Many individuals thrive when incorporating regular routines and rituals into their day. Cultivating good rituals and habits can have a profound impact on various aspects of life, from physical health to personal growth and happiness. Routines provide structure, discipline, and a clearer path to achieving our goals and living a fulfilling life. Athletes have widely-varied pre-game rituals that help them get focused and dialed-in to perform at their peak levels. Many professionals follow detailed morning routines that prepare them for a positive and successful day at work. Even children tend to find daily routines and rituals comforting, where consistency allows for more predictable and enjoyable days. While we are often familiar with “start-of-day routines,” we often miss the equally-powerful benefit of “end-of-day routines.” Bedtime routines help prepare our bodies and minds for the best sleep possible. Research shows that a quality night’s sleep affects everything from body repair processes to brain performance, focus, mood, and overall health. Let’s explore the many things we can do to create a successful bedtime routine and get the most out of our sleep.&nbsp;<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Keep a consistent bedtime</h3>Go to bed at the same time each night to regulate your body’s internal clock. Research has shown that by doing this your body gets used to the consistent sleep schedule and naturally adjusts by feeling tired at about the same time each day. This in turn reduces the amount of time spent simply waiting to fall asleep, as well as the midnight tossing and turning.<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Wind down</h3>Spend 30 minutes to an hour winding down with calming activities like reading, taking a warm bath, or practicing relaxation exercises. It is so important for our brains to decelerate slowly, and process any wandering thoughts and stresses of the day. This is vital for a restorative night’s sleep. So choose an activity that you personally find relaxes you and and releases tension. Ending the night with something that makes you happy means sleeping with a smile on our face. How beautiful is that!<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Limit screen time</h3>Winding down also means avoiding electronic devices like phones and computers at least an hour before bed, as the blue light can disrupt sleep. This is often hard for many as the demands of work and life require longer hours. It can still be tempting to fall down the rabbit hole of endless social media and scroll for hours. This is where intentional mindfulness in our bedtime routine can have a major impact. Challenge unhealthy habits by replacing nightly screen time with a calm wind-down activity. Once you start to notice the positive impact on your evening and sleep, you’ll find maintaining a healthy bedtime routine without electronic devices much easier.<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Create a comfortable sleep environment</h3>Quieting the senses can also help prepare you for a restful sleep. A dark room signals the body to produce melatonin, a natural hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. A quiet room minimizes disruptions that can wake you or prevent you from falling asleep. Take simple steps to reduce noises from the outdoors, household activities, or electronic devices. When your environment is both dark and quiet, your body will find it much easier to enter and remain in the deeper stages of sleep, which are essential for feeling refreshed and rested. Lastly, adjust the thermostat for bedtime, since extreme temperatures can disrupt sleep patterns. This may be different from your daytime temperature. Experiment until you find an optimal temperature for the best sleep, since there may be different preferences in the same household. Make smaller adjustments with an extra blanket or room heater.<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Eat light</h3>It may be helpful to eat a light snack, or adjust your meal times and sizes to make sure you aren’t going to bed on the edge of hunger. Be careful not to eat heavy, spicy, or sugary foods right before bed, since they can be difficult or uncomfortable for your body to digest right before bed. Instead, opt for things like bananas, greek yogurt, almonds, whole grain toast, cottage cheese, oatmeal, or herbal teas. Cherries contain melatonin, and can be a great choice due to aid in sleep regulation. Make sure to consume any of these light snacks at least an hour before going to bed, and choose foods that are right for your personal preferences and dietary restrictions.<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Practice mindfulness</h3>Consider meditation or deep breathing exercises to relax your mind. Your mind needs to be at peace for the best sleep possible. Meditation is a great way to center yourself and focus on the present moment. This creates a calm center to prepare your mind to relax. Stressful or anxious thoughts not only make it nearly impossible to fall asleep, but also make staying asleep much harder. Set aside a mindful moment before bedtime to write down thoughts, good and bad; this is a great way to take a load off and prepare for bed. A gratitude journal can redirect your thoughts to a positive mindset conducive for quality sleep. Daily mindful practices are also shown to improve mental health, enhance self-esteem, and manage stress.Sleep rituals are important because they set the stage for restful, consistent, and high-quality sleep. They help align your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle, reduce stress, and contribute to overall physical and mental health. By prioritizing healthy bedtime routines, you can enjoy better sleep and reap a wide range of benefits for your overall well-being. Remember, too, that everyone’s sleep needs are different, so it may take some trial and error to find the routine that works best for you. For more tips on sleep, and even specific wind-down sleep stories, check out the Innergy App! Don’t wait any longer to get a restful night’s sleep!&nbsp;<h2 style="margin-left:0px;">Resources</h2>NIH News in Health (April 2021). Good Sleep for Good Health. newinhealth.nih.govWakefit (March 2020). Why you should go to bed at the same time every night. wakefit.co

