“Do you always think about work at night during your bedtime or, find yourself keep thinking about work at 3 am?”
Achieving work-life balance is particularly important when our jobs are stressful, it is a vital way to make sure that we are both mentally and physically healthy.
Knowing how to stop thinking about work after your working hours at night is important to prevent burnout from work. Maintaining boundaries between our personal and professional lives, and keeping work-based thoughts out of our heads at night is an essential way to maintain healthy sleeping patterns and a wholesome lifestyle.
Why Is My Mind So Busy At Night?
At night, your brain struggles to relax as it is struggling to process all the information that happens during the day. Stress and anxiety thought that happen during the day can lead to a high level of “stress” hormone in your body that prevents your mind from relaxing, thus leaving your mind busy at night.
For most of us, work is an important part of our lives which can be a rich and fulfilling way to spend our days doing things that we are passionate about and making a difference in the life of others. But sometimes, it is not easy to keep our working and personal lives separate
Achieving a work-life balance is not only important for your mental and physical health, but for the people close to you as well.
Work-life balance means that you can mentally switch off from work when you are at home and be fully committed to the people you love and the things you do, including sleeping.
How to Not Think About Work At Night All The Time
The quickest way to stop thinking about work at night when you are trying to sleep is to get out of bed to help you reset your mind from being stuck in a mind loop. Relax on your couch or practice some simple meditation will probably calm your nerves and allow you to get back to sleep easier.
There are many ways to avoid thinking about work at night. These include being organized during the day, practicing mindfulness, exercising, getting into the outdoors, and creating a personalized bedtime routine.
Here is everything you’ll need to know to stop yourself from thinking about work at night when you’re not on the clock.
1. Be organized at work
Being organized at work is a great way to make sure that you don’t have any lingering worries once you have finished work for the day.
Not only will you feel a sense of accomplishment, but it will reduce the chance that you will think about work at night.
A great way to get organized is to develop a foolproof schedule. Not only will you know what you need to achieve and how long it might take, but your anxiety levels about work should lower because you have less to worry about.
Being organized is a habit and the more you practice, the better you’ll get.
2. Complete your workplace to-do list
For many people, intrusive night-time thoughts about work are caused by anxiety and stress.
If you feel like you have not completed what you needed to finish, you will worry about getting it done.
It might seem ‘easier said than done, but if you have a defined list of tasks to complete each day, and manage to complete them before you finish work, you are less likely to have something to worry about outside of work hours.
3. Clear your mind and be mindful
Having a clear mind is a great way to manage unwanted or intrusive thoughts. There are many ways to clear your mind such as exercising, going for a brisk walk, listening to your favorite music, reading a book, and having a stimulating conversation.
Techniques such as these fall under the umbrella of the term ‘mindfulness’, which is a way of living that ensures that you are mentally present in what you are thinking and doing.
Don’t worry, there are lots of ways to get started on your mindfulness journey. Take your time and see what might work best for you.
4. Relax to your favorite tunes
Music is more than a pleasing arrangement of sounds that make us happy or want to get onto the dancefloor.
According to research reported by Johns Hopkins Medicine, music engages our brain in such ways that we have lower levels of anxiety, lower blood pressure, a better quality of sleep, better moods, improved memory, and mental alertness.
If you put on some of your much-loved tunes, you are well on your way to a mindset where you are better able to banish unwanted thoughts at night.
5. Have your friends around
Life is about enjoying the time we have with our loved ones, family, and friends. Not only does it enrich our experiences, but it gives us something to look forward to.
And it’s more than just enjoying our time together. Recent research published in Psychology Today indicates that having a heartfelt conversation about what might be troubling us – be it at work or in our personal lives – will help lower stress and anxiety levels.
Such conversations are also good for our health, improving immunity and promoting stable physical and emotional health.
6. Take a technology break
For many of us, staring at a computer screen for 8 hours every day is the norm. This is difficult to avoid in the workplace but once we are away from work, it is a great idea to give our eyes (and fingers) a break from the technology.
- Average Americans spend 7 hours and 4 minutes looking at a screen every day.
Research published by the UW School of Medicine and Public Health shows that when we spend too long on our electronic devices, we can become overloaded with information which can lead to insomnia.
While this might bode well for our professional lives, it can be a problem when we want to unwind and relax.
