How to Mindfully Include Self-Care In Your Daily Routine To Prevent Burnout
Burnout is something we all experience at least a few times in our lives, and it’s a relatively common symptom of overwork and constant stress, especially in working adults. This feeling of being drained and overwhelmed doesn’t just affect us emotionally, but can have major impacts on every aspect of our lives and our mental and physical health as well.
The negative effects of burnout, when left unchecked, can affect our work, relationships, and even our bodies. It can lower your immunity and make you vulnerable to various illnesses and other long-term issues, and can lead to a premature death.
So how do we take care of ourselves when something like burnout can seemingly happen without warning? Here are some small things you can do for yourself every day to keep burnout at bay and live a less stressful life.
Reevaluate your priorities
When you’re feeling burned out, this is a sign that something in your life just isn’t working, and this chronic stress is most probably attributed to your job. While you might not want to think about the busy schedule you have ahead of you on a given day, it’s important to think about what needs your attention and to consider what’s more or less important, as you may be neglecting things that are much more significant to you and in the long run.
Learn how to set boundaries and not to overextend yourself at work so that you have more time for yourself and your loved ones. Learning proper work-life balance can make you feel much more accomplished at work and more satisfied with your personal life.
Prioritize your sleep
Burnout affects all aspects of your life, and that includes sleep. It can be easy to forego sleep when you think you need more time in the day to accomplish your tasks, but not only will this end up being detrimental to your work quality and performance later on, but it will also have long-term effects on your health.
Studies show that burnout has been associated with insomnia, high blood pressure, and heart strain. Going to bed at a regular hour every night and getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep can help decrease burnout significantly.
Do something you love to do for yourself
When you let work overshadow your entire life, you forget to take any time for yourself. Think about what you love to do, whether big or small and dedicate time for that activity.
Take at least an hour every day to take a walk, read a chapter of a book, or do your makeup, as things like these can do wonders for your mental health. Such small activities involve minimal mental effort but can benefit your health and wellness, helping you to destress and take a moment to care for yourself at the start or end of the day.
Take vitamins to boost your immune system
Burnout negatively affects your immune system and can cause you to catch colds and the flu frequently and, if left untreated, can severely and negatively impact your physical health permanently.
Aside from exercising and having a good diet to take care of your body, taking vitamins for your heart, bones, and overall health can fill up gaps in your diet to help you get stronger and feel better.
Final Note
The effects of burnout are long-lasting and heavily impactful on all aspects of your life, so it isn’t something you should simply brush aside. It’s important to take active steps to combat and prevent it for the sake of your emotional, mental, and physical health.
Self-care is something you can do for yourself even in the smallest of ways every single day, and these accumulative actions can help your health significantly when they become a part of your routine. By mindfully taking small steps to care for yourself every day, your life as a whole can improve drastically.
Stay Motivated to Move This Winter
Maybe you set the alarm early with every intention of going out for a morning run, but the snooze button and the sheets win every time when you think about facing the winter weather. But all is not lost. You can still get your exercise in without freezing in the name of fitness. Ready to make the most of your winter fitness regimen? BluePrint Health invites you to read on.
Remember the Rewards
It can certainly be tempting to let your workout routine fall by the wayside in winter since bulky sweaters and cozy sweatshirts are more forgiving than skimpy swimsuits and shorts. But working out isn’t just about staying trim and toned. Regular exercise offers a wealth of physical, mental, and emotional benefits. For instance, research shows regular exercise helps prevent or control a wide variety of health concerns including heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, a number of types of cancer, arthritis, and even falls.
Exercise can also help relieve the symptoms of anxiety and depression and may help keep them at bay in the future. That’s because it releases mood-boosting endorphins and other natural brain chemicals that increase your feelings of well-being. Physical activity can also help take your mind off your worries, build confidence, increase social interactions, and provide a positive way to deal with mental and physical health concerns including everything from obesity to addiction.
In fact, when seeking therapy for substance use, many counselors also recommend pursuing a physical wellness plan to combat not only the physical effects of substance use but also to promote the general well-being of patients. So, regardless of your current conditions and concerns, physical activity can boost your body, mind, and spirit all year long.
Indoor Exercise Inspiration
Winter weather can make outdoor workouts impractical or impossible for even the most devoted fitness fanatics. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to work up a sweat inside. Here are some tips for staying fit and focused this season.
If your budget allows, consider enrolling in a class that will keep you motivated. For instance, many gyms and trainers move boot camp classes indoors in cold weather. But these sessions still torch calories with cardio and strength training intervals. Or maybe you can sign up for a session to try something you’ve never done before. Pre-paying for a pack of cardio dance, kickboxing, or spin classes will also motivate you to attend even on the coldest days rather than let your fitness funds go to waste.
