5 Tips For When Your Brain Is Fried
So that other day, after a week of cramming for exams, assignments submissions, late night coffee binges and a routine worthy of some superhuman world leader, my friend managed to successfully walk into a perfectly visible door. Multiple times. And not notice till the next day that she had a bump on her head. Everyone has busy, hectic weeks, and we usually manage to stop before our brain is completely fried. But at times when you need to keep going till you drop, the following symptoms start to pop up: tiredness, slow responses, difficulty in concentration, irritability and sometimes chronic walking-into-things syndrome. Here are five things to do to ease back into a state of having a normal functioning brain.
No light, no light
Our bodies are accustomed to a certain light pattern – high intensity, bright lights tell our body that it needs to stay awake. So while your brain tells you to curl up and sleep till eternity, it does just the opposite. Turn down the lights, if necessary, be around dim yellowish lights and just try to fall asleep.
My favourite things
As prosaic as it sounds, a day only for you might be just what you need to get you back to your prime. This does not necessarily mean spending the day by yourself. Avoid work and worry, sit back and enjoy a cup of tea and read that book that you have been meaning to get to. Invite friends over and hang out with them, go out and get something good to eat. In short, give yourself a treat. This will not put you behind schedule, it will only make sure that when you start work the next day, you are charged up to handle it.
Let it go
Yes lists are amazing – the immaculate planning got you through the days when you wished there were 36 hours in a day. Now it's time to stop worrying, take a much needed break. Your body clock has its natural patterns, go back to those. That important thing that just MUST be done – forget it, the world will keep turning. Besides you are not going to get anything done when your brain keeps telling you that running around the streets shouting "the end is near" is the solution.
Sleepyhead
So you do not have the luxury of letting go of everything. That doesn't mean, you don't have a few 30 minute chunks in between. Use those to take 20 minute power naps - these will keep you sane enough to get you through the day. Your body is fatigued, the sleep will come naturally. Do this in small chunks, because if you end up sleeping too much, you will feel groggy. Have a cup of coffee, take a nap. It will take about half an hour to kick in, and that should wake you up.
In the end, the best solution is to not end up in a position that you are brain-dead and need to keep going. Schedule well, keep time for rest and do not overestimate your abilities. Till then, happy sleeping!
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