sleep

Frame 3856.jpg

Content

Bedtime Rituals for a Better Sleep

Restful sleep is absolutely vital to a productive day. Research has shown a lack of quality sleep significantly affects your work productivity, focus, brain performance, mood, eating patterns, and overall health. We all crave getting enough hours of uninterrupted sleep consistently so that we can feel refreshed and function optimally during the day. Just being mindful about the environment we create to promote sleep can make a major difference in our overall sleeping patterns. One simple way to determine what changes may need to be made in our sleep environment is to think about each of our five senses, and how our sleep environment is affecting them. Sense of SightIf possible, dim your lights one to two hours before you sleep. Our bodies respond to darkness by producing melatonin, the chemical which helps create the feeling of sleepiness. Wearing an eye mask or darkening your room with window shades can help in blocking out excess light. Creating a restful state also means shutting off the computer and minimizing screen time a couple hours before sleep. The artificial light of electronic devices impacts our body’s circadian rhythm, a natural process that helps to regulate our sleep. Overuse of screens late in the evening can affect your natural ability to feel sleepy; unfortunately, this is a common pitfall for many of us. Be mindful, and limit screen time before bed.Keeping your bedroom clean and organized can also affect your ability to fall asleep. Visual reminders all around us of messes to clean, laundry to fold, and work to be done can detract from the good work we’ve done limiting harmful light. Dr. Salas of John Hopkins, points out that clutter isn’t just impractical, it actively stresses us out. A stressed mind is not conducive to a good night’s rest. An easy yet powerful way to minimize visual barriers to good sleep is simply to block out a couple quick minutes in your bedtime routine to tidy up your sleeping space!<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Sense of Hearing</h3>This one is easy. Just like distracting noises make it difficult to focus on work tasks, they also make it difficult to fall or stay asleep. A 2016 study found that participants had worse sleep in a hospital setting than at home, due primarily to the ambient noise level. Do you sleep in the quietest room in your home? Some people use a white noise machine to block out sounds they cannot control such as street noise in big cities. Depending on your family lifestyle, where you live, and any number of other dynamics, unwanted noise can be difficult to fully control. However, if it is keeping you from feeling well-rested in the morning, you may find it worthwhile to consider wearing earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones. Make sure as well to turn off your phone alert sounds before bed, and communicate with family members if necessary on how to be considerate with noise levels in the home while you are resting.<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Sense of Touch</h3>What our bodies find comfortable to touch and feel can also have a major impact on our sleep. Finding a quality mattress can be the difference between waking up comfortable and relaxed, and waking up with aches and pains from constant tossing and turning. What we sleep on is important, and an investment worth making since sleep makes up, on average, a third of our lifetime. Just like a comfortable chair can promote better focus at work, a quality mattress can promote more restful sleep. Good bedding and pillows are also vital. From material preference with your sheets to the firmness of your pillows, if you don’t feel comfortable, take time to research and experimenting until you are comfortable. Accommodating our sense of touch also includes being aware of ambient temperature. The National Sleep Foundation recommends a cool room with a temperature of 60-68 degrees Fahrenheit to promote quality sleep. If needed, turning on a fan or heater, opening a window, or adjusting the number and type of sheets or blankets can help dial-in the temperature in your bedroom to optimal comfort.<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Sense of Smell</h3>Some find the use of aromatherapy and essential oils helpful for calming bedtime routines and rejuvenating sleep. Diffusers are now convenient and affordable, and lavender essential oils can aid in decreasing stress hormones. Chamomile and peppermint can also promote sleep by decreasing anxiety and stress. The effect and benefits of essential oils vary significantly between individuals, so experiment but be willing to adjust. You can also seek advice from an expert that can give guidance on essential oils and how to use them.<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Sense of Taste</h3>Though we may not think about eating as part of our sleeping environment, it is important to address, since it can take 2-3 hours to digest any meal. Lying down immediately after eating a meal can lead to discomfort and difficulty sleeping. Be mindful of your meal times, and make adjustments as necessary. Drinking chamomile tea with dinner or during your bedtime wind-down routine can help relax the body and mind. Make sure to avoid drinking any liquid too late in the evening, however, since drinking liquids in large quantities late in the evening may disrupt your sleep with repeat trips to the bathroom. Also important to note is that while alcohol may act as a sedative, it can negatively affect the quality of your sleep. Caffeine should also be avoided late in the day as it is shown to negatively impact our ability to fall and stay asleep.Simple adjustments to your environment can have a profound positive impact on the quality of our sleep. Since the quality of your day is greatly dependent on your sleep patterns, we highly recommend investing appropriate time in optimizing your sleeping environment. With the Innergy app, you can find expert advice on how to improve sleep and optimize your ability to live a better life. You can even find a vareity of meditation techniques to incorporate into your bedtime routine and help with relaxation. Don’t forget: quality sleep is vital for a healthy mind and body.

