When the sun disappears below the horizon and the moon makes its nightly appearance, I tell myself that I need to give my mind a break. Sometimes it’s from studying all day, doing chores around the house, working, running errands, whatever.
A break for the mind can mean many things, and we shall get into the different categories!
Watch your favorite videos
When watching your favorite videos, this can be YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, Instagram, any social media platform. It could also be your favorite show or movie. Just watching something that brings you joy is enough. I love watching my favorite YouTubers enjoy themselves playing a video game, having fun doing daily-life activities, doing DIY projects, you name it.
Sometimes, watching your favorite videos just allows your mind to be distracted from the rough day that you had.
Give your mind silence
If you have ever had a migraine, you understand the need for silence. It’s similar to when your brain has been on and running for HOURS! There would be times when I would take a break from studying, and I would look at my phone to look at YouTube videos. And you know what happened? I would get a headache from staring at a screen for hours!
I even have blue-light glasses and I could STILL feel myself getting a headache. Sometimes, the brain just wants to have silence so it can have time to decompress. So, I would recommend when you’re studying to at least give yourself a 5 minute no screen break. No iPad, phone, laptop, NOTHING!
Essentially, I want you to be bored for 5 minutes. If you can go for longer than 5 minutes, go for it! If 5 minutes seems as if it’s an eternity, try 1 minute and see if you can slowly increase the time. I know that being bored seems like it is, well… boring. But, I’m telling you, I have been able to get such amazing ideas from just being bored.
Go outside and be with nature
Now, if you want to be one with the Earth and be barefoot in the grass… you can do that! I mean, free will! I, on the other hand, would just go outside and listen to nature around me. I also like to admire the beauty of nature as well. Of course, I live in an area where I can easily be around nature. So, if you have the same accessibility, then I would recommend it!
There’s something so peaceful about closing your eyes and listening to the rustling of the leaves as the wind passes through them. To hear the bird’s tweet to each other and listen to their melodies. I also love to just feel the sun radiating on my skin. I love just being around nature, if you couldn’t tell.
There’s just something about being out with nature and allowing yourself to be lost in your surroundings. You don’t have to think about the project you’re working on, that paper you have due. It just melts away as you allow yourself to relax and enjoy the present. Now that I think about it, I think that’s just it! Nature allows me to just enjoy the present even more!
Going to bed!
I know! Going to bed and getting sleep actually helps your mind get a break! And the sleep people get is varied. Some people have to fall asleep with lights on, and I’m not talking about a night-light. I’m talking about a full on sun in your room. Some people like to have background noise as they fall asleep. That could be music, white noise, brown noise, tv shows, movies, etc. Some people like that background noise to be temporary (on a sleep timer) while some have them on a 12 hour loop.
You get my point… how people get sleep is very different. For me, I sleep in complete silence in the dark. For me, I have just noticed that if I leave a light on, tv on, or just background noise in general, the quality of sleep I get is nowhere NEAR the quality of sleep if I had zero lights and zero noises.
And there’s another factor that goes into getting good sleep: going to bed at a decent time. Now, the definition of a decent time is dependent on what time you fall asleep and what time you have to go to bed. Now, if you have to wake up in 3 hours and you’re just now falling asleep, I don’t know if your sleep will be the best. But if you need to wake up in 12 hours and fall asleep in 2-5 hours, you’re getting 7-10 hours of sleep!
I know that my sweet spot is at least 6 hours. If I don’t get at least 6 hours, I can function, but my brain has a literal lag.
Take a nap
Some people physically CANNOT take naps. I think I may be one of those people. However, if you are an individual that can fall asleep anywhere at any time, use it! Having that cat nap can do so much, and you need all the brain power you can get! That small amount of sleep can give the brain just enough of a break to be able to finish the rest of the day without crashing, lagging, or freezing.
For those individuals who are unable to take a nap, I would just recommend you try your best to stay awake until it’s time to go to bed and knock out. There have been times when I’ve just had to stick it out and feel groggy for the rest of the day, until the next day when I feel rejuvenated.
Read a book sir
When I didn’t want to sit in silence nor watch anything, I would go to my little library and find a book on my To-Be-Read list. Or, if I wanted to read something that I knew I would like, I would grab a book that I have already read and just reread it. Even though I have probably read the book 100 times, I still get the same feelings of excitement, embarrassment, and nervousness that I did when I first read the book.
Similar to going out in nature, you sort of just get transported into this realm the author has created for you. Whether it’s a murder mystery or a romance book, as long as it brings your mind peace, it’s good enough for me! I like to go through a fiction phase (mostly romance) and then a bunch of non-fiction books. I have a BUNCH on gut health, stoicism, etc.
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