creative potential: Immediate and residual effects. Creativity Research Journal, 2005. 17(2-3): p. 257-264.
3. Killingsworth, M.A. and D.T. Gilbert, A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science, 2010. 330(6006): p. 932-932.

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June Blog 3 - Why you should get outside to de-stress

Why you should get outside to de-stress

by The Pipon 15 July 2016in PipLife

Last week we wrote about the benefits of sunshine for your health and happiness. Unfortunately for most of us year-round sunshine is but a distant dream. We’re here to tell you that that doesn’t matter, merely being outside can help your body and your mind:
1) How nature helps your body – If you tell a friend in Japan that you are stressed they may tell you to try ‘forest bathing’. Forest bathing involves immersing oneself in the forest in order to relax. This might sound strange to those not accustomed to it but actually research shows that it can work. Forest bathing trips not only reduce stress but also boost the immune system. The same effect isn’t seen after a city-break suggesting that nature has a special restorative power [1]. I know what you’re thinking, not many of us have the time or an available forest to escape to. The good news is that a forest is not strictly necessary. Other research has shown that just 11 extra trees on one city block can reduces residents’ risk for heart disease [2]. Chronic stress affects our immune and cardiovascular systems so when you’re stressed out try planning a walk in the country or just take a moment to admire nature in your everyday environment.

 

 

2) How nature helps your mind –We’re often told that one remedy for work stress is to go for a walk. But did you know that you can boost the effects of this by taking your walk in a green space? Researchers in Stanford University sent one group of volunteers to walk down a busy main street for 50 minutes and another group to walk in a local park for the same time. Those who walked in the park not only had lower stress and improved mood when they came back but their mental agility was better than when they had set out. Although the walk through the city improved mood, it didn’t have the same range of benefits as walking in the park [3]. So the next time you’re facing a stressful day at work grab your lunch and head out to the local park or green space. You might find that not only does your mood improve but that your brain is better set to face the challenge ahead.

 

 

1. Li, Q., et al., Visiting a forest, but not a city, increases human natural killer activity and expression of anti-cancer proteins. International journal of immunopathology and pharmacology, 2008. 21(1):p. 117-127.
2. Kardan, O., et al., Neighborhood greenspace and health in a large urban center. Scientific reports, 2015. 5.
3. Bratman, G.N., et al., The benefits of nature experience: Improved affect and cognition. Landscape and Urban Planning, 2015. 138: p. 41-50.

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clarity-blog-image

Relax with 10 ways to chill at home in 5 minutes

by The Pipon 12 July 2016in PipLife, Relaxation Techniques

Feeling stressed out and need to relax? While an hour-long massage, forest walk or yoga session sound just the ticket sometimes life doesn’t give us time as a luxury and all you may have are five short minutes to breathe deeply and relax before you have to leave for work/the kids come home/your guests arrive/the next task begins. Here we give you 10 ways to relax in less than 5 minutes at home.

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Stress-free-vacation

Don’t feel guilty about taking a stress free vacation

by The Pipon 31 May 2016in PipLife

Most of us are allowed vacation days but sometimes there can be a sense of guilt associated with taking time off. U.S. workers only took 51% of the short time they were allowed off in 2014 [1]. Many were worried about falling behind, losing out on promotions or irritating colleagues. But this reasoning may be flawed. Research shows that not only are vacations good for you but they also increase productivity meaning they’re good for the workplace too. Here we give you three top reasons why you shouldn’t feel guilty about taking a vacation:

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