Dr Bev

Co-owner, The Burnout Queens

The Burnout Pups Weekend Wisdom

3paws are better than 1Well the weekend is upon us again and our little burnout boy as always, is getting in on the act.  When decisions need to be made about how to chill out, we always take a vote…and of course, he just cannot resist himself…

If you want to succeed, 3 paws are better than 1″ he says… 

Enjoy whatever it is you’ve decided to do this weekend.  The Burnout Queens & Pups xx xx

The great little nap

catnapimages

The need to catch up on sleep is on every woman’s lips these days.  Between juggling kids, aging parents, home, chores, work, and who knows what else, the last thing we experience is proper sleep.

We hear many women laughingly talk about being forgetful, misplacing the keys, forgetting their own heads if it wasn’t screwed on straight!   All signs of little sleep and one of the symptoms of burnout.

So bring on the power nap!?  I read this little article in RealAge the other day and thought I’d pass it on.  Give the advice a try—I know one of my clients swears by napping!

Improve Memory with a Power Nap*

You could improve memory skills with this brilliant little habit: power napping.

In a study, people who took a power nap after learning a new task performed 50% better than the non-nappers when they were later given a test on the task.

Power Nap, Total Recall

The process of making memories is complicated. And new memories are the most fragile. But in the study, researchers discovered that nappers who got quality deep sleep (slow-wave sleep) during their naps learned new material much better compared with the sleep-deprived participants. Scientists think something about deep sleep helps new memories encode into higher brain regions where memories become more permanent.

Something About Sleep

Getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night is a good health goal. It boosts your immune system, helps control stress levels, and may even be essential in keeping your heart and other body parts healthy. And a power nap every now and then can be a good way to catch up on lost ZZZs — not only to improve memory and keep your mind sharp, but also to help you reach your immune-system-supporting, stress-reducing [optimum].

*(from Improve Memory with a Power Nap – RealAge.com)

Ps: at the end, not included here, it said proper sleep can trim 1.5 years off your real age!  I’m in, night-night ladies

The Burnout Queensxx

Thinking like Marlene Dietrich

marlene dietrich

Filling up your schedule because you thrive on being busy or you just don’t have another choice between the demands and challenges of home and work can wear you out and wear you down. 3 words come to mind:  exhaustion, irritation and burnout.

Making time for yourself, having solitude, is beneficial to both your physical and mental wellbeing. Spending time alone can improve stress and tension, enhance creativity, and aid problem solving.  Even personal relationships can benefit from you taking some time alone.

Obviously then, taking guilt-free downtime is definitely worthwhile. Miss Dietrich knew the benefits of ‘being alone’. Now let’s find ways you can benefit from your own alone time:

  1. Make solitude a regular part of your day or week. Schedule periods of time for yourself that you can count on.
  2. Maybe you already have times in your day when you are alone, taking a shower, walking the dog. Treat these as opportunities to relax rather than seeing them as “chores”.
  3. Taking the bus or tube instead of driving to work can offer a brief respite from stress and time to catch up on reading or listening to music.
  4. If you work outside the home, make lunchtime your digital downtime by leaving the mobile phone at the office

These easy solutions just take a decision to create less pressure and more ease in your life. Go for it.  All you have to lose is the exhaustion, irritation and burnout!

Grab life by the crown!

The Burnout Queens xx

1 52 53 54 55 56 76

Photography: Caroline True Photography | Illustration by Veronica Miller | Site Design: Kim McDaniels | Disclaimer