It’s the end of a busy, stressful day your feet are tired and the blood pressure monitor would probably register high enough so that your doctor is concerned. The fatty, salty burger you gobble for lunch is only partially digested because the hectic office environment keeps you jittery all afternoon. Evening commute Interstate bumper-to-bumper traffic jams have cars backed up for ten miles. Your drive home is eventful enough: you don’t need the road construction barriers marking a detour at your highway exit.
Systems in your body that keep you safe from an imminent attack are now activated. You’re ready to defend yourself and your family and your village and your entire community if and when the big, huge, ferocious, gnarly bear comes barreling down the mountainside to not only attack your but eat everything in sight.
Obviously, the bear isn’t coming but your body doesn’t know that because from your actions throughout the day you have told your body that indeed the bear IS coming and you must get ready for the attack. Pulse, blood pressure, digestion, endocrine system, respiration, sight, hearing, tactile senses all are doing their appointed job to ready you for defense.
However, all you really want to do is slowly get out of your car, walk your tired feet into your cozy home, take a warm, soothing bath, eat a well-prepared, healthy evening meal and quickly fall asleep in your welcoming bed that sits in a darkened, quiet room. You will sleep soundly knowing that tomorrow will be a stress-free day filled with opportunities for professional advancement and social enrichment.
I know you’ve heard that a good nights sleep is one of the keys to health. Well, just as you perform certain habits when you get ready for work you should perform certain habits when you prepare for sleep. You want to follow these simple steps:
- Squeeze in time during your workday for small snippets of physical exercise: it’s good “sleep hygiene.”
- Cap your Nightcap – alcohol may keep you from staying asleep if you manage to initially fall asleep and it can worsen sleep apnea
- Adjust the bedroom thermostat temperature to 65 degrees
- Avoid a full stomach, so maybe cut down of that salty, fatty burger for lunch
- Using technology just before bedtime signals your brain to wake up especially if the “blue light” is constantly blinking into your brain with its wake up signal. Turn off the “tech” devises at least 30 minutes before bedtime and dim the room lights
So, even if you’ve had that stressful, jittery, eventful, bumper-to-bumper day at work you can manage to decrease your increase stress, anxiety, attack-mode defense simply by implementing a few inexpensive little tricks that offer you high rewards both in your professional and physical life.
You’ll be well-rested so when your bear of a boss does come you’re ready for the attack.
