Physical health: Eat, sleep & co.
It may sound unusual, but whoever wants to take care of one’s own psyche should treat their body to something good. We all know the opposite: Those who are stressed do not think of themselves and neglect their basic needs – they breathe superficially, drink coffee instead of water, and do not care about finding balance a balance between their current demands of the work environment (periodic movement when working at a computer screen, relaxing tensed muscles during physical activities). This is the precise moment for a little “Self-Care break” to briefly distance yourself from things and optimally equip yourself for coping with stress.
What do you currently do to maintain your fitness in the workplace and strengthen it?
- Eat an apple
- Briefly exercise
- Let your gaze wander
- Drink a cup of tea/coffee
- Walk around the block
And we still have more tips to help you to satisfy your basic needs and thus establish the basis for your own good job.
Food
People who work a lot find it difficult to eat healthy. In order to be efficient for an 8-hour day you need good “fuel” – otherwise your efficiency will be reduced and your error rate will increase.
Sweets such as candy bars or other similar items only seem to be helpful: Although they provide a rapid increase in the energy curve due to their high sugar content, the sugar curve is broken down just as quickly. Then blood sugar then drops to a low level, as does our mood. People who are hypoglycemic are irritable and aggressive.
Make sure that your blood sugar level only rises and falls gently. This can be achieved through wholegrain products and bananas.
To eat well, is also an expression of self-care.
A healthy and tasty diet for better work: What does that mean for you?
The following foods (or stimulants in the truest sense of the word) provide you with everything you need to do a good job for several hours. Think about which “doping substance” you want to test tomorrow!
- almonds and nuts
- quark with fruit
- banana milkshake
- water again and again
- For more tips and nutrition information refer to the following
Sleep
It is a vicious cycle: People who do not sleep well are not rested in the morning; people who are not rested make more mistakes and take longer to complete tasks at work; people who work a lot need a lot of sleep and rest, etc. In order to avoid this, and the resulting downward spiral, you should implement preventative measures at an early stage.
Sleep likes routine! So make sure that you stick with the same order every evening before going to bed: e.g. walk the dog, lock the front door, look after your children, drink a cup of tea, put on your pajamas, wash, and go to bed.
This makes it easy to switch on sleep (the mind gets the signal: “Hey, now it’s time to go to bed”), and it provides support in times of change.
Sleep well: What does that mean for you?
7 tips for better sleep:
- Provide time to switch on your “sleep program”
- Care for regularity through rituals and fixed hours (e.g., tea drinking, praying, breathing exercises)
- Ensure a quiet environment (earplugs?)
- Ensure darkness
- Don’t keep anythin needed for sleep in the bedroom: (no TV!, no cell phone!, – we know that this is hard…!)
- When thinking about things that keep you awake, get out of bed and write!
- Waking in the night is normal! But do not fret. Turn around and be happy to know that you do not have to get up at that moment and go back to sleep.
- These tips apply to people with sleep problems (and for those who suffer from relaxation problems). If sleeping is not a problem for you, you may of course do whatever you want in your bedroom… :-)
For more tips on sleep hygiene, click on the following guide from the German Society for Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine (German only).