A friend of mine recently said she felt like her head was so full, it felt empty. That can be a warning sign of burnout i.e. feeling overwhelmed with an inability to take in any new information. Burnout is real. It is not simply feeling tired or having a bad day and it is not enough just to take a few days of annual leave to recover and recharge the batteries.
Burnout doesn’t happen overnight – there can be a slow build-up with several warning signs.
Things to watch out for are feeling exhausted and drained (mentally and physically); having a more or less constant feeling of dread; not falling asleep easily or having interrupted sleep; forgetfulness; nausea; fuzzy head; not being able to focus or concentrate; everything that you would associate with stress you can associate with burnout like headaches, heart palpitations, quickened breath, feeling dizzy or disjointed or maybe even fainting; regularly fighting infections (illnesses) because your system is depleted, being on edge and snappy, feeling guilty when there is no need, feeling trapped and begrudging your employers because you feel overextended or taken for granted.
Burnout is a state of emotional, mental and physical exhaustion. It is caused by prolonged, chronic and excessive stress.
Burnout can result in a loss of energy, motivation or enthusiasm, feeling overwhelmed, useless, cynical, detached or resentful, emotionally or physically drained and unable to undertake usual tasks or having zero sense of accomplishment from the usual things that you do.
It is hard to feel good about yourself if you’re heading towards burnout or if you are in it and thus our emotional health suffers. When someone says to you that you need to take it easy or you’ll burn out – please pay attention!
Common Work Stressors include being micromanaged with little control or little supervision with no supports; changes including new staff or systems; working crazy hours without downtime; difficult colleagues or customers; impossible deadlines; working outdoors in bad weather or heavy lifting can all take their toll on our stress levels.
Now that you know that burnout is, take steps to avoid it.
Firstly, pay attention to your body and to what it is trying to tell you e.g. taug muscles, cloudy head, headaches etc. Try not to leave it until it is too late to take preventative action! Start by setting boundaries for your wellbeing.
Make time for friends, family and for yourself. Do things you enjoy with people who are easy to be with such as going to the cinema, volunteering, meeting for coffee, get a manicure or buy a magazine.
Try to minimise screen time by not using your phone, tablet, laptop as much as possible and try not to have a screen in your bedroom because it interferes with your sleep. Having screen free days helps to rest your brain and allows you time to think (rather than being distracted by online events).
Watch what you eat – by paying attention to what you ingest it will impact on your mood. Do not rely on drugs or alcohol to make you feel better – the relief is only temporary and is akin to avoidance rather than solving your problems. Exercise is vital. Even if you are in an office all day remember to stand and stretch or walk to the kitchen or bathroom to keep your blood flowing and your body moving. Take regular breaks at work or at home – go and get a glass of water so you can leave your desk.
Remind yourself just how far you have come and remember your achievements. Consider your options – remember that you always have choices. Learn how to control your breath Spend time in nature every day. Being outside in daylight also helps regulate our sleep. Take up a hobby or do something you enjoy like gardening, baking, hoovering etc.
Tell a trusted friend or a healthcare professional how you are feeling and that you are struggling and/or feeling under pressure. Having someone to listen in a confidential setting will give perspective and help you to devise the plan to tackle and resolve issues. Good quality, sufficient sleep helps us to think more clearly and is beneficial for our physical health and emotional wellbeing.
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Years ago, when I woke in the middle of the night, sleep would simply elude me and I would start to anticipate how exhausted I was going to be the following day! I’d even calculate the remaining hours I had in bed. That’s not very relaxing!
Now, instead of getting anxious about being awake in the middle of the night, I reassure myself that I will not stay awake forever, that eventually I will sleep and my body and mind know exactly what they are doing!
Over the years I have learned a few techniques which help with falling asleep and returning to sleep once woken. What works for me nowadays is busying my brain with maths problems whilst paying attention to my breathing. My mind gets tired, and I sleep. Sounds too simple? It works for me but it took a while before I reached the sweet spot where my brain associated sleep with adding numbers together!
If you are not keen on counting or adding numbers like 2, 4, 8, 16, 32,64, 128, 256 etc perhaps try listing every car or colour or boy’s name that you know starting with the letter A and work your way through the alphabet. For example, Audi, Bentley, Cadillac / Apple, Banana, Cherry / Adam, Brian, Charlie, etc. Make a mistake and start from the beginning – the idea is that your mind is engaged because you’ve given it a task to do instead of worrying and your brain slows down and you fall sleep. It won’t happen the first night but be persistent and eventually it should work because your mind will associate listing with sleeping. That’s the goal here – that you create an association with sleep and your bed.
One of the first things to put into practice when trying to improve sleep is set and stick to a bedtime routine. Go to bed and get up at a set time and stick to those times – even on weekends or days off only allow yourself a one hour lie-in. This might not be possible if you’re working shifts or have small children or health problems. Try to keep to a routine and do the same things every night so you are sending signals to your body and mind that you are preparing for going to bed to sleep.
