Healthy Ways to Deal with Burnout: 4 Healthy Solutions to Keep Burnout at Bay

Are you looking for healthy ways to deal with burnout? If you're tired of dealing with low energy, poor productivity, resentfulness, or poor cognitive function, then you've come to the right place.

In this blog post, we'll discuss ways to deal with burnout healthily.

How to deal with burnout in a healthy way

Make healthier food choices 

Unhealthy eating habits and burnout go hand in hand. A study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that burnout leads to poor food choices which can impact energy levels, mood and lead to weight gain. 

In the study, researchers examined a group of 230 women. The findings were that women going through burnout had a higher weight gain, because of uncontrolled and emotional eating.

When you eat, your body utilises the food as energy your body. Your body then stores the excess food as fat, leading to weight gain and potentially chronic disease. 

When in distress, it's also common to partake in eating unhealthy snacks like deep-fried foods, cookies, chocolates and sweets. Researchers also found out that people going through burnout tend to eat more junk food than their counterparts who are stress-free (or at least actively managing their stress).

Start making healthier food choices today, by implementing the following habits;

• Snack on fruit & vegetable sticks between meals instead of junk food
• Make bigger meals during dinner, then carry some to work for your lunch, to avoid eating unhealthy deep fried foods during mealtimes
• Eat whole foods rather than processed food because they keep you fuller for longer & have essential vitamins and minerals. Examples here are; Brown and wholegrain bread, Brown rice, grains, legumes and nuts.
• Drinks not less than 8 glasses of water every single day. Aim to drink a little more if you live in a hot dry area. If you don't like the taste of water, try adding fruit and herbs to it or try a variety of herbal & green teas.
• Eat lots of green leafy vegetables.

Get adequate amounts of sleep every night

Burnout is one of the common causes of insomnia. Lack of sleep makes burnout symptoms worse because it causes the following;

• Irritability
• Anxiety
• Inability to concentrate

Quality sleep can go a long way into helping you deal with burnout. A study of 23 workers all suffering from burnout proved that sleep plays a major role in recovery. Here's how sleep helps deal with burnout symptoms;

• During sleep, your body goes into "resting" phase, which helps you regain lost energy during the day.

• While the rest of your body is at rest during sleep, a part of your brain stays active. The active brain part stores information that you've acquired during the day into long-term memory, which would be impossible to do without sleeping. 

Aim for 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night. Besides helping with burnout, sleeping will also help increase longevity, prevent chronic diseases, and improve your mental well-being.  

How to improve your sleep's quality

• Never bring work into your bedroom
• Set a sleep schedule where you sleep and wake up at the same time. It might be hard at first, but your body will eventually adapt.
• Ensure that your bedroom curtains are dark enough to keep out artificial lights from light bulbs in your compound
• Avoid taking coffee after 3 PM as it contains caffeine that may keep you awake for up to 6 hours.

Exercising

Exercise & enjoyable movement can help improve your overall wellbeing, helping you overcome burnout. Researchers noted the following after four weeks of observing participants suffering from burnout;

• A reduction in psychological distress
• Absence of emotional exhaustion 

Cardiovascular and resistance training exercises were notably helpful in relieving chronic stress. Here are examples of both types of exercise that you can try;

Cardiovascular exercise

• Biking
• Skipping
• Running
• Walking
• Swimming
• Aerobics and other dance classes

Resistance training exercises

• Push-ups
• Sit-ups
• Chin-ups
• Body squats
• Bicep curls
• Bench presses
• Shoulder presses

Yoga and meditation

Ancient culture's in India and other Asian cultures practised yoga to help them relax and improve their general well-being. Scientists have found that indeed, yoga can help improve physical, mental, and psychological well being, eliminating burnout.  

Yoga and meditation utilise a set of movements, postures and breathing techniques. The techniques work together to calm your mind, help you become more aware, and de-stress. 

There are a variety of simple meditation techniques. I like apps such as 1 Giant Mind and HeadSpace. Youtube is also filled with different breathing techniques that can help reduce levels of stress & help manage burnout.

Conclusion

When every day starts becoming a bad day at work, then it’s time to face the problem head-on. Incorporate a healthy lifestyle into your life, and start seeing improvements in your condition. Start eating healthier, exercising (& including enjoyable movement everyday), getting adequate amounts of sleep, and practising yoga and meditation today, to see noticeable improvements. 

If the healthy ways to deal with burnout above don't work for you, perhaps it’s time to see a specialist. Counsellors and qualified health coaches have the qualifications and experience to examine your case individually, and offer you solutions that will work for you.  

Acknowledgement: Carrie Eve Writer