The holidays are approaching and many of us are in need of recovery. Periods of high stress must be followed by calmer periods. If you do not get enough recovery, you run the risk of suffering from persistent tiredness, which in the long run can lead to fatigue.

But what exactly is a quiet period and does it mean that I have to lie upright in a deck chair all summer? Well, not really. Now that we have read on, we have learned that there are different types of recovery.

First and foremost, we have the “typical” recovery that most of us associate peace and quiet with, namely low-intensity exercise activities. This is exactly what it sounds like – activities that require minimal effort. Watch TV, flip through a newspaper, pet a dog. But of course also things like meditation and going out into nature.

You get a different type of recovery when you hang out with other people. Of course, it depends on who you choose to hang out with, but the effect of social activities on the whole seems to do good for recovery. Social support is consistently related to better recovery!

An additional type of recovery is physical activity. It may sound paradoxical that you can recover by exercising, with the fact that physical activity involves a cognitive distraction compared to work-related activity. Physical activity also forces us to take a break from work-related problems, and seems to stimulate both physiological and psychological processes that contribute to our well-being. No wonder for all of us who have ever gone and trained when we were really stressed. An hour later, the stress is equal to zero.

And last but not least, sleep is central to recovery. When we get a good night’s sleep, an important physiological slowdown occurs – blood pressure drops, breathing becomes calmer, the heart beats calmer, body temperature drops and the muscles relax. At the same time, a build-up takes place by activating the immune system and increasing the secretion of, among other things, growth hormone and testosterone. In addition, sleep has a positive effect on stress hormones.

So, this summer we are simply going to read a lot of books, hang out with a lot with friends, take many morning dips, sleep, pick blackberries straight from the bush, go for long dog walks, play an obscene amount of padel and slow down the pace at work a bit. The latter means a slightly shorter newsletter in July and slightly fewer posts on instagram.

Have a really nice summer and good luck with your recovery!