Winter is almost over in this part of the world, and as I make a valiant effort to transition into daylight savings time, I realize that this is an annual stressor. Every year life seems to accelerate into high gear when the clock springs forward. I find myself in a rattled state of confusion playing catch up to make up for that measly lost hour. This year I realized that I am not alone. The change to daylight savings time is a stressor for many of us both professionally and personally. It is an hour that is out of place.

The clock movement changes the balance between personal time and professional responsibilities.  Even though the hour difference is a yearly occurrence, to many workers it is another adjustment in a demanding business year. The recession has been a formidable challenger to “business as usual.” Managers and employees have been required to stretch themselves to the limit and are expected to be grateful that they are not part of the unemployed. With daylight savings time we gained more daylight hours but initially lost an hour’s sleep. The time will be absorbed, as it is every year, and the worker will adjust but at what personal cost?

The current trend in business is to produce more with less. If we look at the statistics, American’s are working more and relaxing less than most industrialized nations. It is imperative that workers take personal responsibility for stress relief. Stress is a leading culprit behind heart attaches, strokes, diabetes, depression, and high blood pressure. Since money issues are the pink elephant in many households, stress relief has taken a back seat or is a luxury people think they can’t afford. In reality they can’t afford to ignore stress relief without dire consequences.

Here are a few ideas that might help you relax and lose some of the stress you have been holding on to lately. Feel free to try one or more solutions to get your life back in balance.

• Walking /Running    * FREE*
  Explore your neighborhood
  Visit a local park
  Check to see if a local mall will allow mall walks during non business hours
  Local public school tracks
  Lunchtime around work area

• Bike riding

• Water Exercise
  Swimming (YMCA, gym, community pool)
  Water aerobics classes (YMCA, gym, community pool)

• Organized Exercise
  Aerobics classes (YMCA, gym, school/community)
  Yoga (gym, studio, school/community)
  Tai Chi (gym, studio, school/community)

• Sex
  Safe, responsible sexual interaction

• Journaling
  Write down your thoughts, dreams, aspirations, irritations for your eyes only

• Laughter/Humor
  Rent/buy humorous films to watch and laugh out loud
  (Examples) Wedding Crashers, 40 Year Old Virgin, The Odd Couple, BIG, When Harry Met Sally, Bells Are Ringing, Trading Places, Pink Panther, There’s Something About Mary, What’s Up Doc
  Go to a local comedy theater

• Read  (lose yourself in the words)
  Fiction, non-fiction whatever strikes your fancy
  Books on tape
  Kindle

• Music/Dance
  Get an iPOD and download songs you like by your favorite artists
  Dance to the songs on your iPOD
  (Example) Any Motown, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Bob Marley

• Social Interaction
  If you like people plan a BBQ, game night, date night with significant other

Stress can be a silent killer. An hour’s sleep loss does not seem like much on the surface but add that to job stress, family stress, financial worries and it can build to a dangerous overload. It is not selfish to investigate ways to relieve personal stress and then indulge yourself when you find a suitable outlet. Balance in life is the key to longevity and good health. Next year when daylight savings rolls around we’ll be prepared.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 20th, 2010 at 3:58 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.