Will something change?
—00:00 (Zero o’clock) by BTS, from the album “MAP OF THE SOUL: 7”, 2020
It probably won’t be the case.
But still, this day will end.
When the second hand and the minute hand overlap,
the world holds its breath for a very brief moment
Zero o’clock
Translated by: doolset
Amidst the everyday hustle and bustle of our busy lives are moments of quiet during the deepest of nights, or for some, the slow rise of a cold morning. But moments of quiet do not mean rest or relaxation, nor does it mean leisure to breathe and let everything be. For a lot, it is merely a pause before another exhausting day; it’s neverending and before they know it, every day is another day for dreading another exhausting day.
It starts with a day then a week, then a month, perhaps two, before the fatigue of the mind and body comes crashing down in ways that feel debilitating, burning out the last of the flickering light of energies and motivations.
In the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), the World Health Organization (WHO) defines burnout as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”. While it is not a medical condition, it is an occupational phenomenon characterized by feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and reduced professional efficacy.
However, as much as the root cause of such a phenomenon isn’t easily resolved by only one person’s actions, there are small things we can do for ourselves that make monumental differences in our everyday lives; small habits that not only make our already scarce downtime worthwhile but also regulate our mind and bodies for small new beginnings.
Practice quiet wakefulness
Simply closing your eyes helps relax your bodily processes, which in turn relaxes your mind. Some studies call this “quiet wakefulness,” or simply resting your eyes despite being awake.
According to Dr. Chiara Cirelli, a neuroscientist from the University of Wisconsin, while we’re awake, “all of our neurons are constantly firing, but when we’re asleep, the neurons revert to an ‘up-and-down’ state in which only some are active at a given time.” During some sleep stages, these neuron activities go silent. As such, closing one’s eyes for a break already relaxes our eyes’ and brain’s mechanical processes.
Similarly, Dr. Brandon Peter-Mathews, a sleep medicine doctor at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, explains that such activity “helps restore [the] balance between sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems.”
“Any anxiety- or stress-inducing stimulus, like work, can rev up your fight-or-flight response, which increases heart rates and blood pressure,” he says. “Closing your eyes literally shuts out that sensory input, which can help to slow the heart rate down and drop blood pressure a little bit, shifting more towards your rest and digest response.”
Taking a bedtime bath
A hot or warm bath goes a mile in terms of relaxing and refreshing our bodies and there is actual science behind this.
This is called the water-based passive body heating (PBHWB). In a systematic review and meta-analysis of various literature by Shahab Haghayegh and his colleagues, they supported the findings that nightly warm showers, foot baths, or full body baths scheduled one to two (1-2) hours before bedtime for a duration as short as ten (10) minutes can improve sleep quality and especially shortening the sleep onset latency (SOL), or the average time it takes a person to sleep from full wakefulness.
“We know that your core body temperature needs to drop by about 2 to 3 degrees Fahrenheit to initiate good sleep and then maintain deep sleep,” says University of California, Berkeley neuroscientist and sleep doctor Dr. Matthew Walker. “The way it works is this: For you to get your heat out of the core of your body, you actually need to release that core heat through the outer perimeter surfaces of your body, namely your hands and your feet.”
Additionally, the heat relaxes our tense muscles and promotes better circulation. Pair this with calming scents and body oils and a light and restful night is in order.
Unplug with music or calming sounds
Unplug from the neverending and monotonous stream of information from your emails, meetings, documents, and notes with music or your preferred sounds. Instead of carrying your mental load all day, put it down for an hour or two and reconnect with your self and creativity by listening to those that boost your mood, touch your emotions, or clear your mind.
Enjoy a soothing cup of tea
To contrast the busy, caffeine-ran, sugar-rushed, and B12-boosted hours of your day, have a soothing cup of warm herbal tea during your downtime to ground your high-strung body and ease your mind.
In a study on the effects of tea on the psychophysiological stress response and recovery, researchers concluded that tea consumption leads to lower post-stress cortisol and greater subjective relaxation, together with reduced platelet activation. Tea contains L-theanine and small amounts of neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) which are found to help with stress and reduce anxiety.In addition, the aroma of floral and herbal teas engages our senses and provides sensory stimuli that help lower cortisol levels, reduce anxiety, and enhance mindfulness.
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The hours between the start of our day and the dying chatter of night are always an opportunity for us to start the next day with renewed selves. It does not have to be an extension of the stresses and negativity of what has and could have been. Aimlessly running in the same place or in the wrong direction does not lead to the finish line. Resting your weary bones and worn-out mind provides wisdom and vision from a place of clarity and replenished energy which are what you need to kickstart our small beginnings.