Many people think about work outside of the office- that’s where a number of our greatest work ideas and innovations emerge. However, wondering about work often means stressing about work, which may keep us up at nighttime or have us waking up feeling anxious, hours before the phone alarm rings, and you then tend to hit snooze because you are sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation can increase our work stress by negatively impacting cognitive functions like judgment, critical thinking, problem-solving, planning, and organization.
What does work anxiety do to you?
Work anxiety can affect your quality of life and put a damper on your weekdays. Roughly three out of each four people with stress or anxiety in their life say that it interferes with their daily lives, and also the workplace isn’t any exception. Anxiety can affect performance at work, the standard of the work, relationships with colleagues, and relationships with supervisors. And if you have got a diagnosed disturbance, then these challenges may prove even harder.
People report that deadlines and coping with difficult people are the largest causes of work-related stress. Conflict within the workplace will elicit many alternative reactions. Some people love the drama, while others would rather hide under their desks until the commotion subsides. no matter whether or not you thrive on conflict, lack of effective communication at your job can cause quite a little bit of anxiety. When several people within the office are visibly littered with anxiety, the amount of stress can almost feel contagious. People begin to miss more work, the standard of labor goes down, and coworkers begin to gossip or vent instead of work together to unravel problems. People stop lecturing each other, they begin collecting mountains of grievances, and therefore the environment can become downright toxic.
How to manage work stress
To avoid puzzling over work-related things in the dead of the night, try the below-mentioned strategies:
Make a to-do list
There’s always more work to be done. Creating a to-do list for the subsequent day before bed helps you to go to sleep faster- by virtually the same amount as taking a sleep product– yet helps you to avoid getting up fewer times during the night. Unfinished tasks cycling through your mind lodge at a heightened level of cognitive activation. This is often essentially what’s causing you to remain up at midnight. The act of writing down these uncompleted tasks decreases cognitive arousal, rumination, and worry. And if you are getting up within the middle of the night, suddenly remembering a pressing task, keep a bit of paper and pen on your nightstand to capture it so you’ll let it go from your mind and return to sleep.
Keep a journal
Journaling or writing down your thoughts and feelings, instead of just pondering them, has been shown to assist process emotions and reduce stress and anxiety because it requires a greater level of psychological processing. Also including more positive events and what you’re grateful for in your writing can help in getting longer, more refreshing sleep.
Exercise self-compassion
Practicing self-compassion and recognizing that we are all imperfect mortals allows you to interrupt the cycle of negative thoughts and self-judgment that include rumination, which is linked to many negative effects, including insomnia. Self-compassion reduces stress-related poor sleep.
Engage in physical activity
Research shows that one instance of moderately intense exercise can decrease the deep thinking that keeps us up in the dead of night. There’s also strong evidence that, in general, as little as half-hour of cardiopulmonary exercise can help us go to sleep faster, and improves sleep quality. Not only does exercise increase the number of deep sleep we get, but it also decompresses the mind. For a few people, however, exercising too near bedtime can interfere with sleep. If you’re one of these people, it’s recommended to exercise a minimum of one to 2 hours before bedtime.
Practice meditation
Just like self-compassion, mindfulness- the practice of being fully present and focusing your attention on thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations without judgment- is additionally an antidote to the deep thoughts which will keep you up at nighttime after you hit your pillows. By being fully present within the moment, you’re not rehashing past events or worrying about future events. there’s ample research on the positive effects of meditation on anxiety and stress.
Assess Your Food and Drink
Are you living your work hours on caffeine, sugar, and processed foods? Coffee can be the fuel of an anxious mind: Studies show that the alertness you feel from your morning cappuccino can devolve into anxiety as the day progresses and even stretch into the night.
So, try making a few healthy changes. Drink water or herbal tea instead of caffeinated drinks in the day. Instead of reaching for sugary processed foods when you’re stressed, try balancing foods like blueberries, almonds, and seaweed, and other fruits and veggies. The nutrients in whole foods you eat to maintain a balanced diet will not cure your anxiety, but they very well may help your mental and physical well-being.
Create a sleep-friendly environment
Your old saggy mattress or your rough bedsheet also might be creating a problem during your sleep. Try changing them into a more comfortable and new one. Try Livpure’s wide range of mattresses with 100 days of free trial so that you can find your perfect fit. The Egyptian cotton bedsheet on top of the mattress with some memory foam pillows from Livpure can give the perfect night snooze you have been craving for a long time.
Try a blackout curtain to control the light getting into your room which might have been the culprit to your sleep deprivation. Get your room smelling nice and clean which also helps to keep anxiety and sadness away. Take a warm bath before sleep to have a fresh nap time and wake up feeling fresh. To wipe yourself off, use Livpure’s bamboo fiber towel for a smooth luxurious feel.
Conclusion
Work stress is inevitable, but it mustn’t get within the way of a decent night’s sleep. By employing the strategies above, you’ll be able to increase your ability to get up feeling refreshed and prepared to tackle the workday.