Getting Back on Track
Five Tips on Returning to a Healthy Routine after Summer Vacation
Feeling sluggish after summer vacation and headed back to work? It’s common. Vacation is a time to relax and unwind, to let go of daily routines. Many people indulge a little more on vacation, not paying too much attention to what they eat or drink. While some people catch more Zzzz’s, others do a lot less sleeping as they enjoy more activities until the wee hours. And that’s ok. But now that summer vacation is over, here are five simple tips on how to get back to a healthy routine as you return to work.
· Catch up on your emails. Hopefully, you have turned on the automatic out-of-office replies before going on vacation and there aren’t too many emails in your inbox. But if you haven’t or there are many, here’s what to do. Firstly, relax. Take a deep breath. Don’t think you must answer everyone on your first day back. You may have angry emails sitting in your inbox if someone’s been waiting for a response from you for 2 weeks. Don’t hit “reply” until you’ve given yourself a moment to relax. Secondly, arrange emails by urgency and answer the most urgent ones first. Then give yourself a few days to answer the rest.
· Get back into your healthy eating routine. Eating habits tend to be relaxed during summer vacation time as we live in the moment. Whether you’ve indulged or enjoyed new flavor sensations, returning to a healthy eating routine doesn’t have to be boring. Go ahead and continue to explore new flavors by introducing new and healthy choices to your meals. Add veggies and fruits to your meals – even at breakfast. Stir up some veggies into your omelet, add fruit pieces to your salad, bring a home-cooked lunch to work instead of ordering in. Pack healthy snacks that you can enjoy during the day. Value your lunch break – don’t sit and work on your computer while eating; take a necessary physical and mental health break from your desk. And one more thing: don’t skip meals.
· Stay hydrated. Being and staying hydrated is very important. Your body depends on water to survive and for every cell, tissue and organ in your body to work properly (including your heart, brain, muscles, and joints). A healthy person needs between 30 to 50 ounces of fluid per day.
· Prioritize sleeping. While sleep requirements vary slightly from person to person, the average adult needs between 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night to function well throughout the day. Children and teenagers need even more sleep. And while our sleep needs decrease with age, most older people still need at least 7 hours of sleep.
· Get moving. Exercise works wonders on that post-vacation lethargy. If you had a routine before the vaca, it’s time to get back into the swing of it! If not, it’s time to consider one. Yoga is a wonderful way to start the day – stretching sequences add to your physical and mental well being. Whatever you choose to do as a physical routine, ensure that it’s joyful movement so that you’ll want to keep it up.
