You are at your best when you are well rested - utilise all tips and tricks for recovery
Stress might originate from physical exercise, mental strain, cognitive effort, illness, interpersonal relationships and work stress. Stress can be a combination of different stress factors or overloading in one area. Without recovery, a person becomes burned out or overtrained. In the rush of everyday life or in a good training streak, the need for recovery and the amount of recovery may become ignored.
Mindfulness and YIN yoga type slow exercises can help you stop for a while and focus on exploring yourself and your body and mind. In addition, these types of exercises support recovery in themselves.
Take time to consciously listen to yourself, breathe deeply and explore the kind of stress that is currently present in the different areas of your life. Write down your observations on paper for yourself.
How to promote recovery?
- Sleep is the most important area of recovery. Sleep helps the body and mind recover from the stress of the day. Adults should sleep 7–9 hours per night. Each person has a unique sleep-wake cycle that determines when it is naturally best for them to rest and be active. It is not a good idea for a night owl to force themselves to get out of bed early but to sleep in according to their own rhythm, says Ilona Merikanto, Docent in Public Health.
- Drinking enough water and a healthy diet support your body's recovery. A versatile diet that includes protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and good fats helps recovery.
- Good physical fitness promotes holistic recovery, so it is worth practising when the body is in a good recovered state. Physical activity enhances blood circulation and metabolism and promotes the metabolites leaving the system. In addition, regular exercise can improve sleep quality. You can achieve the best benefits from sleep when you exercise aerobically 2–5 times a week in 20–60-minute-periods at a time. Physical activity stimulates the release of endorphins, i.e. pleasure hormones. This can improve the mood and help with stress management, which is an important part of mental recovery.
- Physical activity can help release stress and anxiety, which in turn improves mental health and helps you relax. Although physical activity itself can be physical stress, it can also help muscles relax. The most important thing is to find the best type and way of exercising for you. It is worth trying out different types of exercise and explore how they could support your stress recovery cycle.
Do not perform recovery
Do not hesitate to seek help for your recovery from outside sources, as an overwhelmed nervous system is not always able to calm itself down even if you tried. In addition, recovery should not become a performance.
You can seek help from different welfare professionals from nutritionists to psychologists. UniSport offers massages, personal trainers and nutrition coach services to support recovery.
It is a good idea to take heed for all the tips and help and adopt them into the best recipe for you. You should make sure that recovery is part of your daily life and not wait for the symptoms of a burnout, which may be very varied from health palpitations to a decline in your mood. Overall, the recipe for recovery is pretty easy: Sleep enough, eat healthy, exercise in moderation, avoid stress, pamper and treat yourself, socialize to the right extent, and remember to breathe deeply. Sometimes it is easier said than done because you will always face different stress factors in life even if you try to avoid them.
In other words, be aware of the risks of stress, listen to yourself and prioritise recovery time. Remember that you're at your best when you’re rested!
Author:
Kukka-Maaria Vuorikoski
The author is a UniSport yoga instructor who is inspired by the themes of holistic well-being
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