Average person living in the United States spends an average of 44 years of their adult life staring at a screen.
| Screen time per device | Daily | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Laptop | 4hrs 54 mins | 1,788 hrs 30 mins |
| Phone | 4hrs 33 mins | 1,660 hrs 45 mins |
| TV | 4 hrs 30 mins | 1,642 hrs 30 mins |
| Gaming device | 3hrs 12 mins | 1,168 hrs |
In the past, the average person living in the United States spend:
- 17 hours 57 minutes staring at screens per day
- 6259 hours and 45 minutes staring at screens per year
- 261 days spent staring at screens per year.
| Screen time per device | Daily | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Laptop | 5 hrs 10 mins | 1885 hrs 50 mins |
| Phone | 5 hrs 9 mins | 1879 hrs 45 mins |
| TV | 5 hrs 2 mins | 1837 hrs 10 mins |
| Gaming device | 3hrs 45 mins | 1368 hrs 45 mins |
Now, the average person living in the United States spends:
- 19 hours 6 minutes staring at screens per day
- 6971 hours and 30 minutes staring at screens per year
- 290 days spent staring at screens per year.
Nowadays, people spend one whole month more looking at the screen compared to the past, which explains why more people find it harder to fall asleep at night.
Reducing screen time and taking a technology break can be challenging, but actively reducing the amount of time we scroll through our phones or check our emails is a great way to keep our minds focused on the present and not on what is going on at work.
7. Get relaxed
It can be hard to find the time in the evening to relax. We might have chores to do or even young children to look after. However, it’s important to make room for rest and relaxation. For some of us, this might be getting into a warm bubble bath, surrounded by scented candles. For others, it might be curling up on the couch with a good book.
And if you are one of those highly-strung people who have trouble relaxing altogether, there are plenty of resources out there that might help.
Remember, if you de-stress, not only will you benefit mentally and physically, but you will be invigorated for the next working day.
8. Get outside
Recent scientific research has found that taking the time to get into nature as much as possible has measurable physical and psychological benefits.
It is known as eco-psychology and research has shown that you need as little as 2 hours in nature each week to benefit. It could be a hike in the woods, a stroll on the beach, or even a picnic in the park.
This means that you get the benefits of nature for as little as 20 minutes a day. For those of us who are time-poor, especially in the mornings and evenings of the working day, it is achievable and enjoyable.
So, grab the dog and get out into the great outdoors! It’s a sure-fire way to improve your mental health and keep those work thoughts at bay.
9. Get your heart pumping
When you exercise, the increased heart rate and blood flow encourage your body to release endorphins into your bloodstream. These chemicals help to promote feelings of happiness and joy, as well as reduce pain and anxiety.
It doesn’t matter what type of exercise you choose, only that you enjoy getting your muscles moving. Not only will you get the physical benefits of regular exercise, but you will feel better mentally and emotionally, making you more capable of eliminating thoughts about work.
10. Create a relaxing bedtime routine
For many of us, thoughts about work make it very hard to get to sleep. If you have trouble clearing your mind for sleep, creating a personalized bedtime routine might be the way to go.
There are many ways to develop the bedtime routine that works for you. Why not try:
- Taking a warm shower or bath while listening to some relaxing music
- Taking the time to meditate
- Having a quiet chat with your loved ones
- Telling your children a bedtime story
- Reading a book?
It doesn’t matter what you do to relax, as long as it allows you to reduce your heart rate and think calming thoughts. You can even practice some mindful techniques like muscle relaxation exercises, counting exercises, and breathing exercises.
The most important thing to remember is that you need to stay away from technology at least 60 to 90 minutes before you plan to head to bed. This allows your eyes to relax and your brain to filter out the information that you have been processing.
Why You Should Not Think About Work At Night
Thinking about work outside of office hours during times of scheduled relaxation will lead to an increased level of stress. When you think about work at night, you will become more anxious, which will impair your ability to make good decisions, and more importantly, it will lead to poor sleep quality, which can have detrimental health effects like poor cardiovascular and mental health.
Thinking about work can also negatively affect our personal relationships, which might suffer if we are too distracted by work to enjoy the time that we are not actually working.
A good level of work-life balance is important regardless if you are working a 4-day work week or a traditional 5-day work week.
Time away from the workplace is important because it:
- Allows us to de-stress
- Allows us to spend time with our loved ones
- Allows us to spend time doing what enriches our lives
- Allows us to attend to our day-to-day chores
- Allows us to unwind and recharge, ready for the next working day
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