Have a wind-down time, put on your pyjamas, brush your teeth, read a book but avoid your mobile, computer and all forms of hand-held screens before sleep time (I’ll explain why hereunder). Having a shower before bedtime can also help with sleep as our core body temperature drops when we sleep and also after having a shower so it can be a good sleep aid.
Avoid caffeine – Not only is it found in coffee and tea, but also in cola, chocolate and energy drinks. I love my morning coffee and if you do too, simply have a coffee but avoid caffeine from lunchtime onwards. Even if you are able to fall asleep easily at night, caffeine affects the quality of your sleep. In fact, going without caffeine for just one day can improve your sleep quality.
Alcohol – It may seem like we get a great night’s sleep if we have been drinking alcohol but in reality the quality of our sleep is impaired. We fall straight into a deeper sleep if we have had alcohol but we miss out on a sleep phase. Never drink alcohol to unwind, relax or to help you sleep because alcohol disrupts dreams, diminishes sleep quality and is linked to anxiety and depression.
Bedroom – Is your bedroom conducive to a good night’s sleep? Is it a nice, relaxed area? Try to keep bedroom temperatures cool – neither too warm nor too cold. I promote de-cluttering because a tidy bedroom feels good to spend time in.
Lighting – At night, bedrooms should be free from technology and bright lights. This is important for sleep because light affects the production of melatonin, a hormone that helps you get a great night’s sleep. In fact, melatonin will not be produced (by the pineal gland) unless there is only dim or no light. If you watch television in bed, your brain will associate bed with the stimulus of tv and with being awake and not with sleep therefore watching television in bed is a habit worth breaking.
Be Kind to You – Your bed is for adult fun and for sleeping, it is not a place for worry or stress. If you are unable to fall asleep do not panic and stop worrying about not sleeping – there is no need to increase anxiety levels. Talk to yourself calmly, reassure yourself that your body will take care of sleep when it needs to. You will not stay awake for ever. Do not start counting the hours until you have to get up (e.g. “If I sleep now I’ll only get four hours sleep and I’ll be wrecked tomorrow!). Soothe yourself with the idea (which is true by the way) that you will sleep when your body needs it and you will catch up on missed sleep tomorrow night.
Learn relaxation skills- Calm breathing is a useful sleeping aid. Journaling can also be a great way to relax especially keeping a daily gratitude journal wherein you write three positive things for which you are grateful – these do not have to be earth-shattering and can be as simple as ‘I took time to enjoy the drive home from work today’ or ‘I had a lovely dinner this evening’. Learn to be grateful for the little things in your day.
Naps – The jury is out on naps! Some experts say avoid naps at all costs and others say absolutely yes, naps are awesome. If you have small children and they keep you awake at night then you need to sleep when you get the opportunity because your night time sleep is constantly being disrupted. If you really want to nap then do not do so for too long (say no longer than half an hour) and not after 3.00pm because napping during the day can interfere with night time sleep but sleep is a very individual thing. Some need more, some need less and it is very much about the quality of the sleep that we get that’s important.
Alarm If your alarm is sounding every morning but you feel like you have only just got into bed, then you may need more sleep. Instead of setting the alarm to go off even earlier to allow you time to adjust to getting up, simply go to bed earlier every night until you wake with a rediscovered zest for life. The perfect scenario is when you wake without an alarm and if that happens jump out of bed and face the day with excitement.
Plan Exercise is great for sleep but not too late in the day. The same can be said for eating late – give your body time to digest your food before heading to bed, however, do not go to bed hungry as that can also disturb sleep. Eat a snack if you are peckish before bedtime. In my experience it is best to avoid phone calls at night time especially if they cause stress. Get out of the house/office/car and get some daylight, every day, because sun, even through the clouds, helps both our mood and sleep – show yourself to the sky every day!
Write Keep a pen and writing pad beside your bed – if you wake in the middle of the night because of a worry or because you need to remember something write it down and deal with it the following morning. Keep a note of the worries that are preventing you from falling asleep and over the following days make a plan to tackle each worry individually if they are within your control. You are then changing the problem or worry list into a ‘to-do list’. Ask yourself what you can do to change your situation. Seek the advice of others.
Keeping notes in your mobile is not the same as writing in a notebook/writing pad because accessing your mobile in bed may encourage you to stay awake reading on line or looking at social media. Don’t forget – we are attempting to keep bedrooms free of screens! We all know that sleep is vital and some need more than others. Sleep helps our immune system, regulates our mood and restores our bodies and brains.
The results of poor sleep include increased blood pressure, higher stress, weight increase as it effects our BMI, impaired memory and slower cognitive functioning; general forgetfulness; reduced ability to get on with our day to day lives – in other words “Sleep Is Key”. We know what children can be like when they do not have enough sleep and we as adults are not much different. We might be irritable,, drowsy, and generally off-form.
The above are some tips to get your sleep in order however it may be an idea if you have difficulty sleeping for a prolonged period of time to speak with your doctor or medical adviser. You deserve to enjoy restful sleep.
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