At-Home Alternatives
If you prefer the privacy of exercising on your own or don’t want to spend much money, there are several ways to exercise on the cheap at home. For instance, jumping rope provides a great cardio workout. Burpees, stair climbing, jumping jacks, and mountain climbers will also get your heart pumping. And you can integrate intervals of push-ups, tricep dips, crunches, planks, lunges, and squats, according to ACTIVE.
If you invest in a set of dumbbells, you can add exercises like bicep curls and overhead presses to give yourself a full workout with a minimal investment in gear. When you want to build a bigger home gym, look to sites like Craigslist for deals on weight benches, racks and other types of equipment. If you need help moving furniture or something especially heavy like a treadmill, don’t risk injury, and instead, turn to local professionals to help. Simply search for furniture movers near you through an online directory, and then use ratings to make your choice.
To mix up your moves, try exercise DVDs or online videos. If you don’t want to spend any money, local libraries offer options, and the internet also provides plenty of free content. For instance, the Fitness Blender site offers free full-length workouts to fit any fitness routine. You can select the difficulty level, body area focus, training type (styles include yoga, strength training, and cardio, to name a few), the equipment you have on hand, and even whether you want a male, female, or mixed-gender training team.
Whether you choose to exercise in the gym or in the comfort of your own home, it’s important to stay active all year for your physical and mental well-being. And having a better body come summer is a nice bonus benefit.
Gift-Giving Guide for the Fitness Fanatics on Your List
Finding the perfect gift doesn’t have to be difficult. All you need to do is appeal to the receiver’s interests. Nowadays, fitness is more popular than ever. People of all ages and backgrounds want to feel better in their own skin, so they are taking up exercise regimens from the light and fun (tennis, yoga, swimming) to the extreme (triathlons, CrossFit, kickboxing).
Since exercising and pursuing a healthy lifestyle are so popular, chances are you have at least a few fitness fanatics on your holiday gift list. If so, you’re in luck. Courtesy of Blueprint Health, we have a useful, comprehensive gift guide full of ideas perfect for the fitness junkies in your life.
Gym Membership
Getting a gym membership for a loved one who has been talking about joining one for ages can be just the push they need. One of the best parts of this idea is you can spend as little or as much as you want. You can get them a month or two or splurge on a whole year. An average monthly cost of a gym membership is $58, but that figure varies dramatically depending on location and gym.
If your loved one already belongs to a gym, ask the staff about gift certificates for personal trainers. Even a couple of sessions with a professional can help inspire your loved one to vary their workout routine, which helps boost results. At most gyms, gift certificates can also be used at the in-house spas, cafes and salons.
Home Gym
If you’re able to financially, go one better than a gym membership and create a home gym for your loved one by renovating a room in the house. Building out a home gym helps fitness buffs stay in shape regardless of pandemic restrictions, gym fees or foul weather. It’s also a way to increase your home's appraisal value. If selling your home is in the cards, be sure to save your receipts for the appraiser when that time arrives.
Outdoor Gear
Do you have someone on your list who loves to exercise while spending time in the great outdoors? Would they rather spend more time camping than inside a gym? If so, some top-notch camping/outdoor gear can help them enjoy their time in nature. Whether it’s a new tent, backpack, or some other type of outdoorsy gear, you can’t go wrong with this gift idea. If you’re not sure where to begin looking for this type of gift, websites like Adventure Daily provide guides and reviews for a number of products, ranging from sleeping bags to blankets.
Fitness Trackers
This hot fitness trend has yet to cool down. Fitness trackers cost anywhere from $50-$250 and come with a plethora of features. From counting steps to monitoring their REM cycle, your loved ones can get a better idea of their daily health habits and improve on them with the help of this thoughtful gift.
Portion Control Containers
This is a great gift for the person on your list who is interested in pursuing the meal prep lifestyle. When it comes to portion control, Americans have issues. Portion control containers allow your loved ones to get a better idea of the amount of food they need, so they can get accustomed to normal, healthy portions.
Bath Salts for Soreness
A recovery soak after a rough workout can help soothe muscles and prevent extreme soreness the next day. Recovery soaks deposit healthy minerals like magnesium, sodium and bromide through the skin and help rid the body of built up lactic acids in the muscles. If you have a loved one who is just beginning, or who has already started an extreme training regimen, they will surely appreciate how you care about their comfort.
Fitness gifts are perfect because just about everyone can benefit from a little more exercise in their life. If you have some fitness enthusiasts on your list, gift them with something they will actually use. These ideas will last beyond the special gift-giving occasion, with health benefits for years to come.
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