How to turn off your brain from work during vacation

How can you ensure you return from vacation feeling refreshed and relaxed?  Business Optimizer looks at top tips for clearing your mind during your vacation.

Commit to yourself this year: these vacations turn off your brain, clear your mind and let positive energies fill in your head.

Here’s how to do it.

#1. Don’t let work creep in.

Leave your laptop and tablet at home and keep your phone switched off.  Allowing your whole family, a digital detox can be one of the most rewarding ways to get the most from your vacation.

#2. If a digital detox isn’t realistic, set the ground rules before you go.

If it isn’t realistic to be entirely unavailable for your colleagues, set boundaries with your boss and co-workers before you go.  Ask co-workers for help to take the pressure off and try to keep any work in the evenings, so family time remains sacred.

#3. Ease yourself in slowly

Don’t put pressure on yourself to relax – take things at your own pace.  Evidence shows that your immune system can take a hit if you go from full-on to full-stop suddenly.  Avoid this by winding up and winding down your activity levels on each side of your vacation.

#4. Don’t overpack your schedule

Keep your schedule light, especially if you are traveling overseas to somewhere you’ve never been before.  Culture shock and sensory overload, plus tiredness from sightseeing trip after sightseeing trip can be draining.  Give yourself time to relax as well as a tourist.

#5. Eat and drink healthily.

It can be easy to over-indulge on vacation, especially if catering is all-inclusive, but you don’t need to eat out every night.  Drinking too much and overeating can deny your brain the rest it craves.  Look for healthy options, keep alcohol consumption low and consider whether a detox day is feasible.

#6. Sleep!

Far too many of us don’t get enough sleep.

Plus, stress and overwork can have their own negative impacts on our sleeping habits.

A vacation offers the perfect opportunity to catch up on sleep, get your full seven hours, and reset your circadian rhythms to a healthier schedule.

#7. Exercise

Fresh air and exercise are great for boosting energy levels and your mood, as well as helping with improving sleep.  When you’re stressed, exercise can be the first thing to disappear from your schedule, so a vacation is a great time to get back into healthy habits.

#8. Try new activities

Why not try something new for an extra boost to your mood?  A change is as good as a rest, and a vacation gives you an excellent opportunity to do both at once!

#9. Choose the things that make you happy

Returning to activities that made you happy as a child is a beautiful way to bond with your children.  Vacations should be packed with as many smiles and fun as possible, so make sure the whole family shares in doing the things that put smiles on your faces.

#10. Balance powers

Allocate days where different family members choose what you do and where you eat – this way everyone feels empowered and everyone has an opportunity to do the things that make them happy.

At the end of the day, everyone can make time to say what they enjoyed about each activity, reinforcing the sense of empowerment and feel-good factor.

Vacations are vital for your health, wellbeing, family life and relationships – so clearing your mind and turning off your brain while you away have many benefits.