Nap out of it!
Studies have shown that napping for 10 - 15 minutes is just the right amount of time to give you back the energy you need to get on with your day. Work late nights and notice your energy declining? Maybe it’s time to NAP out of it!
When you can break away from your day to relax, rewind, and revive your natural energy, your body immediately feels its effects. Why? Because you give your brain the necessary time-out that it needs to recuperate. I won’t go into detail here, but I will tell you how effective our 15-minute meditation and nap times have become in the corporate setting.
Last month I was pressed for time and I had to come up with something that would be a hit. I was catering to employees who worked the night shift and no matter what we did, they seemed to almost NEVER have time. Except for this one activity. We decided to lay out mats - several mats - and we threw in our aromatherapy know how with 15-minute guided mediation exercises; and it was a HIT! Here’s why:
1) We carefully selected the guided meditation tapes we wanted them to learn.
I took a course in Positive Psychology prior to this and Barbara Fredrickson teaches a very enlightening meditation strategy called LOVING KINDNESS. Through it I learned that I could bring loving kindness to myself, to the people I loved, and to the people I least liked.
In the corporate setting the loving kindness tapes were perfect because it helped them remember to first LOVE THEMSELVES. In my own research (which I hope to share with you very soon), I discover that the secret ingredient to health management lies in our ability to be compassionate with OURSELVES.
That brings me to my next point….
2) Our population was in a high stress environment and they had forgotten how to take care of themselves.
I took it as an opportunity to subtly teach and to help them acquire certain skills to become self-compassionate.
(NOTE TO SELF: read more on compassion-focused therapy)
3) We chose the perfect time for this activity - their lunch break!
When else can you pull out a handful of employees and convince them to take a 15-minute nap? Lunch break was perfect.
Have you ever tried to meditate? Or to break away from your busy day to just REST? Phones down, lights off, eyes closed? I invite you to try it yourself. In fact, there are several types of loving kindness exercises you can find online. You can also search for guided imagery exercises on youtube. These should help you relax.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment in the box below. I’d be more than happy to share more with you
