Wouldn’t it be so nice if you had a reset button? You could do a hard reboot on your brain, refresh yourself, and get back on track during a busy (sometimes chaotic) time of year (or anytime, for that matter!). You don’t need to go to a spa retreat or take a vacation to a tropical island to get your whole body and mind back to feeling good (though… those things wouldn’t hurt, either!). We’re sharing some much-needed mental refresh hacks so many of us could use right now.
Ways to Reset, Recharge, and Feel Good
While we obviously don’t have an on-and-off switch for our minds and bodies like we do for our tech devices, there are, in fact, ways that you can do a reboot of sorts. Yes, it would be ideal to take three months off of work and life responsibilities to completely refresh your life, goals, and health — but that’s not a realistic option for most people. How do we make this more of an active practice (i.e., regularly brushing your teeth) versus a singular one (like a two-week vacation and hoping for the best the other 50 weeks)?
We know that the holiday season can be a particularly stressful time, so it’s important to have wellness strategies in place to keep your head above water. Ahead, some ways to consistently shut off your stress, refresh your mind, restore your body, and keep yourself healthy throughout this season — and beyond!
Tech Boundaries
This is a big one! Too much technology use is exceptionally taxing on our brains, emotional health, and nervous system at large. Two ways to approach this:
Take an Unplugged Day (no tech!)
Wait for a weekend or take a day off work if you’re able, and do no phone, no computer, no screens. Totally disconnect to reconnect with yourself.
Establish Tech Limits
We often learn how to establish boundaries within personal relationships, but our relationship with technology seems to have zero boundaries. We take our phones to bed, into the shower — we answer emails at midnight and check texts when we open our eyes to greet a new day. For this seasonal refresh, make one small goal to have tech time limits — put your phone in a drawer after a certain time, set app time limits, and close your computer after you’ve been on it for so many hours. You, your brain, and your adrenals deserve a break!
Regular Mindfulness Practices
A couple things you can do each day to give yourself between ten minutes and an hour of a rest, pause, and recharge: daily yoga and daily meditation. Keeping these things as regular as possible will allow you to feel the most significant effects, making restoration as routine as a shower or daily cup of coffee. Try both and see which works best for you.
Daily Yoga Practice
Self-explanatory, but here are a few practices that will get you started. Find a time each day that works best for you and keep it consistent.
- Embracing Strength with DeAndre Sinette
- Feel Better Yoga with Sydney Benner
- Wild Thing Flow with DeAndre Sinette
- Move Better with Vytas
Daily Meditation Practice
Again, scheduling is key. You can start with short meditations to get comfortable (like this eight-minute guided session, Inviting Ease), then scale up to slightly longer ones, depending on your schedule and how much time you’re able to commit regularly.
Get Outside
Fresh air, nature, and sunlight do absolute wonders for our health. This ranges from how well we sleep, to our immune system, to how we manage stress. If you need a refresher, it’s time to get outside as much as you can. Some ways to pull that off:
Plan an Afternoon Walk Every Day For a Week
Seven days, and you might just feel like you’re in a rhythm. Commit to yourself to get outside, even just for 30 minutes! Breathe in some clean air, let the sun hit your face (wear sunscreen!), and get the blood flowing with this gentle movement. It will help you feel good (and clear your head).
Plan a Day or Half Day in Nature
Take it up a notch and give yourself a whole day (or half a day) in the great outdoors. A beach, a forest, a park — whatever works for you. Bonus points if you leave your phone off.
RELATED: 9 Zero-Cost Ways to Practice Daily Self-Care
Take Some Time Off
People tend to have a hard time with this one, and the truth is, we don’t take time for ourselves until we are forced to. Think: your tire is flat, you’re home sick from work, you lock yourself out of your house. All of a sudden, you have some time!
Don’t wait for a catastrophe to happen before you take some rest-and-reset time. Trust us, the lack of self-care can very well lead to the aforementioned catastrophe. Some ideas for you:
Try a Staycation in Lieu of a Vacation
Sometimes a vacation can be exhausting — you come back feeling drained and not quite ready to get back into the swing of things. Now with travel restrictions, it’s a little easier to get into the mindset of a staycation; make the week (or however many days) you take off all about relaxing. No jet lag, no walking around new cities for hours, no hangovers — just rest.
Try That For One Day
If you can’t do that for your whole vacation (or that just doesn’t sound good to you), try to carve out one vacation day (or even just the weekend!) to make zero plans, with no obligations. Give your brain some time to chill.
RELATED: Burnt Out? Recharge With This Staycation That Feels Like a Legit Getaway
Emphasize Recovery
Even if you didn’t work out, recovery is essential every. damn. day. Seriously, every day!
Sleep
The best way to recover is to sleep well. Make sleep your number one priority, and get at least eight hours. This is truly the top way your body can reset itself and recharge every single day — for free, without taking any time off of work or away from responsibilities. Focus on your sleep schedule for one week to get yourself back on track — it’s a huge part of a mental refresh!
Muscle TLC
One other way we love to recover at home is with some at-home body care: self-massage (myofascial release), foam rolling, stretching, and facial massage. These are all ways you can give your body some love without going to the spa while giving your brain some pause, reducing stress, and improving your mood (and overall health!).
Need some stretching suggestions? Check out FitOn’s stretch category for various options depending on your unique needs and how much time you have to spare.
Find Ways to Refresh Every Day
Ideally, you’ll start to use a combination of these techniques every single day, creating a more balanced lifestyle that better serves your overall health and wellbeing. Maybe you only meditate and do yoga once a week, but you take time to get outside twice a week for twenty minutes and foam roll each night while your phone is in a drawer. Maybe you start to do one unplugged day a month while you up your yoga frequency and try facial massage while ensuring you’re getting rock-solid sleep every night.
If it’s been a while since you’ve taken a pause to mentally refresh, it may take some more intense refreshing to get yourself back on track. But mix and match, see what makes you feel good, be consistent, and know that it’s not just OK to give yourself a quick reset now and then — it’s essential.
