5 routines to prevent the appearance of post-holiday syndrome

Post-vacation syndrome is a phenomenon that many people suffer from when they return to work, especially after the summer holidays (the vacation period that is usually longer).

Now, no one is condemned to experience this discomfort no matter what happens , since there are some strategies and routines to prevent its appearance. Let's see what they are.

What is post-holiday syndrome?

What is known as post-vacation syndrome is a set of forms of discomfort that arise when going from the vacation period to returning to the routine at work. It is a series of alterations that occur as a result of a lack of readaptation to this new context characterized by tasks other than those of the vacation break and an increase in the obligations and expectations placed on oneself. And it is that for some people, changing their mentality and actions on a day-to-day basis is especially hard, especially when these are “imposed” from the outside due to the need to meet productivity objectives, contractual requirements, etc. It is not necessary to be an employed person to suffer from post-vacation syndrome, the self-employed can also suffer from it, since they still need to achieve certain professional goals in the short and medium term.

Some of the most common experiences associated with post-vacation syndrome are fatigue, high levels of stress, concentration problems, persistent sleep (often yawning even in the middle of the day), general physical discomfort, feeling of disorientation, and changes in appetite. However, all these phenomena do not always occur at the same time.

On the other hand, it must be taken into account that post-holiday syndrome is not a mental disorder and does not seem to be described as such in diagnostic manuals, so there are several ways to define it and to determine what its characteristics and effects are. However, as a broad and flexible concept, it is often useful to refer to a relatively common problem that in the most extreme cases is a reason to go to the psychologist.

What routines to apply to prevent post-holiday syndrome?

These are the most useful strategies to reduce the chances of post-holiday stress.

1. Readjust schedules

It is very important to make our rest schedules during the last stage of the vacation practically the same as those we will adopt when we return to work. In this way, we will not only avoid that feeling of fatigue or even sleepiness caused by insomnia or jet lag, but we will also have more energy at the times of the day when we really need to get fully involved in our obligations. What it is about is re-calibrating our biological clock and, above all, making sure that our body begins to secrete high amounts of melatonin when we are about to go to sleep.

2. Do not make the vacation plan until the last day off

It is recommended that there is a brief period of readjustment to the routine before we really have to face the obligations of the working day. This means that, for example, if you have gone on a trip to another country, you return to the city where you live a couple of days before starting to go to the office, to get used to that context and the stimuli to those exposed by your home and your municipality.

3. Learn some basic relaxation exercises

There are very simple relaxation techniques that you can learn in a matter of minutes and that do not require much practice. If you want extra help, there are some meditation or Mindfulness applications that incorporate recorded instructions and resources to relax quickly, such as white noise, recorded sounds in natural environments, etc.

4. Adapt your leisure activities to your new schedule

In the same way that we must incorporate some dynamics of the work routine into the final stage of the holidays, it is also important that we continue our hobbies and leisure routines from the holidays during those initial days back at work. For example, if you have started painting or doing some artistic activity during your vacation break, make sure beforehand that you will be able to reconcile that hobby with your work obligations, including those free time breaks in your schedule.

5. Eat well

Since you will need to face again several added obligations that you did not count on during the holidays, it is important that you do not neglect what you eat. Make sure you eat a diet that provides you with all the vitamins and macronutrients that your body requires, because if not, your brain will be one of the main structures of the body that will suffer .