Mental Rejuvenation

What do you do about mental exhaustion? How do you stop thinking? You’d think that watching some mindless TV would work, but people often end up even more tired after a few hours. Reading? Maybe, but reading the newspaper can increase mental activity, and reading fiction can sidetrack your mental abilities like TV does. It’s really a personal thing.

What you need to do is see what isn’t working for you. If you’re mentally exhausted, then what you’re currently doing is not working. There’s no point in saying “Look at what is working for you”, because if something was working for you, then you wouldn’t be mentally exhausted. So you have to take the back road to it.

What isn’t working? Do you currently spend your evenings watching TV, trying to unwind? Are you still mentally tired? Then watching TV all night doesn’t work for you, and you should do something else. But what?

Here are some things to try. Give each of them a decent try – a week at least. Remember, you have to overcome your previous exhaustion. It isn’t just going to go away as soon as you find something that works. It’ll take a little time. It’s like exercising. You don’t get six-pack abs or a finely sculpted calf after the first exercise session. It takes a little time. So, give each of those things a try. If they work for you, great. If not, try something else.

Watch TV. Be careful what you watch. News or dramas may depress you. Comedies could leave you feeling empty, like cotton candy for lunch. Sports could excite you after an already exciting day. If one doesn’t work, try something else.

Listen to music. Again, be careful what you choose. A lot of music is designed in order to evoke a mood or thought in you, and if you choose incorrectly, the wrong mood or thought could upset your attempts at relaxation.

Read. Again, take care what you read. Something too heavy could tax your mind. Something too light could not get your mind off its troubles.

Meditation.

Walking. Take your mind off everything with a walk, and not on a treadmill, but somewhere that the scenery changes, even if it is at a gym or the mall.

Puzzles or crafts or other hobbies that use your hands but not your mind, or at least not the part of your mind that you use for most of the day.

Creating, especially if your job is not at all creative.

If the main portion of your day is not creative, creativity may be what your mind needs at the end of your day. If the main portion of your day involves the creative portion of your mind, then relaxing that part may be exactly what you need.

You need to relax your mental muscles in order to get them up to full energy. For full energy, you need both times of stimulus and times of relaxation. Give them to yourself.