Frame 3860.jpg

Creating the Perfect Environment for Restful Sleep

Meditation offers numerous benefits, from reducing stress to improving focus, enhancing emotional wellbeing, and promoting self-awareness. It can help cultivate mindfulness so that there is a better understanding of one’s thoughts and feelings. Many individuals find that regular meditation practice contributes to a calmer mind and an overall sense of balance in their lives. However, people often give up on meditation due to the challenges of maintaining consistentcy, unrealistic expectations, difficulty quieting the mind, or feeling that they’re not experiencing immediate benefits. It’s important to remember that meditation as a skill takes time to develop, and it’s normal to encounter obstacles along the way. Patience, guidance, and the right approach can help overcome these barriers. Here are a few tips to elevate your meditation practice.<hr><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Consistency is Key</h3>Regular practice of any skill is important if you want to improve skill and confidence. Learning to sit still, calm our mind, and focus on the present moment for an extended period of time takes daily practice. Our lives are often busy and over-stimulated, to the point that sitting still feels unnatural. Meditating daily not only creates a healthy habit, but also helps mprove technique. Just like physical fitness, meditation improves most reliably with consistent practice. Our minds, just like our muscles, needs to be trained. Set aside a regular time of the day where you can meditate without interruption – and then stick to it. Diligent routine quickly becomes a natural habit, as automatic as getting dressed or brushing your teeth.<hr><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Extend Duration Gradually</h3>There’s no need to start out with hour-long sessions! If you’re struggling with your meditation sessions, focus on meditating *consistently* for a shorter length of time in the beginning, slowly building on that as your practice increases in comfortability and routine. Just like a first-time mountaineer wouldn’t expect to climb Mount Everest their first day, it’s unrealistic to expect yourself to have a fruitful meditation for a straight half-hour the first time you meditate. Start for just 5-10 minutes daily and work up from there. Often people get discouraged because they can’t maintain their focus for an extended period of time. Just like any new skill, a step-by-step approach needs to be taken. Start with a shorter duration, and extend time gradually. Take notice of your increasing ability to manage thoughts and maintain focus. Celebrate those incremental achievements!<hr><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Be Comfortable</h3>One commonly overlooked key to sustainable meditation is simply this: be comfortable! Some of the best “meditation tools” are clothes that allow you to sit for your desired period of time without constantly feeling like you need to adjustyour position; wearing ill-fitting or uncomfortable clothing can be a major distraction, so be mindful of that. Don’t forget your environment either! Choose a quiet space with minimal inherent interruptions. Unexpected noises and sounds can easily break your focus, derailing the progress made in a daily session. Finally, choose a comfortable position which allows you to meditate for a long period of time without strain. Physical discomfort can hinder your ability to focus, making it difficult to achieve the mental stillness and relaxation that meditation aims to cultivate. Proactive choices about what you’re wearing, where you’re meditating, and how you’re sitting provide easy steps toward a more productive meditation.<hr><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Be Mindful Throughout the Day</h3>Being mindful simply means observing your thoughts and emotions without judgment. Practicing mindfulness makes it easier to be fully present in the moment. This heightened awareness can lead to clearer insights about yourself and your thought patterns. Practicing mindfulness may initially take a strong conscious effort in the beginning, but it will quickly become a more natural habit, and the benefits regardless of effort are powerful. Awareness of negative thought patterns, how they may be causing stress and anxiety, and hindering your focus and productivity, is a vital step in adjusting to a more positive mindset. A daily gratitude practice can also cultivate positive emotions. This proactive mindset can significantly enhance meditation practices and nurture inner wellbeing.<hr><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Choose a Mantra</h3>Choosing a mantra is another way to maintain focus on the present. Pick a mantra that holds personal significance, remembering that the power of a mantra comes from your intention and connection to it. Use your mantra consistently, and observe its effects on your level of focus and calm. Mantras can help deepen a meditation experience, as well as help extend the duration of sitting time. Mantra meditations are extremely adjustable, and can easily be used in a variety of real-life circumstances, as well as in combination with other meditation techniques. Choose a method that you feel comfortable with and works for you.<hr><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Be Curious and Do your Research</h3>Receiving knowledge from an expert can significantly accelerate progress when acquiring new skills. Experts possess in-depth knowledge, experience, and insights that can accelerate your own growth. Whether it’s reading a book, listening to a podcast, or going to a masterclass, save time and effort by taking advantage of others’ knowledge, techniques, practical tips, and strategies that have already been refined through experience. Interacting with someone who has mastered the skill can inspire you to continue striving for improvement, and stay motivated during challenging times. Meditation is an art, and it is important to approach it with an open mind so that your experiences can be more enriched.<hr>Just as with any skill, the success and impact of your meditation practices can be powerfully elevated through consistency, patience, and research. Above all, remember: don’t be too harsh in judging your efforts. Focus instead on developing consistent healthy habits – without being attached to the results. You may not notice the benefits of meditation right away, but it is important to not be easily discouraged; any worthwhile goal takes discipline and consistency. For more insightful knowledge on meditation practices visit the Innergy App and start enriching your meditation experiences today!

