Rest, Relaxation and Sleep

A key facet of long-term stress
is the way that people can sustain intense levels of stress for a
while, but then burn out.
Burnout is
something that typically affects people who are highly committed to
the work they do, probably much like you. When these people are
faced by a stressful situation, more-often-than-not they respond
with complete commitment, by working intensely hard at resolving it.
To do this, they will work all hours, cancel vacations, and cut back
on sleep, all to make more time to tackle the problem.
If this is short-lived, then negative effects will be minimal and
success will often be spectacular. If this hard work is sustained
for a long time without relief, these people increasingly risk
burnout.

Rest and Relaxation
Rest is what we do to let stress subside. Rest
at the end of a day, and at the end of a week, helps us to calm
down.
Doing fun things that we enjoy in our leisure time compensates us
for the unpleasant stress we experience at work, bringing some
balance back into life. This is particularly important if we
routinely experience unpleasant levels of stress.
A good way of getting rest and reducing long-term stress is to take
up an enjoyable, non-rushed sport or hobby. If you spend all your
working day competing, then can be very pleasant to be completely
noncompetitive for some of your free time. Slow physical activities
such as sailing or walking are good for this, as are others where
there is little or no pressure for performance. Reading novels,
watching television or socializing can also be very restful.
Vacations are particularly important, and you really do need to take
these. Where possible, take two weeks off rather than just one week.
A common observation that people make is that they really do not
start to relax properly until the end of their first week of
vacation.
Make sure that you take your vacations and that you use them to
relax. Also, make sure that you get enough good quality rest during
the week to keep on enjoying life to its fullest.
Sleep
On average, people need eight hours sleep a night (although this can
vary between three hours and eleven hours, depending on the person
and his or her age).
If we are regularly short of sleep, then our concentration and our
effectiveness suffer and our energy levels decline. We have all
experienced this.

This diminishes our effectiveness in our job, and can therefore
increase stress. As our concentration wanders, we start to make
mistakes. As our energy declines, we become less proactive in what
we do, reducing our control over events. This means that a situation
that is already difficult and stressful can become worse, needing
even more sacrifice to bring it back under control.
Make sure that you get enough sleep. If you have become used to
being tired all the time, you will be amazed by how sharp and
energetic you will feel once you start sleeping normally.
Warning: Stress can cause severe health problems and, in extreme
cases, can cause death. While these stress management techniques
have been shown to have a positive effect on reducing stress, they
are for guidance only, and readers should take the advice of
suitably qualified health professionals if they have any concerns
over stress-related illnesses or if stress is causing significant or
persistent unhappiness. Health professionals should also be
consulted before any major change in diet or levels of exercise.