Stay balanced
Create a balance
Our mental immune system, known as resilience, helps us to cope with everyday life. It thrives when there is a constant balance between movement and relaxation. Alternating between tension and relaxation is key to well-being, motivation and performance.
Exercise stimulates blood circulation and metabolism, helps to reduce stress hormones and releases feel-good hormones. At the same time, it distracts us from everyday life and provides a feeling of liberation. Taking breaks and time to relax is just as important for resting the body and mind and recharging the batteries.
The more energised we are, the more large and small breaks we need to take. What provides the best balance depends on our everyday lives: People who exercise a lot can relax on the sofa afterwards – those who spend a lot of time sitting, on the other hand, tend to get recharged from movement.
Have you been severely restricted by psychological stress for several weeks? This may indicate an illness. Please do not hesitate to seek professional help. You are not alone!
Exercise
Humans are designed to move: Our 650 muscles and 206 bones need to be used regularly to ensure we feel our best. This keeps you physically and mentally fit, making it harder for illnesses to take hold.
Just half an hour’s brisk walking, on the way home for example, provides noticeably beneficial results. Climbing stairs or taking short exercise breaks in between gets the circulation going and relieves tension. Endurance sports such as cycling, jogging or swimming refresh the mind, improve concentration and lift the mood.
Starting anything is hard at first. Begin by integrating short bursts of exercise into your everyday life: more trips on foot, errands by bike, take a walk in the evening. Getting some exercise actually helps you feel less exhausted after work and take your mind off things.
Just half an hour’s brisk walking, on the way home for example, provides noticeably beneficial results.
Relaxation
Relaxing is not just a nice luxury, but provides necessary balance in everyday life, preventing mental and physical exhaustion. So working breaks into your routine is worth it. They should be part of a healthy everyday life since they prevent you from becoming exhausted and give you strength for new tasks.
For example, taking lunch in the canteen instead of at your desk or going for a walk in the fresh air not only creates physical distance from your work, this can change your mindset in a short space of time and help you come up with new ideas. Even taking small breaks in between working on intense tasks have a similar effect – so stand up briefly or lean back for a moment.
Although you have many duties to attend to, don’t forget to make time for your hobbies. It’s best to plan fixed times for this when you don’t allow distractions. This is also helpful advice when it comes to the longest relaxation phase of the day – sleep. We need seven to nine hours of sleep every day so that the brain can process experiences, create new connections and carry out “maintenance”.
Exercises to do in between work
After an hour of sitting, your body needs a quick movement break. Standing up briefly to stretch and sprawl out like you do after waking up can give you a noticeable amount of energy back. If your eyes feel tired, you can look for a point in the distance to concentrate on for a few seconds.
If you feel the need to relax a little, sit down comfortably, close your eyes and let your mind wander through your body: “My arms are relaxed and are getting heavy. My shoulders are heavy and are hanging down loosely.” You can then bring movement back into your body by circling your hands and shoulders.
Tensing individual muscle groups one after the other and then slowly releasing them again relieves tension and reduces stress. The best place to start is with the feet.
We encourage participation in certified exercise and relaxation courses, which can take place both online and in person. You can have a look at the offers to choose from at the bottom of this page.
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