meditation

Frame 3859.jpg

Elevating Your Meditation Practices

In today’s fast-paced world, traveling across multiple time zones for business or pleasure is almost a given. Whether it’s that exciting vacation to a distant country or a critical business trip requiring a red-eye flight, the toll that these time zone shifts take on our bodies—and our sleep—cannot be ignored. Many employees experience the common aftermath: feeling exhausted, disoriented, and out of sync with local schedules.&nbsp;For people leaders, understanding the impact of jetlag and helping employees manage travel-related sleep disruptions can improve productivity, engagement, and well-being. The good news is that there are proven strategies for minimizing jetlag and adjusting to new time zones, ensuring employees can perform at their best during their trips.&nbsp;&nbsp;Understanding the Circadian Rhythm: The Key to Beating Jetlag&nbsp;Our circadian rhythm is an internal 24-hour clock that dictates our sleep-wake cycles. It naturally synchronizes with the day and night cycle, making it easy for us to wake up when the sun rises and sleep when it sets. However, when traveling across time zones, our body’s rhythm is disrupted, leading to jetlag and sleep difficulties.&nbsp;The good news? We can adjust our circadian rhythm to match new time zones, making the transition easier and reducing the impact of jetlag. Here’s how:&nbsp;How to Reset Your Circadian Rhythm: Simple, Science-Based Tips&nbsp;1. Focus on Sunlight Exposure&nbsp;One of the most effective ways to adjust the body’s internal clock is through sunlight exposure. Depending on whether you want to advance (shift to an earlier sleep time) or delay (shift to a later sleep time) your circadian rhythm, timing your sunlight exposure is crucial.&nbsp;To advance your clock (for an earlier sleep time), get sunlight 4-5 hours after your body’s temperature minimum (typically around 5:30 AM if you wake up at 7 AM).&nbsp;To delay your clock (for a later sleep time), aim for sunlight 4-5 hours before your temperature minimum.&nbsp;Sunlight exposure in the morning is key. However, once you miss the window, you enter a "circadian dead zone" where sunlight will no longer have an effect. Employees who need to adjust their sleep schedules for an upcoming trip should start adjusting their sunlight exposure in the days leading up to their travel to ease the transition.&nbsp;2. Use Physical Activity &amp; Meal Timing&nbsp;Exercise and meal timing can further help in adjusting the internal clock.&nbsp;Morning exercise (before 10 AM) can help employees fall asleep earlier at night.&nbsp;Late-night meals (such as eating around midnight) will delay the internal clock and may help employees stay awake longer if necessary.&nbsp;Encourage employees to incorporate exercise and mindful meal timing as part of their pre-travel routine to help adjust their body clocks before they even leave for the trip.