Down time

It seems that there is nothing easier in life than relaxing, but it turns out that it is also a skill that needs to be learned.

The enormous amount of stimuli, the fast pace of life and the constant need to adapt to changing conditions make it increasingly difficult for us to find time to relax. Our nervous system is often overstimulated, and lack of rest makes it impossible to function effectively.

Therefore, finding time to relax is one of the foundations of a healthy and happy life. There are many ways to relax effectively, we just need to find the optimal one for us and build a habit that will increase our mental comfort.

HOW DO YOU LIKE TO RELAX?

There is a lot of useful advice out there, showing a variety of ways to relax. However, it is worth noting that what allows us to relax best is largely an individual matter – each of us has its own preferences for relaxation. It is mainly influenced by the type and pace of work. For people working intellectually, the best form of rest is not necessarily lying in a warm bath. It can also be an active form of rest such as walking, jogging or working out with friends. People who work physically and expend a lot of energy on their tasks may ultimately need peace and relaxation to help them calm down or cut off the flow of stimuli. Others, on the other hand, may prefer to get active and use their energy in their spare time. Therefore, it is important to listen to your body’s needs and know your preferences, which of course may be different at any given time. One time you’ll choose a walk or a basketball game with a friend, another time a book in a cozy environment, or a bath. It’s up to you. The important thing is to reach for varied forms of relaxation.

PASSIVE REST

We distinguish two types of rest in leisure time – active and passive. We have written about active leisure in Physical Time – it is, for example, a walk outdoors after a day of mental work in the office. Passive leisure is when we limit all activity – motor and mental, it is often described as “idleness” – and idleness can be associated with “wasting time”. But passive recreation is essential to us. Reading a fiction novel, watching a TV series, listening to music, but also sleeping will allow us to regenerate our nervous system, support our heart, our musculoskeletal system will also rest – if we take proper care of our spine.

The cult of personal development tries to force us to perform at high speed, especially in a world where we are convinced that achievement is the measure of a person’s value. We spend our leisure time trying to elevate our mind’s capabilities, making sure we are constantly improving.And the brain, like any other organ, needs rest. Constant learning and problem solving is not conducive to our happiness – and research shows that to be productive, we should be happy.

To achieve a sense of contentment that will build our happiness, we don’t need to invest a lot of money – it’s about noticing small, everyday pleasures. Such as “guilty pleasures”, for example.

GUILTY PLEASURES

The term “guilty pleasures” refers to deriving pleasure from elements of everyday life that are not commonly respected or are even considered bad. The phenomenon is associated with the consumption of pop culture, but is particularly interesting for psychologists because of the contradictory emotions that are associated with it. Is it possible that something that supports us, gives us a sense of pleasure, excitement, evokes unpleasant feelings in us (sense of shame, guilt, embarrassment)?

We believe that the activities we indulge in build our identity – successful people go to the opera, “water boys” watch reality shows. We connect our position and opinions about what kind of people we are with what we like. So we feel judged (overtly or internalized) for taking pleasure in “little sins.” According to a study conducted by KR&I, people who felt embarrassment for indulging in these activities described feeling “weak,” “selfish,” and “lazy.” However, the recreation you choose will not make you less intelligent, nor will it make you perform any worse at work – but if you convince yourself that it will, you will lose all the benefits that this form of recreation gives you.

Guilty pleasures have an immediate effect – pleasure, fun and a sense of satisfaction. And in the long run, they can have an impact on building self-awareness and self-control – they allow you to set boundaries (“I don’t want the social group to decide what I like and how I should be), focus on yourself, reduce experiencing unpleasant emotions, and improve mood. So it’s worth paying attention to them from time to time. They are a significant regulatory factor in people with an avoidant style of coping with stress – we’ll talk more about this in additional downloads soon.

RELAXATION TECHNIQUES

By consciously focusing on relaxing the body, relaxation is more effective. Using relaxation techniques may take practice – you need to learn to use them consciously. Start with shorter sessions, lengthening them over time. The relaxation techniques presented in Mental Comfort – Jacobson’s Progressive Relaxation and Schultz’s Autogenic Training – are exercises for consciously feeling your body. Thanks to them you can increase your energy, improve your mood and reduce stress.
Some other relaxation techniques you can use

• Deep breathing technique – breathing through the diaphragm helps to lower blood pressure and as a result reduce stress levels. Sit on the floor with your back straight. Place one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest. Take a deep breath in through your nose, feel the hand on your stomach rise – the hand on your chest rises only slightly. Exhale through the nose, slowly counting to three. Feel the hand on your stomach drop. Repeat the exercise several times.
• 4-7-8 breathing technique – Sit comfortably, straighten up, and relax your arms. Place your tongue on the palate. Exhale loudly through your mouth. Inhale deeply through your nose, slowly counting to 4. Hold your breath, counting from 1 to 7. Exhale loudly through your mouth, counting from 1 to 8. Repeat this exercise 2-3 times.

VISUALIZATION

When we write about visualization we do not mean an attempt to mentally imagine something that we want to see come true. Instead, we recommend you to visualize in the form of mindful observation. This way of experiencing requires total commitment to being in the “here and now”, in silence, to ensure full perception of reality. Imagine a scenery that is comfortable for you – where you do not experience tension or anxiety.

Viewing nature in silence, looking at clouds or water, is very beneficial. However, if you are not able to do this, you can use nature visualizations available on YouTube. Sit in silence for a few minutes and carefully observe the images in front of you:

• What emotions do I see? Are these emotions pleasant or unpleasant?
• What do I feel when I look at these images?
• What emotions does the silence evoke?
• What is happening in my body right now? What is happening in different parts of my body?

