De-Stressing After A Busy Week- How To Make The Most Of Your Weekend

Make the most of your weekend by de-stressing after a busy week. Relax, unwind, and enjoy your weekend with no stress.

Many of us get to the stage in the middle of the workweek where we just long for that small bit of respite at the weekend, only for it to roll around and then be over far too quickly. Often, we allow the weekends to get away from us by filling them up with absolutely nothing.

While this can feel extra relaxing and tempting, a weekend of doing nothing because you’ve been so busy is only going to feel like a waste once Monday comes around again. Instead, try to find some exciting or engaging de-stressing activities that you can do during the weekend to really make it feel like a longer, refreshing break.

Get Outdoors

Memorable experiences help to trick us into feeling as though a period of time was longer than it was, or at least, not as short as it would have otherwise been after doing nothing. Not only is getting outside a great way to create some interesting memories with friends and family, but it’s also very good for your mental health.

It’s actually been documented that being out in nature reduces cortisol levels in your body. This hormone is what makes you feel stressed, and spending just a short while on a nature hike or riding your bike through the park can remedy those stress levels significantly.

Recenter Yourself

Actively striving to reduce your levels of stress is an ideal goal for the weekends or even during the week before you work or after you finish a shift. A great way to attempt this is to take some time out for yourself and try meditation. The ultimate goal of meditation is to reduce your stress levels by focusing your mind essentially on nothing. Spend some time in a quiet space and shut out the worries of the day ahead, or of the day that’s just gone by, and remember that a lot of the things we worry about are beyond our control.

Allow yourself around ten to thirty minutes to just detoxify your mind. There are plenty of guided meditations out there, whether you’re sitting still or doing it as part of a yoga session. Yoga can be even better for de-stressing, especially if you struggle to shut off your mind, as you can focus on the exercises.

Eat Good Food

Our diet is linked to our mental health in that poor gut health can lead us to feel depressed, and poor mental health like anxiety can cause discomfort, bloating, and cramps. While it can be very tempting to just order pizza once the weekend rolls around, try to avoid greasy, unhealthy meals and instead spend some time making your own healthier meals.

Not only will this provide you with some time where you’re being productive, but you’ll also be able to control what you put in your body much better. A tasty treat every now and then can also help to raise your serotonin levels or happiness hormone. Just don’t rely too much on snacking to make you happy.

Practice Self-Care

Like meditation, spending time practicing self-care is a good way to de-stress your mind and help you focus on other things in your life. Following on from a busy week at work, try out these self-care ideas from A Clean Bake to really improve your mood and help you to forget about the week behind you. As well as helping deal with stress, self-care routines have been shown to be effective in combatting anxiety and depression while also helping you to improve your concentration and allow you to better handle stressful situations in the near future.

Spending some time each day to tackle important tasks that you’ve been putting aside, or even just reaching out to your friends for a social call, can all help you to refocus your mind and allow you to handle the week ahead.

Reduce Screen Time

Excessive screen time has been linked to an increased risk of depression and other health problems. Reducing the amount of time you spend staring at either a phone, the TV, or a computer monitor will help you reduce that risk significantly.

Many of us can easily rack up more than half of the day looking at screens, especially if we use one for work. Allocate some time in your evenings to avert your gaze from your screens by taking a walk or getting some other form of exercise. You could also choose to read a book instead or listen to some music.

Use The Power Of Music

It’s agreed by many that music can have a very deep and profound impact on our minds and wellbeing, influencing the way we think and feel. Certain memories can be linked to music. Such as the song that was playing in the background when you first met your partner or one that was played excessively during a particularly enjoyable vacation with your friends.

As well as the link to memories, the music itself, especially instrumental music, can touch our very core, causing a plethora of feelings to erupt from within. Put a playlist of your favorite tunes on, particularly those that encourage feelings of joy. Then close your eyes and switch off for a while.