Here’s why trying to get all your rest in condensed chunks is actually counterproductive, plus how to make both your breaks and your everyday life more restorative.
Saving up your rest for a single break or vacation can backfire.
If your life is constantly go-go-go, chances are, you’ll run yourself ragged in the leadup to a vacation, too—and that can doom the break itself to be less restful than you’d hoped. Perhaps you’re cranking out additional work to cover for the period when you’re OOO or to “earn the right to relax,” Dr. Dattilo-Ryan says. Or maybe you’re just rushing to get child or pet care arranged for your absence, or pack and get to the airport. In these scenarios, it’s easy to skimp on your normal healthy habits, Nasir says; for instance, not hydrating or sleeping as you typically do, which could leave you feeling lousy or sick on vacation.
The pre-break scramble itself can also create a ton of stress—and over time, your nervous system may adjust or adapt to that level of overstimulation, Dr. Dattilo-Ryan says. So when you finally reach your time off, it could take a couple days (or more) to rebalance and feel calm, she explains. “You might be doing things to replenish yourself, but if you were so drained to begin with, you may not have enough time off to make it back to even.”
Setting realistic expectations for your time off can make it more restful.
There’s a natural tendency to put vacations on some sort of pedestal, particularly if you haven’t had one in forever. “When you’re postponing joy and rest, it starts to become mythical in your mind,” Nasir says. But the more you build up the power of the break, the less likely it is to live up to the hype. Not to mention, your wish list of downtime activities could inadvertently turn into a to-do list (e.g., visit the holiday market and go skiing and do a spa day, and and and…), which can cause more stress than it alleviates—yes, even if it’s filled with things you enjoy.
So, it’s important to be honest with yourself about what any given break can do for you and how you’re going to feel during and after it, Dr. Dattilo-Ryan says. Chances are, a week of downtime around the holidays will not undo months of burnout, for instance. Nor will you have enough energy to see every friend or do all the fun activities you’ve spotted on social media. Simply reminding yourself of that reality can lower your expectations—and help you avoid disappointment. Nasir also suggests picking one restorative “anchor” activity for any week off (say, taking a trip to the local botanical garden or seeing a play or musical) so you don’t wind up with either too big a wish list or stumped about where to start.
As can easing yourself into and out of it.
To smooth your transition into vacation mode—and avoid whittling away the first few days simply decompressing—Nasir also recommends reducing your pre-break load as much as possible. That means figuring out where and how you can delegate: Can you tap a coworker for one of your work tasks versus hammering through it in advance, or recruit a partner to handle the laundry and dry cleaning in the week before a trip? The less tension you pile on ahead of time, the less you’ll be relying on your vacation to undo. And the same principle applies on the tail end of a break, too. In those first few days back, when you’re busy catching up, see if you can lean on others more than usual, Nasir says.
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