Not only will relaxation through visualization help you achieve relaxation, but it will also help you practice mindfulness – the ability to focus your attention, catching signals coming from your body. You can read more about mindfulness in Time in.

AROMATHERAPY

Smell has a great influence on emotions by stimulating the limbic system. Through scent, we can guide ourselves into a pleasant or unpleasant mood – scents evoke memories, and can cause the whole body to react to the emotion associated with the scent. Relaxation reduces tension in our bodies – thanks to relaxation during aromatherapy, feelings of stress or anxiety can decrease. Studies show that peppermint oil inhalations improve lung function and agility in athletes, bergamot oil reduces anxiety, and orange oil enhances mood and feelings of relief. However, it is important to remember that the oils used should be natural and high quality.

We can influence the sense of smell with more than just essential oils. Create your own set of scents, which will allow you to return to pleasant memories. Put samples of your favorite scents in jars – dried lavender, bringing to mind relaxation, a cotton ball soaked in vanilla oil, allowing you to feel like in your favorite coffee shop, pinecones reminding you of a walk in the woods. You can create blends of scents – cloves and cinnamon, evoking memories of Christmas, dried grass and flowers like in a warm summer meadow. Walking as mentioned in the Physical Time section provides an opportunity to inhale pleasant smells – in this case walking in the woods will be particularly beneficial, especially after a rain shower when geosmin, an “earthy” smell is produced which instinctively evokes very pleasant associations. You don’t have to invest in expensive essential oils to influence your sense of smell.

SAUNING

Sauning has been known since ancient times. It has a positive influence on health and well-being. Why? Temperature in the sauna can reach up to 100 degrees Celsius, which stimulates the vegetative nervous system – and this has a relaxing effect. In addition, being in the sauna has a beneficial effect on blood circulation, and nourishes the skin, which sweats intensively and cleanses toxins. What is important, regular use of saunas slows down the biological aging process.
There are many different types of saunas that you can use. They may differ in temperature and humidity. The higher the temperature, such as in a dry (Finnish) sauna, the lower the humidity level. The highest humidity, even up to 100% will be characterized by steam saunas.

It is worth noting that a single round of staying in the sauna should last about 15 minutes (heating phase). Then you should cool your body by entering a cold shower or a bath with ice-cold water (cooling phase). Additionally, remember to rehydrate.

In addition to the benefits for the cardiovascular system and skin sauna also has other benefits: improves the quality of sleep, reduces stress, accelerates muscle recovery or reduces joint pain. Sessions in the sauna have a relaxing effect and can positively affect your mood. Often during sauning is played in the background soft, relaxing music. You can calm down, relax and clear your mind.

WINTER SWIMMING

Winter swimming diving is nothing else than diving into icy water. In recent years, winter swimming have become very trendy and you can see how many people go swimming in winter or autumn. It can be safely compared to cryotherapy, because it affects the body through a sudden surge of cold and low temperature. This positively affects tissues, reducing inflammation and accelerating regeneration. Additionally, it should be emphasized that regular winter swimming, e.g. once a week, improve the body’s immunity. By entering and immersing in icy water we harden not only our organism but also our spirit and will to fight in order to endure several minutes and cope with the wave of frost pelting our body. It is difficult, but it becomes easier every time, and a person gradually adapts to the cold conditions. It is worth noting that this practice has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system, by dilating the blood vessels, which improves blood flow. Thanks to this, the skin also gets rid of toxins and becomes more nourished. There are even more advantages of bathing of a particularly physiological character.

It is worth emphasizing that one should not winter swim too often, certainly not more than once a day, because it is a huge effort for our organism. It is also possible to prepare for such bathing and to get used to it in order not to enter the icy ice hole right away. Just start taking cold showers and this will gradually prepare you to receive a strong new stimulus if you have not come into contact with it before. It is worth to equip yourself with gloves and a cap when going for a winter swimming. Especially the head loses heat quite quickly. You can also equip yourself with neoprene shoes to protect your feet a bit.

Preparation for winter swimming can start as early as in spring!

 
FLOATING –
Floating is a method of relaxation in a pod filled with water with a solution of bitter Epsom salt. The relaxation pod allows the reduction of about 90% of external stimuli – it reduces sound and visual stimuli to the minimum. The water temperature is close to body temperature, which reduces sensory stimuli. The high salt concentration allows the body to float freely.

The state of near weightlessness allows for complete relaxation of the body (reduces muscle tension, pain) and mind – the brain begins to generate theta waves, typical of a state of very deep relaxation. The production of cortisol decreases, while the secretion of prolactin, endorphins, which improve our mood and increases oxytocin, which, as Paweł Bogusław told in the podcast, protects our heart from the harmful effects of stress.

The authors of the following articles – including psychologists in the fields of anxiety, stress management, cognitive specialists, and physicians – describe how to develop the ability to relax. In their works, you will find tips on how to practice rest, learn what factors affect the ability to relax and what benefits rest brings us.

• “The How Of Happiness: A Practical Guide to Getting The Life You Want” (2010), Sonja Lyubomirsky
• “The Myths of Happiness: What Should Make You Happy, but Doesn’t, What Shouldn’t Make You Happy, but Does” (2014), Sonja Lyubomirsky
• “Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment and Your life” (2016), Jon Kabat-Zinn
• “Sitting Still Like a Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids (and Their Parents)” (2013), Eline Snel – we recommend this guide as a great tool for working with children