Daily brain breaks are key for mental and emotional health. It’s not as though they’re a requirement, but for many people, they’re a necessity. This is because giving your mind a rest throughout the day allows it to recharge and stay focused.
Mental brain breaks are key to keeping a positive attitude and a positive mind.
When there are days that you wake up feeling sluggish, it might be because your brain is overloaded by thoughts and emotions.
So many people tend to push through the day and just “get through,” but all they’re really doing is causing themselves to get even more tired and stressed. Taking a few moments each day to yourself is perfectly fine.
Believe it or not, your brain welcomes a daily break to reboot and recharge!
Consider these ideas:
1. Your brain can only handle so much. Have you ever been so stressed out that suddenly you had a headache? This is your brain telling you that it’s overloaded and needs you to stop.
- Take this as a serious cue to slow down and rest. Take a walk, take a nap, or just remove yourself from the stressful conversation or thought.
2. You can program your brain. If you’re giving in daily to the constant gossip and chatter, your brain is going to be programmed to crave that kind of stimulation.
- Instead of filling it full of those kinds of ideas, try to put some good stuff into your brain as well. Read positive articles, have meaningful conversations, and put a good book in your bag to read and learn from.
3. When your brain is tired, so are you. If you allow your brain to get weighed down, it’s going to trickle over to the rest of your body and have the same effect overall.
- Once that happens, it’s really hard to climb back up that emotional hill. Mental exhaustion is a real thing that people do battle and once it happens, it can start to become a trend if you don’t turn it around quickly.
4. Everything needs a break. Ask any successful person and they’ll tell you that taking a brain break is key. Walking away from whatever you’re working on to recharge and reboot means that you’ll come back with a fresh mind and perspective.
- This is huge when you’re working on a project or something that is relying on data-driven facts. You can only stare at numbers for so long before your body and brain are going to send you signals that it needs a break.
5. If you don’t get enough sleep, your mind can start to play tricks on you. People who are overly exhausted tend to have trouble thinking correctly, functioning, or even deciding the difference between what is true and not true.
- Research has shown that most adults need 7-9 hours of sleep each night to feel and think at their best. If you have trouble meeting that minimum, try taking a short nap during the day to give your mind and body some much-needed rest.
Understanding that your brain deserves to be treated carefully is the first step. Then, you can take the steps towards getting a schedule of brain breaks set up for yourself daily.
The moment that you feel as though your thoughts and emotions are becoming too much for the day is a huge signal that it’s time to walk away from whatever you’re doing and give yourself some peace.
Your brain deserves to be the center of your attention, since it controls all your decisions, thoughts, emotions, and bodily functions. So give your brain a break! It deserves one!