The Importance of Recovery Part 1: Stress management and recovery

Recovery is an important factor in staying healthy because rest and proper sleep control the natural  body functions, such as metabolism (fat and glucose metabolism), operation of the nervous system and the brain and all building and recovery that goes on in the body. 

Normal body functions help maintain a strong immune system and allow you to accomplish your tasks throughout the day. After a good night’s sleep, stress management and stress tolerance improve because the nervous system has rested. During sleep, information is organized, processed and saved. This influences memory, logical thinking, deduction and creativity. Sleep also has a significant impact on mental health as well as mood and emotion regulation.

According to the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, a person’s day must consist of 30 % recovery in order to be able to perform the next day.  Energy, efficiency, precision and meticulousness at work are higher when you are well rested. However, a night’s sleep alone is not enough to guarantee a sufficient recovery because sleep is not always continuous or good. In order to guarantee sufficient recovery there should be a couple of breaks (about 10-15 minutes) in a day in addition to sufficient sleep (7-9 hours). Breaks and high-quality recovery make stress management easier.

Photo: Antti Koskinen

It is a good idea to schedule some breaks (10-15 minutes) in a day to enhance recovery. These can be for example

• naps
• listening to relaxing music or relaxation exercises
• quiet walk
• breathing exercises
• reading a book or a magazine
• doing something you like
• leaving your work station
• taking a moment to calm down before going to bed

Such recovery breaks bring rhythm and energy to the day and increase the overall amount of recovery in a day. Developing one’s stress tolerance enhances good and recovering sleep during the night as your mind is relaxed and work-related stress does not bother your sleep. It is a good idea to start calming down already before going to bed because starting the recovery before actually falling asleep deepens the sleep once it has started and improves the recovering quality of the sleep. Everyone is responsible of taking care of their own recovery and well-being. By taking care of recovery and stress management you can keep your stress on the right level.

Stress management

Good stress helps you keep active and meet daily tasks. Stress management makes recovery easier because the brain has had a chance to process information and the nervous system has rested. This way one’s psyche can take more stress and is able to function logically even in demanding situations. The feeling of being in control and purposeful scheduling also improve stress management. Everyone should be able to participate in planning their daily schedules and work.

Ways to improve stress management:

• healthy lifestyle
• being in good shape
• perceiving and scheduling the overall work process in advance
• sharing responsibilities
• dividing the work into smaller sections
• listing done and undone tasks on paper in the order of deadlines at the end of the day
• being aware of the essential things that need to be done, preparing things in advance, purposeful planning and scheduling and reserving enough time
• building the days to support your well-being (taking eating and breaks in to consideration)
• scheduling extra 10-15 minutes for meetings
• taking a moment after projects to reward oneself for the good work before starting the next project.

Photo: Antti Koskinen

A way to cope with the stress is to perceive it as a project, so the duration and demands of the projects should be known in advance. After a work project it is a good idea to stop for a moment and go through what was accomplished. This helps diminish stress and achieve satisfaction for the work. The same method has been used in sport training with athletes for a long time. The aim for athletes is to outdo oneself and reach the goals that have been set. The effort, development and the reached goals are then evaluated and the process and the factors influencing the result are reviewed. After this, the athletes take a week for rest and recharge their batteries before planning the next stage. The way of working towards one’s goals as if it was a project is something that can be taken from sports to work environment.

Healthy lifestyle (sleep, food and exercise) enhance recovery and coping. In sleep the body recovers from the day’s strain and gathers up energy for the next day. Sufficient rest has a big influence on healthy lifestyle and the day’s energy levels. When you are feeling energetic it is easier to stay active, eat healthy and workout. Efficient exercise that requires concentration increases the body’s activeness and gives energy to accomplish work tasks throughout the day. Exercise enhances stress management, release and tolerance in a significant way.  Calm and restoring exercise before going to bed can impact the body’s recovery and the quality of sleep in a positive way. When your training is regular, progressive and purposeful, the actual progress happens when your body is resting and well-nourished.

Occupational Health Coach Eveliina Naulo
MY WAY ATHLETICS OY