Micro-breaks to support your nervous system at work…
Nervous system health is key to managing stress. Understanding your nervous system responses when you feel stressed and knowing how to resource yourself can be the difference between constantly coming under stress or being able to manage stress effectively.
We often wait until we have enough time or are in an environment that feels safe in order to release or relieve our stress. And by the time we get there, our immediate feelings of stress have usually dissipated.
It’s not always easy or appropriate for us to leave our desk or a meeting room when we’re feeling stressed, so I want to share 5 small things that you can do during the day to support your nervous system so you don’t have to wait until you get home…
1. Self-soothing
You’re in a meeting and the conversation is making you feel stressed. You can feel your heart starting to race and your stomach starting to constrict.
Try stroking your arm or placing a hand your belly to soothe yourself and bring your nervous system back to a sense of safety.
2. Clenching and unclenching your hands
If you’re feeling collapsed, stuck or numb at work start to gently clench and unclench your hands.
When we’re in a more parasympathetic nervous system state, we want to gently activate ourselves and get back into a state where we can move.
3. Doodling
With many of us working remotely, I often hear how we’re spending many hours in online meetings with our cameras off. This can make us feel disassociated from our teams or from what is being discussed.
Okay, maybe you should be taking down notes from the meeting, but doodling on a notepad can help to keep you somewhat present instead of shutting down or zoning out.
4. Find an anchor point
Before you start work, or before you go into a meeting, find an anchor point. It could be something that is on your desk or in the meeting room. It could simply be finding your pulse on your wrist.
Whenever you feel yourself losing concentration, procrastinating or zoning out, bring yourself back to this anchor point to regain presence.
5. Sip a drink
When we feel activated, taking a sip of a warm drink can help to soothe us. There’s a reason that having a cup of tea is said to solve any problem!
But seriously, sipping on a warm drink, preferably one that doesn’t contain too much caffeine can have a soothing affect on your nervous system.
If you do work in an environment where you are able to get up from your desk or leave a meeting room, here are 3 activities that will help to support your nervous system and relieve some of your stress:
1. Stretching
Not only is this a good practice if you are sitting at a computer all day, every day, but if your nervous system is feeling activated, stretching can help to bring the activation down.
2. Getting outside for a walk
Depending on whether you are feeling activated or collapsed, going for a walk in the fresh air can help to relieve stress. A brisk walk can help if you’re feeling demotivated or procrastinating. But if you’re feeling activated try a slow, mindful walk instead.
3. Meet a colleague or friend for a chat
Sometimes we need to have a rant or talk things over. Waiting too long and then reliving our stress can cause us more stress. If you are able to, arrange to meet a colleague or friend and get what you want to express out of your system. And if you can do it whilst going for a walk outside of your work environment, even better!
It can be tempting to turn to unconscious and habitual behaviours such as scrolling on our phones, reaching for sugary snacks, going for a drink or binge-watching TV shows, as a way to relieve our stress. These activities help to keep stress stored in our body and don’t give our nervous system the signal that our stress cycle is complete and that we are back to a more safe state.
When we are unable to bring ourselves back to a sense of safety within our nervous system we open ourselves up to chronic stress and the potential for burnout.
Understanding how our nervous system responds in times of stress and creating new ways of managing our stress responses are key in building long-term resiliency.
Building stress management strategies based on our unique experiences and needs can help to reduce stress and bring more balance to our lives.
I support individuals to create stress management strategies for modern life. If you would like more details on how this support could help you, please reach out to me.
Much love,
Harmesch x