Working for the weekend: The importance of disconnecting, unplugging, and relaxing
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - It's Friday - ready for the weekend? Also, are you one of those people who makes weekend plans, or do you just wing it?
Mental health experts will tell you: don't take the weekend lightly!
Its importance of it cannot be understated, your physical and mental health depends on you getting the most out of your time off.
The very definition of time off should be just that.
"The weekend is the time to relax your brain to relax your kind of physical sale to recharge to get you ready for the next week," said Dr. Mike Sevilla, a family physician.
He said disconnecting is now more important than it ever has been.
"We're all in this kind of 'Zoom' world now and on the weekend, they catch up on their work from the physical week and I'm like, No, you got to stop that," he said.
While the weather on the horizon may dampen the possibilities, Dr. Sevilla said to put your computer and phone away and just get outside if you can.
That will clear your mind.
He also said the medical risks of not relaxing are well-documented.
"Whether it's high blood pressure or not eating right or exercising, or if they already have underlying problems that can make those medical problems worse," Dr. Sevilla cautioned.
Obviously, he understands not everyone can just jump off the grid but even with demanding responsibilities must find some downtime for their health.
He stressed that the more time the better and that you need to set boundaries so you actually do disconnect, meaning time and physical boundaries.
The basic idea is, if you don't think about it ahead of time, you don't have something to look forward to and the next thing you know it's Sunday night and you'll be asking the same old question - "Where did the weekend go?"
We all know the feeling of anxiously looking forward to a getaway vacation but it doesn't always have to be waiting for a big getaway to recreate that feeling of excitement.
"You can do that in a shorter period of time if you plan something for the weekend," Dr. Sevilla said.
He explained that setting those boundaries starts with deciding when the weekend begins and what it's going to mean, saying those time and physical boundaries are great.
Now, a question that many are probably asking as they continue through this story is - "what if I work from home?"
Get out.
"Say, 'hey, I'm not going to work at home, or I'm physically not going to be home,'" he said. "I'm going to be out hiking, I'm going to be out with my kids, I'm going to actually go out to a theater and watch a movie. Those are great breaks on weekends."
Another great way of enjoying a weekend is a "weekend to-do list" of sorts, but Dr. Sevilla said to make sure one of the things on that list is to recharge, break up the routine, "take up a new type of hobby, something you've never done before."
"I've had a lot of my patients take up pickleball, but they have some kind of thing on the weekend that they look forward to," he said. "When they're working [they think], 'Oh, I got that thing on Saturday.'"
It also may be nothing more than just getting together with friends or time spent alone with family.
"Relaxation is going to be great for your brain, it's going to be great for your health, and it's going to get you ready for the next week."
