Relearning How To Unwind

The end of year stress. As the year starts to unwind and draw closer to the end, we often are left feeling stressed, frazzled and a bit out of sorts. The addition of all that has added up the last few months and has made it a trying and challenging time for many. How do we move forward while dropping that stress, overwhelm and worry alongside the tiredness of everyday stresses? Summer Sunshine and its effect. For most of us, moving into the summer filled months of the year will bring with it delight and a bit more relaxation. This works to benefit our minds and our physical health at the same time, as we get to leave the desk jobs or more stationary work days behind for a bit, and get out and about with more movement, with beachside visits, swimming and brief escapes with walks, hiking or runs.  The increased light in the day helps our neurotransmitters release our feel-good happy hormones and help support healthy mood and energy levels throughout the day making us feel good and more invigorated. The relaxation and summer switch off mode even makes it easier to encourage more restful sleep patterns, without the same busy daily pace in your day.  The summer days and upcoming holidays can act as an automatic reset helping us recharge and revitalise ourselves for the new year ahead. How do we wind down? As the year starts to fade and we get closer to the end of December, we can encourage winding down and hitting our rest button by including the following in our everyday helping us to find balance and extra vitality.    1. Go clock free and phone free before bedtime Trying for hour or two beforehand and allowing a more natural switch off for a good night’s sleep. 2. Encouraging a healthy sleep wake cycle, developing a rise and shine routine. Rising at the same time every day and sleeping at the same time helps set up our sleep wake cycle for more sleep and helps support a reset for healthy nervous system function. 3.  Napping. The napping effect - power napping can help us on those tired days and act as a quick energy boost, making sure they are no longer than 45 minutes to help us later in the day when we need a good night’s sleep. 4. Morning workouts. Exercising in the morning can help set your day up and support endorphin release, helping you feel  good at the start of your day and power yourself into the rest of the day ahead.   Finding the ultimate wind down tools for you Everyone has something a little bit different that works for them as to what helps release stress and let go of overwhelm and worries. Making sure these are included in your week or day are needed to get the best out of winding down and supporting your everyday well-being for inner stress release, and overall wellness. Including what works best for you, helps you find your recharge button and helps you reset you for all the new for the year ahead, alongside re-energising and motivating us not only for our everyday health, but our total well-being.