7 tips on how to relax over the weekend one
Text: Ksenia Tatarnikova, author of the Smart Cookie blog
WONDERZINE launches a new column on how to properly rest over the weekend in different life circumstances. Simply put, we give advice for all occasions - what to do so that by Monday morning not to feel overwhelmed and not to be ashamed of the meaninglessly spent weekend.
What to do on the weekend, if you are alone? Not alone, but alone and with a great desire to recuperate the energy spent during the week. There are plenty of plans, but every time everyday stagnation flows over the weekend and repeats Groundhog Day. One day you should try to act according to plan. For example, this:
Change appearance and social circle for a while
When you live on one algorithm for years, the picture of the world is blurred, and the joy of each passing day leaves. Wait with reproaches in banality: psychologists have established that even clothes can completely change our attitude and behavior. For example, if you ask a person to wear a white coat, he will automatically perform the assigned work more carefully. Timid girl, dressed in tomboy style, straightens her shoulders and feels more confident.
It is possible to arrange cardinal reforms not only in clothes, but also in behavior and social circle. If among your friends and acquaintances there is a person whom you obviously or secretly admire and would like to learn something from him (for example, to make connections and communicate easily with people, to manage a household or business) - become his partner for a day. Watch, learn and help.
Digital detox
A typical weekend scenario: as soon as we open our eyes, we go online and sit in it all day. Researchers talk about real addiction - every new photo, text, status update stimulates the release of the pleasure hormone dopamine, and it prompts to go back to the social network again and again. As a result, the brain feels overcrowded and chaotic, suffers memory, the ability to create and plan, communicate live with loved ones, friends, make new acquaintances - we autistic, we leave. Mood swings, fears, phobias, depression - also pay for the habit of "blunt Facebook".
Digital detox (temporary exclusion of all electronic devices from life) is a proven way to protect the brain from information intoxication. The rules are the same as with food detox. Start in advance - every day of the week, reduce your time on the Internet by 15 minutes. Do not take a phone with you when you go to dinner, and do not put it next to the bed - buy a regular alarm clock. Digital detox is better to appoint for a day free from work, when you belong to yourself and you can relax. Choose the sites or applications that you spend the most time on, and ask yourself: what makes you so attracted to them? Try to find them a replacement in real life. If you are inspired by art photos on Instagram, go to the art gallery. If you sit out hours in fitness blogs, arrange a run or ski trip.
In the evening, when you turn on the phone again and a stream of filtered photos rushes at you from your friends on Facebook, remind yourself that social networks reflect only the most beautiful moments in the lives of others. Most of them are far from being radiant and remain behind the scenes.
Sport
Most of us treat training as a bitter medicine: hard physical labor in exchange for health and a slim figure. Few people think that the body is initially programmed to enjoy the movement (hence the expression "muscular joy"). After 40-50 minutes of intense exercise, the brain begins to produce cannabinoids - substances like those containing marijuana. They relieve anxiety, pain and create the so-called runner's euphoria ("runner's high"). Athletes describe it as a feeling of complete relaxation, pure delight, harmony with oneself and nature, "as if you are swinging on the waves of happiness." Women between the ages of 18 and 63 may experience orgasm during physical training. Here is the ranking of types of fitness by increasing pleasure: walking, jogging, cycling, yoga, strength fitness, abdominal exercises.
In the next weekend, try to workout as if it is a reward in itself. Concentrate on pleasant sensations during exercise. Finally, one more inspirational argument of Jane Fonda in favor of sports: “Perhaps the quickest way to clear the mind is to put the body in order. Throw your thoughts out of your head and keep yourself focused on the body.”
Creative date
If the words “trip to the exhibition” or “excursion to the theater” reduce your cheekbones, try creative dates. The author of the term, American director and screenwriter Julia Cameron, wrote a bestseller on this subject - "The Way of the Artist" (by the way, a great idea for reading at the weekend). Choose one of your favorite activities (a visit to the art supplies store, spa, Italian lesson, forays into nature, an ordinary walk through the park) and go on a date with him. It is important not to take anyone with you for company and not to force yourself out of hand. On the contrary, in a creative date there must be spontaneity and time for yourself and what you sincerely love. You do not need to be equal to anyone and look around, the more you behave like a child, the more ideas and insights comes to mind.
Arrange general cleaning
Cold, darkness, dirt and chaos in the house, lack of sleep provoke bouts of gluttony - proved by scientific studies. And at the weekend, as a rule, overeating reaches a peak. Start a weight loss program not with a diet, but with general cleaning. Distribute or discard unnecessary items. Buy beautiful bedding and try to sleep at least 7 hours a day. If you are cold, wear more soft things.
Listen to the music
Ten minutes of good music can play the role of effective meditation and, in addition, act on the brain as cardiovascular training: the vessels strengthen and the work of memory and imagination improves. Develop a sense of music - there is a melody in all sounds around us, we just used to consider them as noise.
Cosmetic procedures
A day off is an ideal time for spa treatments. If the budget is quite small, you can restrict the massage. In a good salon with a massage offer free access to the hammam and swimming pool. You can spend a full cycle of cleansing and nourishing the skin, relax muscles, relieve stress, reduce cellulite and swelling. To enhance the effect, eat at a minimum on the day of the salon visit (prefer light dairy products, vegetables and fruits) and drink more water. After the massage, spend the rest of the day in relaxation and tranquility - no urgent meetings and parties.
Illustrations: Masha Shishova