&nbsp;Tips for Traveling: How People Leaders Can Support Employees in Managing Jetlag&nbsp;1. Provide Flexible Work Hours&nbsp;If employees are traveling for business, allow them to adjust their work hours around their travel schedule. Giving employees flexibility to rest and recover, especially after long flights, will help them better manage jetlag and be more productive once they arrive.&nbsp;2. Encourage Mindful Travel Routines&nbsp;Promote pre-travel routines that include adjusting sleep, exercise, and meal times to better align with the destination’s time zone. You can also suggest employees gradually shift their schedules (e.g., go to bed earlier or later in increments) to prepare for the time change.&nbsp;3. Create Travel Wellness Packages&nbsp;Provide employees with travel wellness kits that include items like sleep masks, calming teas, and hydration supplements. These simple tools can help employees relax during travel and improve their sleep quality when they arrive at their destination.&nbsp;4. Educate on the Impact of Travel on Sleep&nbsp;Ensure that employees are educated on the science of jetlag and its impact on performance. This can be included as part of travel training sessions or employee wellness programs. Sharing knowledge about how their bodies respond to time zone changes will empower employees to take proactive steps to manage jetlag.&nbsp;Supporting Sleep Health Beyond Travel&nbsp;Beyond travel, ensuring employees are well-rested during their regular work schedule is vital. Encourage a workplace culture that prioritizes rest and promotes healthy sleep habits to maintain high productivity levels. For example:&nbsp;Promote regular breaks throughout the day to avoid fatigue.&nbsp;<img src="https://p-strapi-portal-innergy.azurewebsites.net/uploads/BLOG_02_S_Leep_01_d3c426dd28.jpg" alt="BLOG-02_SLeep_01.jpg">Encourage workplace mindfulness or meditation to reduce stress and improve overall well-being.&nbsp;Provide resources for employees to learn about improving sleep hygiene, such as avoiding caffeine late in the day or creating an ideal sleep environment.&nbsp;By helping employees manage both the physical and mental toll of travel, you can support their productivity and overall well-being.&nbsp;&nbsp;Conclusion: Jetlag Doesn’t Have to Ruin Productivity&nbsp;Travel is an exciting part of the modern workplace, but the shift in time zones doesn’t have to be a barrier to success. By educating employees on the science of circadian rhythms, providing resources for mindful travel routines, and offering flexibility to recover after a long flight, people leaders can help employees adjust seamlessly to new time zones and stay productive—both on the road and in the office.&nbsp;Are your employees equipped to manage jetlag? Helping them balance travel and sleep could be the key to a more productive and energized workforce.&nbsp; <a href="https://calendly.com/innergyapp_demo/30min">Book a Demo with Us.</a>

