Bouncing between work and studying has never been easy, especially in the world of speed and progress. More and more technologies are invented each year, encouraging students to plan and win. Yeap, defeat is unimaginable. But what if the rat race takes a great toll on your wellbeing? What if, instead of listening to the lecture, you keep snoozing again and again? Unfortunately, you might be experiencing burnout.
Below you’ll find signs that will help you detect burnout at the earliest stage.
What is Burnout?
Burnout is a state of deteriorated physical and mental health. This results in worsening well-being and is commonly caused by prolonged stress. If you forgot to order essay on paperwriter.com and kept working on your college project all night, no wonder you feel exhausted. In a state of constant stress, your body mobilizes all its resources and focuses on the completion of urgent tasks. If you work without a rest, your body has no time to renew its energy. In the end, burnout is your body telling you ‘I had enough.’
How can one prevent stress and burnout?
- Work-and-rest periods. Set a thematic Pomodoro playlist to remind you of 5 or 10-minute rest each hour;
- Sports activities. There is no need to hit the gym 7 days a week if you don’t want to. Keep your exercise sessions moderate, and you won’t feel physically exhausted;
- Meditation. Install a meditation app like Insight Timer to keep your psyche calm. Meditation will certainly improve your concentration skills;
- Work-and-life balance. Sitting behind the library desk for hours does no good to your brain. Meet with your friends to unwind from work and household chores. Remember that timely rest boosts productivity without damaging your health.
So, which are the exact signs of total burnout? Sure, they will differ from student to student. But the basic ones are the same for everyone. Check them below.
#1: You’ve Turned into a Daydreamer and Procrastinator
Your day has just started, but you’re doing everything to avoid writing that essay. You find yourself browsing through sunny destinations on travel sites during lectures or at the library desk. Meanwhile, exploring ticket discounts and checking BnB destinations is your new form of procrastination. If you can’t stop dreaming of Maldives, time to plan a trip of a one-week stay at home.
#2: Your Eating Habits are Out of Order
Is McDonald’s your new favorite place to dine? Are pizza deliveries getting more frequent in your house? During stressful periods, your body burns fat actively. This means you eat more because your body needs to store energy in the fat tissue.
You might experience cravings for sweets and greasy food. This is the mechanism your body uses to restore its lost energy. Hence, subconscious cravings for foods rich in calories.
#3: You Gained Weight
Remember that evil cycle when the body burns more fat but, in the end, stores even more fat? Yeap, this is how you gain weight. In contrast to popular opinion, prolonged periods of stress lead to increased weight gain rather than weight loss. All because the stress hormone called ‘cortisol’ makes your body store fat.
Saw the tummy area get bigger? Yeap, this is cortisol doing its job. Once you reduce your stress levels, your body will work magic and burn that fat.
#4: That Good Old Trouble Sleeping
If counting sheep no longer helps you sleep well, you need a vacation. Again, the problem lies deeper than you think. Fears of failing an exam and anxiety get stored in your psyche. Your mental system can’t cope with stress, which results in chaotic sleeping. Hence, the sleeping cycle is no longer a cycle but an order of snoozing bursts.
How can one fix the sleeping problem?
- Drink camomile tea before going to bed;
- Reduce screen time. No more news or horror movies while crunching nachos to stave off the munchies;
- Start doing yoga and meditation.
#5: Facebook is no Longer Your Friend
All because your friends post too many photos from Europe or Florida. If you find yourself easily annoyed by someone’s vacation, time to take your own!
When you are in a peaceful state of mind, feeling happy is easy. However, your brain subconsciously tells you that it’s exhausted. Yet photos act as visual reminders of your need to take a break from work and studies.
#6: Cranky Moods
If your mood is unstable and swings between crying and getting angry, take a quick vacation. Blame it on stress hormones and the lack of happiness hormones like serotonin and endorphin. When you feel stressed, your hormone balance is out of whack. This results in tension and an inability to control your feelings.
One minute you cry, and another one, you feel like the queen of the world. The hormones change each other too quickly. To keep your hormones in check, kick that stress out of your body by taking a vacation.
#7: Low Energy Levels
If staying late in bed is your new hobby, time to change it. When your body is stressed out, it uses more resources but fails to restore them quickly. Your body runs out of energy and operates in the low power mode. The metaphor is a convenient explanation for your physical and mental processes. To work efficiently, a machine saves energy. Think of it as a survival mode. The same happens to the human body.
How can one control the energy spikes?
- Food brings you energy. Hence, managing your diet and adding more ‘slow’ carbohydrates will help;
- Vitamins and food supplements. Ask your doctor for the prescription;
- Sleep well! This vital part of the survival mode is often underrated. Aim for 7-8 hours of daily sleep.
Final Thoughts
We worship multitasking and productivity, often forgetting about the basic principles of wellbeing. In a world that doesn’t value calmness, avoiding burnout from work and studies is a challenge. But once you learn the signs of exhaustion sneaking up, you’ll know how to bounce back to that active state of mind.
We hope the article was helpful to you. Good luck!
