Rest and relaxation - He Says

Yesterday, as I was heading back home, I realised that my phone was at one per cent – I had no choice and just had to wait for it to discharge.

But depleting battery found its contrast in my increasing pondering. What happens to us when we are tired? What is our recharging and more importantly, what is discharging for us?

This, admittedly, not-so-bright analogy made me start thinking about how we define relaxation. For me, “relaxation” entails playing video games, reading books, watching movies, playing table tennis or football and doing things that I like. However, if I add up the screen time and the energy it takes to do these actions, I feel that as enjoyable or healthy as these exercises may be, they don’t really count towards relaxing.

These actions sometimes lure us into a false feeling of rejuvenation and refreshment while not really making us feel mentally and physically more relaxed.

I believe that it is important to differentiate between the time we put into our hobbies and interests and the time we put into “charging” ourselves.

As much as it is important to dive into the former, every day, we are forgetting the importance of relaxing ourselves. This includes getting enough sleep and rest, listening to calming music (or rap, for me), meditating or even taking a break from the hectic lives we lead today to head for a spa, beach or a full-fledged holiday.

On a more technical front, relaxation in terms of psychology is the emotional state of a living being, of low tension, in which there is an absence of arousal that could come from sources such as anger, anxiety, or fear. To attain this state, it is important to establish what relaxes oneself and enforce those in a timely manner.

It is okay to be doing nothing sometimes and it is okay to not be productive always instead of just doing something that is exciting. It is important to take care of yourself and it is important to relax your brain and body!