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Exhausted again?
The number of people claiming to feel tired all the time has reached epidemic levels – whether you put this down to your health, being too busy or new technology, there is a way to get through it.
Are you ready to hear from the experts? Well, here’s some food for thought!
Fact 1 – at least a quarter of us don’t get enough iron, which means underpowered red blood cells leading to weak muscles and cloudy thinking!
Fact 2 – being full-on or crazy-busy has become a kind of badge of honour everyone is chasing even though we know it burns us out!
Fact 3 – you may need to consider it an addiction if you’re checking your e-mails before you’re even out of bed!
Heard enough? Well, here’s how to cope!
You don’t have to be perfect – just being good enough is good enough!
Stop multi-tasking – it causes scattered thinking and jumpy reactions. Science has proved that the brain has to keep re-starting and re-focusing when doing too many things at once, so taking longer to complete jobs with mistakes more likely! Take any routine or mundane activity and give it your fullest attention with each and every one of your senses.
Children are quick to pick up on all our feelings and will feel our stresses and anxiety. What they want more than anything is to see us happy, so learn to take care of your own needs first, and get better at saying ‘no’ to those excessive demands, both inside and outside of work, that may be eating into your time away from the kids.
You don’t need to keep children entertained all the time. Yes, kids need to be stimulated, but it’s also so very important to let children be. Allow them to get bored and watch them make their biggest and most memorable discoveries on their own!
When there’s a lull in your day, whether it’s waiting for someone to arrive, killing time before an appointment, or queuing for something you have to queue for(!) – you can tell, I don’t do queues! – don’t automatically reach for your phone or tablet. Allow yourself input-breaks to daydream or just to notice the world around you.
An hour before bed, experience the beauty of an electronic sundown as you turn all your gadgets off!
Have a digital detox day once a week to give your brain a break!
See if you can stop responding to e-mails during out-of-work hours unless, of course, you want your boss and everyone else to think you’re always on call. Setting clear boundaries demonstrates excellent self-discipline and sets a great example to both your children and colleagues alike.
Take up meditation, yoga, or hiking, or even all three! My feeling about all these calming activities is that they are head-clearing, great for the body and soul, and utterly incompatible with electronic devices!!
A winding down procedure or ritual before bed is so important for the kids, we tend to forget we need one, too! Have a bath, a warm drink, relax and make sure you put that screen away!
Have a lie- in whenever you can by cutting out needless engagements – your body needs to recover before it becomes ill. Tiredness is your body’s way of attracting your attention. It’s telling you to take it easy for maybe as long as few weeks to recover your strength before you really do burn out. Ignore this message at your peril!