7 Informed Ways to Help Your Brain Switch Off

Do you stare at the sky often when you are sitting on a break, but your mind constantly thinks about the next deadline you have to meet, the report you must complete, or the dreaded call to your client? Most of us never let our brains switch off completely.

Even when we are on a holiday or a planned vacation, we tend to mentally rewrite emails, draft discussions, and replay conversations instead of letting our minds just drift off. We are often so focused on keeping ourselves productive, active, or useful that automatically switching off never happens.

The endless to-do lists, appointments, responsibilities, chores, and demands don't allow us to separate our work life from personal life. The habits, pressure, and routines keep our brains busy, and we often assume we are totally at rest when we are on a break. But our brains don’t switch off like an on-off button; they still keep running in the background.

So, how do you know you are truly at rest? What will stop your brain from running over and over again with thoughts or emotions?

Sometimes simply changing your location doesn’t instantly change your brain, nor does shutting off external work pressures remove the internal process completely. Your nervous system needs a longer time to recognize that you are at ease to rest and relax without any disturbances.

Why Feeling Relaxed Feels Harder Than You Realize

Our brains have orchestrated the same pattern for years together even if we have taken holidays, weekend offs, or a long vacation from time to time.

Modern life has asked us to stay busy every day, where boundaries often are blurred because we answer emails while we are enjoying a family dinner, or we are on calls while spending time at the beach resort.

We often multitask because we think it's a waste of time to do only one thing at a time. But multitasking can create psychological barriers to properly unwinding without feeling guilty of rest. Some people get anxious when they have to stay silent or be alone without company to truly rest their minds.

Putting pressure on our downtime by placing high expectations will not allow us to completely relax. We often find ourselves constantly bombarded with residual emotions and thoughts we have not processed when we sit in silence and that can feel daunting for some people.

We have to allow time to sit with these thoughts even when we are relaxing so that our brains can take some time to switch off to focus only on the present moment.

Simple Ways to Help Your Brain Relax Automatically

If you are looking to relax your brain during a holiday, weekend off or on vacation, you can follow your human design authority to switch off your brain effectively. 

There are 7 human design authorities, namely,

• Emotional Authority

• Sacral Authority

• Splenic Authority

• Ego Authority

• Self-Projected Authority

• Mental Authority

• Lunar Authority

  
  

Let's focus on each human design authority and its effective way to help your brain switch off.

Emotional Authority—Create a Clear Transition

If you have an emotional authority in human design, you can set a clear transition phase to shut your brain off to rest properly.

• Set clear boundaries at work by not answering calls or emails during rest.

• Inform your colleagues before vacation to not disturb you at all.

• Avoid taking your laptops or work stuff during holidays or vacations.

  
  

Sacral Authority—Keep a Gentle Structure

As a human design sacral authority, routines are always a part of your life. So, keep a gentle structure for taking rest and relaxing during holidays too.

• Keep a similar bedtime routine to regulate your body clock.

• Maintain your daily morning routines and do tasks at the same time.

• Gentle structure will stop worries filling empty space and help rest peacefully.

  
  

Splenic Authority—Use Grounding Techniques

Individuals with Splenic Authority must use grounding techniques to switch off their brain to rest and recover fully.

• Focus on breathing techniques to relax your mind and body.

• Smell the flowers, taste different food, and touch plenty of things for sensory relaxation.

• Grounding can help you focus on the present moment and activate the body's relaxation response.

  
  

Ego Authority—Create an “If/Then” Remember

People with ego authority often tend to put their ego first and seldom take rest because they want to be productive or achieve something. They feel guilty spending idle time or doing nothing on vacation.

• If you worry about work, distract yourself to switch off your mind.

• Remind yourself that you are on a holiday or vacation to create a barrier towards work.

• React to rest and relaxation just like a priority at work.

  
  

Self-Projected Authority—Let Go of Perfection

When you have the self-projected authority in human design, you might feel like you are not good enough to take a rest or go on a vacation. On the other hand, you might place too many expectations about taking a holiday too.

• Let go of perfection where you plan a lot; expect things to go as you want when you are taking off from work.

• Accept that holidays, weekends, and vacations may be boring or too passive sometimes with nothing exciting.

• Avoid comparing your holidays, vacation, or relaxation time with others.

  
  

Mental Authority—Remove Sources of Interruption

With mental authority in human design, you should avoid interruptions from external sources to switch off your brain to rest during your downtime.

• Cut down on phone calls, texts, and emails from work or others to disengage your brain from routines.

• Refrain from browsing on social media platforms and taking on unnecessary pressure from other digital sources.

• Fewer interruptions make it easier to stay present and rest.

  
  

Lunar Authority—Allow Yourself Enough Time to Unwind Gradually

When you have the lunar authority in your human design, don't expect instant relaxation because it might take time for you to switch off your brain completely.

• Your brain may start reflecting when you start to stay still and relax your mind, so go with the flow.

• Choose the lunar cycles, like three days before the new moon or full moon, to do low-pressure activities.

• Slowly unwind during a holiday or vacation, as it might take days for your stress hormones to disappear completely.

Conclusion

Most of us plan weekends, holidays, and vacations with plenty of activities, get together, and spend time with people. But we fail to truly rest by shutting our brains off because of distractions. 

When you are ready to take off from work to rest and rejuvenate, follow your human design authority to follow the right technique to help your brain switch off and get a total relaxation.