BLOG-02_SLeep_02.jpg

Mastering Jetlag & Sleep Disruption: How People Leaders Can Help Employees Stay Energized While Traveling

When our life is balanced, we feel connected, fulfilled, happy, and peaceful. However, with busy work days and family life, we tend to put our personal needs and growth last. When we do get the chance to focus on our own development, we often default to looking somewhere outside ourselves for something that will complete us. At Innergy, we believe that everything you need can be found inside you; you simply need to get in touch with that inner energy (or “Innergy”).We work hard to make tapping into your inner energy more convenient and achievable for those seeking a holistic approach to health and happiness. The Innergy App is an easy-to-use all-in-one mobile app that provides expert advice and information on how to nurture your whole self – mind, body, diet, relationships, service, and more. How do each of these areas contribute to a holistic life of deep connection to your innergy?<hr><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Mental Wellness</h3>According to the World Health Organization, mental health is “a state of mental wellbeing that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn and work well, and contribute to their community.” There is no doubt that mental wellness brings more happiness, peace, work productivity, and focus.&nbsp; However, our society and fast-paced lives make it difficult to nurture and be mindful of our mental health and wellness.&nbsp; That is why we provide research-based information on all aspects of mental health, such as how to deal with stress, anxiety, sleep, and productivity, as well as suggestions and solutions to everyday issues that affect our mental wellness. In the Innergy app, you can find a variety of meditation practices and exercises that you can use to&nbsp; enrich your daily life. We feel everyone should have access to the &nbsp;information and techniques they need to live their best life!&nbsp;<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Physical Health</h3>Physical fitness helps improve brain health, manage weight, reduce risk of disease, and strengthen both bone and muscle to help improve our ability to tackle the requirements of daily life. Regardless of our intentions, it can be tough finding the time to identify sustainable fitness practices to keep our bodies moving in the midst of busy days. In the Innergy app, you’ll find a variety of workouts for all levels of fitness. Expert trainers will inspire you to reach your individual goals and get you to the next level. From yoga to HIIT workouts, dance, and even gentle stretching, there is something for everyone!<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Healthy Eating</h3>The benefits of healthy eating and nutrition go far beyond building strong bones and protecting the body from disease. Good eating habits and quality food help improve mood, focus, and overall wellness. This is why we work hard to provide research-based information on the value of nutrition and healthy eating, complete with hundreds of plant-based recipes from a wide variety of cuisines around the world. Healthy eating should be easy and convenient for everyone. A healthy mind first requires a healthy body. Easy-to-follow recipes complete with ingredients, directions, pictures, and nutritional value are all easily accessible in the Innergy app. Healthy eating really is achievable, and is a stepping stone to living a more productive life.<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Family, Work, and Community</h3>Building healthy family and community relationships is vital to holistic wellness. A big part of living a positive and enriched life is nurturing healthy relationships with family, friends, colleagues, and the community at large. Innergy provides strategies and research-based information on how to form positive relationships, resolve conflict, maintain strong family connections, and foster healthy relational habits in any environment. A variety of kid-friendly articles and recipes are incorporated throughout the app. Bringing up the next generation with the tools to live a happy and peaceful life is an important part of Innergy and our goal of holistic health for all.<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Service</h3>Multiple studies have shown the close relationship between happiness and volunteering.&nbsp; Selfless service, also known as ‘seva’ in eastern cultures, has been shown to connect us to others, increase self-esteem, gratitude, and optimism, and give us a sense of purpose. At Innergy, we stress the importance of service and provide creative and easy ways to volunteer and give back to those in need. Anyone can do ‘seva,’ so start today and watch your heart and compassion grow!&nbsp;<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Special Features</h3>As a specific mobile app, Innergy has the unique ability to personalize the user experience to match your particular goals. Powerful tools such as fitness and meditation tracking, gratitude and mood journaling, and many more will help you develop healthy and sustainable practices that will impact your inner wellness journey in many ways. Recording individual progress can help with reaching milestones in your health journey, as well as identify areas for ongoing improvement.At Innergy, all spheres of your health matter because they are all intertwined. A balanced life requires that you pay attention to your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Your holistic wellness requires appropriate attention to each of these facets, and they each need to be nurtured to live your optimal life. So awaken your inner energy today with Innergy!&nbsp;

