Hello,
I am Dr.
Jan Moller and welcome to this talk on how to prevent negative stress and burnout.
Managing stress does not mean eliminating stress.
It means maintaining an average stress level that enhances health and work performance.
This is called positive stress.
In order to achieve it,
We need to create a rhythm between the time we apply to activity and the time we apply to rest.
Nature has already suggested a rhythm,
Giving us the day for being active and the night for resting.
But the way most of us live and work,
This natural rhythm is not functioning very well.
We work too much and rest too little,
Which means we wake up in the morning still stressed and tired.
And the stress and tiredness keep on accumulating until our body or mind or emotions start reacting with pain,
Fatigue,
Anxiety and a host of other negative stress symptoms,
Which in turn can create disease and burnout.
Since the natural day and night rhythm is no longer enough to prevent the stress from accumulating into negative stress,
A useful stress management strategy is to add an extra rhythm between activity and rest during the day.
Based on scientific research,
This rhythm should be about 5-10 minutes rest every 1,
5-2 hours of activity.
Scientists have found that after about 90-120 minutes of intense mental activity,
Our brain becomes tired and many of its cognitive functions such as focusing,
Concentration and creativity are weakened.
So in order to maintain maximum brain capacity and work performance,
You need to learn to take regular breaks during work hours,
But not any kind of break.
Having a coffee and looking out the window is ok as a break once in a while,
But in order to give your brain the rest it needs,
The best is to do a relaxation exercise.
This kind of break is called a power nap,
And that is what you need to do around 10 in the morning,
At noon and around 3 or 4 in the afternoon,
Maybe even managing to doze off for a moment when you do it.
If you start doing this,
I can guarantee you that within a very short time you will experience many positive changes as a result of lower stress levels.
The important thing is to avoid that the day becomes a continuous activity.
Imagine there are people who don't even take time to go to the bathroom,
Or they keep on working while eating their lunch.
So now you know that the most intelligent way of managing your energy and prevent burnout is to avoid the accumulation of stress by interrupting your activity with a power nap at least 3 times a day.
And please,
If you are a team leader,
Don't allow any meeting to last more than 2 hours without taking a break.
Those eternal meetings,
Of 3 or 4 or maybe more hours,
Are counterproductive.
Your team members get tired and lose their focus,
And end up feeling exhausted and demotivated.
In addition to practicing taking breaks with a power nap,
You might also want to take a look at your work habits to see if you might need to make some adjustments as part of your stress management strategy.
Are you an organized person and do you know how to set priorities?
Do you know how to delegate tasks to others?
Do you know how to say no and set limits?
Do you take work with you home?
If you are used to very long working hours,
Try to start with leaving work one hour earlier than usual once a week,
And then you try the same 2 or 3 days a week.
And you will see that you still get the important work done,
And the business is not going bankrupt.
And what about your lifestyle?
Do you do any physical exercise?
Do you get enough sleep?
Do you really relax on weekends?
Are you taking your vacations?
If not,
See what changes and adjustments you can make.
I am sure there are some things you can do to improve your situation.
And remember,
You cannot expect different results unless you do something different.
Thank you so much for listening,
And good luck with your stress management.
