Micro-Breaks ~
What are they and how do I take one?
I first learned about micro-breaks when I was working with a sleep specialist about a year ago. I learned our sleep cycle starts the moment we wake up. So if you can get yourself into direct sunlight upon waking, (or near a lamp if you are like me and live in upstate NY), it will kickstart your circadian rhythm and get you clocking Z’s versus counting sheep come bedtime.
Taking micro-breaks throughout the day can help prep our bodies for sleep by keeping our nervous system in a regulated state. Making it a lot easier to shift into sleep mode if we are already in that “rest and digest” or parasympathetic state. It’s a lot to ask of our bodies if we have been in frantic “fight vs. flight” sympathetic overdrive all day to on command suddenly fall asleep.
So what are micro-breaks exactly and how do I take one?
Micro-breaks and mindfulness go hand in hand. They are intentional moments throughout the day where you bring the mind into the room with the body so to speak and take inventory of what is happening in your present awareness. Some examples of micro-breaks that help regulate the nervous system are:
Gentle movements like swaying the body
A putting your arms up over your head
Breathing in through the nose for the count of 4 and out the nose for 6
Breathing in as deeply as you can for as long as you can and just when you are about to exhale take one last big breath in then big exhale out through the nose
A gentle hand massage
Noting something in nature
Noticing your surroundings with loving observation
Walking softly around your space (even a bathroom break counts!)
Drinking water
Viewing a pleasing or calming image
Feeling the warmth in your heart when thinking about a loved one or treasured animal/pet
Reciting an affirmation (i.e. “I am excited for the miracles of the day.”)
Please feel free to comment and share some of your own preferred micro-breaks or how it is going/ what you’ve noticed if you have since started taking some!