(BPT) - If you feel like the stress of work is making it difficult to relax and unwind, you are not alone. Earlier this year, the American Psychological Association found that 79% of Americans experienced work-related stress leading to emotional exhaustion and physical fatigue.
Research shows that prioritizing wellness-minded activities, such as taking a vacation for yourself or your family or taking up a new fitness or meditation routine, can help avoid burnout. While finding the energy to carve out some 'me time' may seem challenging, the effort can make a difference in the long run. In fact, a Hilton survey found that 41% of Americans report experiencing burnout when they go too long without a vacation and agree that relaxation begins as soon as they turn off their 'out of office' email response.
Feeling a bit worn down? Here are five ways to disconnect, rejuvenate and recharge.
1. Rethink the 9-to-5 grind
For those who work from home, consider taking a break from your home office to work in a more relaxing environment. Integrate fun into your workday by taking your laptop to a park or setting up a home office on your deck or patio. Or, for those who have days filled with back-to-back in-person connections, consider scheduling a personal break to take a moment to disconnect and recharge.
If flexibility allows you to work from anywhere, try a working vacation. Many hotels have adapted to remote working guests, offering solutions on how to both work and vacation in appealing locations. For example, at Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Casino, you can rent a beach Power Palapa, complete with a charging station, laptop cooling pad, sunshade privacy cover and a power bowl with hydrating aloe juice or coconut water and bottled water. Here, you can spend the morning taking calls and typing reports with ocean views, and when the workday is done, you are mere steps from vacation bliss.
2. Plan regular weekend getaways
If you cannot work remotely from an exotic locale, consider planning weekend getaways throughout the year, creating a sense of anticipation and excitement in between work projects and responsibilities. Whenever possible, it's also best to plan them ahead of time because just the act of planning a trip can help to alleviate stress and boost happiness.
You don't have to travel far to reap the rewards of travel. Whether using a full tank of gas to get to a new destination or simply getting out of your everyday routine by booking a getaway to a neighboring town, new surroundings will have you breathing a sigh of relief. Some hotels are catering to guests needing a change of pace by providing complimentary bicycles for exploring, packing picnics for you to take to a park or offering cooking classes, wine tastings and cultural programs so you can learn something new.
3. Unplug
Sometimes a weekend just won't do and you need to disconnect to combat burnout completely. To reduce stress, anger and depression, and improve sleep, consider turning off your phone, unplugging your TV and devices and treating yourself to a digital detox.
For a true detox that will juice up your internal batteries, seek out special digital detox programs. For example, Waldorf Astoria Berlin offers a digital detox experience with phone-less activities like a guided morning run, relaxing neck massage and Zen-filled mind and body yoga sessions. Alternatively, if you really want to detox, the 30-day 'Live Life' sabbatical experience in the remote Galapagos Islands is a fully immersive, natural adventure sure to provide the reboot you need.
4. Think outside the box
It's no secret that mind and body wellness treatments can do wonders. Whether practicing yoga or indulging in a massage, the proven stress-reduction of these activities has resulted in companies adding wellness programs to ward off employee burnout.
Create a quiet space at home and practice a form of wellness that soothes and calms, or turn to local outlets like yoga studios and spas. Incorporate wellness into a getaway and double down on the transformative effects by staying at properties with a boundary-free wellness concept, such as the highly tailored, ayurvedic and innovative treatments found at Conrad Los Angeles.
5. Take the stress out of planning
According to the Hilton survey, 85% of people agree that booking an all-inclusive resort is the best way to reduce the stress of planning and more than one-third feel mentally refreshed on vacation when they don't have to worry about leaving the resort during their stay. So, when all else fails, book that all-inclusive or extended trip. Take less time thinking about it and more time traveling to a new country, trying a new culture's cuisine or experiencing new, outside-of-the-box wellness activities.
No matter which of these five tips you take, invest in your well-being and don't let work become your whole life. If you need additional inspiration or suggestions for vacations and getaways, visit Hilton.com and start dreaming about your home away from work.
