Stressed and Frustrated with Office Work? Go Take a Walk or Try Swimming

 

Everyone who has ever held a job has, at some point, felt the pressure of work-related stress. Stress isn’t always bad. Stress within your comfort zone can help you stay focused, energetic, and able to meet new challenges in the workplace. Stress is what keeps you on your toes during a presentation or alert to prevent accidents or costly mistakes at work. But in today’s hectic world, the workplace can often seem like an emotional roller coaster. Long hours, tight deadlines, and ever increasing demands can leave you feeling worried, uncertain, and overwhelmed by stress. When stress exceeds your comfort zone, it stops being helpful and can start causing major damage to your mind and body as well as your job satisfaction. But no matter what you do for a living, or how stressful your job is, there are plenty of things you can do to reduce your overall stress levels and regain a sense of control at work.

According to a study done by University of Central Florida, a brisk walk or a long swim may be the key to preventing a bad day at the office besides keeping you fit. One of the researchers, Shannon Taylor,  said, "Research shows employees who are mistreated at work are likely to engage in similar behaviors at home." Such unlikely behavior due to work stress can lead to degradation of relationships and social life.
 

"If they've been belittled or insulted by a supervisor, they tend to vent their frustration on members of their household. Our study shows that happens because they're too tired to regulate their behavior," Taylor noted. The findings, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, showed that sleep and exercise are intervention points that can be leveraged to prevent the spread of harmful behavior.

The participants of the study included 118 MBA students with full-time jobs who took a survey and then wore activity monitors for a week. Tracking participants' sleep patterns and daytime physical movements, the researchers found that employees who recorded an average of more than 10,900 steps each day were less likely to perpetuate abuse at home than those recording fewer than 7,000. Hence, adequate amount of workout and sleep may help you get rid of your work - stress while at home. "The study gives us a new perspective on the importance of getting an adequate amount of sleep and exercise. It's not just good for you, it's good for your spouse, too," Taylor said.
 

One survey showed that having to complete paper work was more stressful for many police officers than the dangers associated with pursuing criminals. Stress is a common phenomenon but it may become root cause of many diseases if not taken care of. So exercise well and keep a track of your sleep cycle in order to get rid of work stress and its byproducts.