Innergy

Frame 3857.jpg

What is Innergy?

Many find “hump day” to be a tough day for many reasons. From midweek fatigue to the simple growth of the workload from the beginning of the week can make Wednesdays busy and stressful. Successfully navigating Wednesdays signals the approaching weekend, when work stresses can be put aside for fun and free time. But how can we get through the midweek in a positive way, retraining our minds to stop dreading Wednesdays, but to celebrate them using practical recharigng strategies? Here are a few simple tips to help you find renewed energy and productivity to finish out the week.<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Take Short Breaks</h3>Short breaks can have powerful effects on how you handle the stress of a busy day. Research has shown that the consolidation activities that occur in our brains when we learn something new can occur while resting just as powerfully as they do while we sleep. Samantha Artherholt, a psychologist and clinical associate professor in the UW School of Medicine’s Department of Rehabilitation explains “allowing yourself downtime with minimal stimuli helps replenish your brain’s capacity for attention, focus, and creativity, and it allows you to process new information you’ve learned and tie it to other ideas.” Keep in mind, the effectiveness of a short break can be highly dependent on how you use it. Use your short breaks to engage in activities that are relaxing yet conscious, such as a walk outdoors or a brief chat with a coworker. A short break has powerful abilities to increase energy and decrease stress levels.<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Practice Mindfulness or Meditation</h3>Mindfulness involves paying attention to the present moment in an accepting, nonjudgmental way. It is a skill that can be practiced by anyone anywhere. Taking a minute to be mindful of the thoughts and stresses the day may bring can enable you to redirect thoughts to the present moment. Simply taking a few minutes to focus on our breath directs our attention back to the present, clearing the clutter in our minds. As a result, we trade worry and stress for greater focus and productivity. Meditation is a related practice which can bring awareness to our emotions and thoughts without being reactive. This leads to better emotional control and a greater sense of wellbeing. Often when we are overwhelmed, our mind tends to wander – worrying about the future, dwelling on the past, always thinking about everything but the present. Setting aside a few minutes for mindful meditation can help bring us back to the present moment when we find ourselves lost in our heads. Meditation is a skill that takes practice, but even the first-time beginner can notice huge benefits. Research has shown mindfulness and meditation are reliable methods for reducing stress in any area of life. As an added bonus, you will likely also find yourself exuding a far calmer and kinder energy!&nbsp;

Bedtime Rituals for a Better Sleep

Creating the Perfect Environment for Restful Sleep

Elevating Your Meditation Practices

Mastering Jetlag & Sleep Disruption: How People Leaders Can Help Employees Stay Energized While Traveling

What is Innergy?

Wellness Wednesdays: Midweek Strategies for Recharging