When Your Mind Gets Blurry, Hit the Reset Button
Feel better, think better, work better.
I glance at the digital clock in the upper right corner of my screen. 12:33 p.m. The space around me is delicately filled with Asian background music. It’s my current favorite playlist to work from home. It makes my mind travel. My stomach is starting to feel a bit empty. But I won’t eat for the moment.
I have something crucial to do first.
I’ve been focusing on my work all morning. Mostly writing. My morning was what you might call productive. I need to rest my mind, especially if I want to be able to work in the afternoon.
A few months ago, it was almost impossible for me to work after lunch. I just wasn’t in the mood. I couldn’t sit down and focus. I felt tired, tense.
Now I can concentrate just about as well as I do in the morning. Thanks to a little personal tip.
I press the reset button.
It’s as if a brand new day begins
I turn off the screen, quickly tidy up my desk and get up from my chair. I put on a pair of shorts and a sports T-shirt. I fill my bottle with fresh water mixed with lemon and head to the living room.
While I open Netflix, I lace up my trainers and sit down on my indoor bike.
I bike for 30 minutes to an hour, depending on my energy level and motivation. While watching an episode of my favorite Netflix show of the moment.
The first 10 to 20 minutes are the hardest. My body is resistant to training. It has just sat down for the previous 4 hours. The transition is difficult. But as the first drops of sweat start to flow down my spine, it gets easier.
Suddenly, it happens.
I start to feel the weight I had on my mind going away. Like a pile of dust blown by the wind.
I can feel my mind calming down. It’s getting lighter. I am relieved of the tension I have accumulated in the morning. I can think clearly again. I see everything in a different light.
It’s one of the best feelings in the world.
All this thanks to the benefits of physical exercise for the brain (source):
During exercise, as the heart and lungs work overtime, the body drives more oxygen and blood to the brain, leading to elevated oxygenation, improved cerebral blood flow and brain angiogenesis — the growth of blood vessels.
Research shows that higher levels of blood and oxygen in the brain lead to improved cognition and better function of the prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain responsible for decision-making and reasoning.
Despite being a form of physical stress, exercise can assist relaxation. It reduces the levels of stress hormones in the body, like adrenaline and cortisol. It also encourages the release of endorphins, which are chemicals that the body produces to reduce pain and improve mood.
When I’m done, I feel like a completely different person. My body is relaxed. Free of negative tensions, full of positive vibrations. I feel good about myself. I feel my mind calm and positive. It’s like a whole new day is beginning.
I take a quick hot shower, prepare a healthy meal, and sip my early afternoon latte.
This is the first reset button. It’s also the most effective. But the second one, although the opposite, is not bad either.
How about taking a power nap now?
Instead of cycling, I also sometimes go for a run, or simply lift weights at home. Then I go back to work.
Except that there are days when I don’t feel like going back to work right away.
Sometimes I feel tired. So I lie down under a warm blanket, set a 30-minute alarm, and fall asleep. I wake up full of energy and not at all groggy.
As science explains, a short nap is a light sleep episode that causes the brain to produce beneficial relaxing waves and allows you to recover without falling into deep sleep. The heart slows down, breathing also slows down, and on waking, the ability to be alert and concentrate is restored, as are mood and brain performance (source).
I don’t take a nap every day. I could, but I just don’t feel the need.
By pressing the reset button at noon, you turn a tiring day into two short, dynamic days. Suddenly you can do more. It’s like starting all over again.
You’ll probably see your productivity and ability to focus improve. If you’re like me, you’ll also feel happier. Regular physical activity is a great way to release tension. I’m a completely new person since I started training every day.
I am calmer, more composed, more able to think clearly.
And I feel good in my body.
Combined with a nap, it is a real explosive cocktail for the second half of your day. Want a sip?