This Hormone Expert Has Found The Antidote For Burnout

Be honest: When was the last time you took a break when you felt like you needed one? Do you pause when your body asks for permission to do so, or do you push through?

Let me share this story about one of my best friends. I think we can all relate. She was going through a busy time at work, and she was determined to keep pushing until her to-do list was done. Instead, she found herself cranky and irritable. She felt like she was spinning her wheels—and growing increasingly more frustrated. Late one day she texted me to say she was raising the white flag and just “had to cave.” So that’s what she did, literally. She crawled under the covers, retreated for an hour, and emerged a new woman.

What a wonderful metaphor for this common but avoidable situation. How often do you push when you really need to cave, even though you feel burnout is drawing near?

Though we as a society have glorified busyness, it doesn’t help us do more. It seems counterintuitive to step away from our work in order to improve focus and productivity, but consider the tale of Archimedes, the ancient Greek mathematician and physicist tasked with finding a way to measure density. He racked his brain for a way to determine whether the king’s crown was pure gold without harming it. It was only when he lowered his weary body into the tub that his “Eureka!” moment happened. The lesson? Rest gives our mind the time and space to connect the dots and process our experiences. (Score one for self-care!)

We tend to think that the answers and our productivity come from hard work and pushing through, but that’s only one part of it—and working without a break carries a hefty price tag. Another very important part of work happens while we’re resting. Rest is when we allow our brain to take away the strain, so integration can happen. Integration and consolidation take place when your brain is working behind the scenes to organize, process and file information. Sometimes this allows solutions to appear in ways they don’t when we’re just pushing through.

We underestimate and undervalue the importance of self-care and stopping. We love to pat ourselves on the back for staying up until 2:00 a.m. or being so busy we forget to eat, but it’s just because that’s what our culture has come to value. It’s not making us healthier, happier, or more productive.

Creating a natural rhythm in your day is quite simple, and you can start to feel the impact almost immediately. I don’t actually set an alarm to remind myself to take breaks, though you might want to start with one if you are accustomed to overriding your natural cues. (Whether you do 90 or 120 minutes is up to you, as is whether you take 10 minutes or 20 minutes for your break.)

On a fundamental level, the ultradian rhythm and this “work smarter, not harder” mindset comes down to paying attention to your body and mood. As you start to practice this new rest-work cycle, you’ll start to tune in to what your body really needs to keep your energy steady and your focus sharp. If I’m working on a project and I start to feel distracted, I try not to push past that. I use that as a natural signaling mechanism from my body that it’s time to pause.

It’s not enough to simply stop working during these breaks. You actually need to reset, not deplete yourself further. If you use your time to scroll through Instagram, read the news, or pay your bills online, your brain doesn’t press the reset button. Social media and other online tasks aren’t changing your brain focus—you’re still wired into the computer. If you’re distracted because you “need” to Facebook, do it for a minute or two, but then shift to something different—offline. Don’t use that time for more of the same. And while 15 to 20 minutes is optimal, even five minutes helps.

Practicing meditation, deep breathing and other activities that create a more mindful, relaxed mood are perfect for these short breaks. These practices also stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, relieving that sense of strain and creating more integration in the brain.

Make “work smarter, not harder” your new mantra to combat burnout, boost energy, and beat brain fog every day.