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Switching Off After Work : The importance of taking breaks

Why taking breaks during your working day helps you to relax at night

In order to maintain your wellbeing, and also your job performance, it is worth ensuring that you pay attention to adequately recovering from the demands placed upon you on a day to day basis.

It is acknowledged that recovery should happen both during the working day (internal recovery) and outwith the working day (external recovery).

Studies have proven that individuals have taken longer to return to their pre-work adrenaline levels on days when their workload was intense than on days when their workload was less demanding.  So it is important to remember that on days when you don’t seem to have stopped, your risk of not being able to relax and switch off from work in the evening increases.  And although you may not notice a difference in the length of time you sleep for, your sleep quality may be well be affected which is an indication of poor recovery.

This is why it’s so important to try,even on the busiest of days, to allow yourself some internal recovery time in the form of a short break(s) which will, in turn, aid your external recovery that evening and your personal wellbeing and job performance the following day.

So the next time you find yourself dropping crumbs on your keyboard, stop and think how much more beneficial it would be for both you and your work if you turned away from your screen and looked out of the window or chatted to a colleague for a few minutes instead.

 

This is one of a series of articles on how to switch off after work. You can access them all from this post Stress Management Tips : How to Switch Off After Work.

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