INVITING WAYS TO RELAX, RECHARGE & REJUVENATE AT WORK

While the summer months often invite us outdoors — which is wonderful — some can be especially dry and hot, or stormy and wet. And while spending time in nature is always recommended for improved well-being, unsavory temperatures or rainy weather quickly reminds us how important it is to have alternative workspaces that invite us to practice stellar self-care and self-regulation indoors.

To learn more about what self-regulation is, and why it matters, visit here.

This blog focuses on considerations and tips for carving out this special space right within your workplace environment. Think of it as the new and improved break room — one that provides tools to support well-being rather than hinder it. In other words: kindly move over, junk-filled vending machine. Additionally, there are numerous policy and marketing possibilities for your teams to discuss and potentially implement. Let’s take a look, shall we? 

Introducing … The Respite Room

The term respite refers to a short period of rest or relief from something difficult or unpleasant – and most of us know that challenging emotions can unfold immediately within the workday due to personal or professional events.

We invite you to use the following ideas to support not only regulation but relaxation, restoration and rejuvenation immediately within the workplace and workday:

Reminder: Incorporating strategies that boost emotional intelligence (or EQ) — knowing how to regulate when experiencing stress and overwhelming emotions – supports resilience at work.

  • Promote the use of the HALT Method.

    • The HALT Method is a simple yet powerful self-awareness tool that encourages you to pause and check in with your basic needs — asking whether any of the following states may be influencing your behavior — before reacting to stress or making decisions. Widely used in addiction recovery and mental health settings, it's also a valuable tool for everyday emotional regulation. The HALT states are:

      • Hungry: Are you physically hungry or lacking nourishment? Low blood sugar can affect your mood and clarity.

      • Angry: Are you feeling irritated or upset? Unchecked anger can cloud judgment.

      • Lonely: Are you feeling isolated or disconnected? Emotional support is a core human need.

      • Tired: Are you physically or mentally exhausted? Fatigue can lead to poor choices and emotional reactivity.

    • Here’s how The Respite Room can support these states:

      • Make healthy snacks and water available. (Hydration supports a calm body.)

      • Provide heavy medicine balls, TheraBands and yoga mats to promote physical activity and support the release of upset feelings. (Physical exercise releases energy that can be stored as aggression.)

      • Have a station for writing letters or allow time for employees to connect with family or friends. (Strong social networks and journaling are effective coping mechanisms.) 

      • Provide headphones and access to a variety of active breathing meditations, mindfulness videos and/or binaural beats.  (Mindfulness practice, active breathing meditation and specific binaural beats promote relaxation and an increase in energy.)

  • Encourage centering the body with grounding techniques using the five senses.

    • Taste: Provide peppermints, chewy candy and cinnamon sticks to increase focus and attention.

    • Sight: Reduce the use of fluorescent lighting. Use lamps and “twinkle lights,” as well as a liquid motion bubbler visual sensory tool. 

    • Touch: Provide a variety of hand fidgets or tools, “sequin flip” pillows, faux fur pillows or (weighted) blankets.

    • Hearing: White noise machines, calming music, binaural beats or sound absorbing tiles can be soothing to the system.

    • Smell: The sense of smell can be used to either energize or calm the system. An essential oil diffuser, a jar of coffee beans and/or hand lotion in scents such as vanilla and lavender may be supportive.

  • Educate and empower employees using the “three R’s” — routine, relationships and regulation — to alleviate anxiety using healthy coping mechanisms:

    • Provide educational articles and other worksheets for personal/professional development. For example: tools for breaking larger projects/assignments into smaller chunks, developing agendas/checklists and following a simple, yet predictable routine supports a calm mood.

    • Encourage connection with others through written expression or in-person supports co-regulation of emotions. Note the above recommendation for writing supplies.

    • Provide QR codes to guided relaxation, meditations, visualizations or other tools for balancing the nervous system.

    • Offer magazines, puzzles, crosswords and/or board games are an effective means to refocus the mind. Distraction (like scrolling on the phone or binge-watching television) is the lowest-level of coping.

    • Stock a bookshelf with a wide variety of books for self-help focused learning and development.

    • Make a bulletin board and post a selection of regulation strategies and coping methods. Rotate ideas and suggestions periodically.  

  • Incorporate nature and the outdoors.

    • Include plants, nature sounds, waterfall fountain and/or a Himalayan salt lamp to bring the peaceful outdoors inside the respite room. 

    • If the room has a window, provide options for enjoying the room with window treatments opened or closed.

    • Provide one or more “happy lights” to introduce high-quality, mood-boosting light into the room on dark, dreary days.

  • Encourage mindfulness with Check-In/Check-Out reminders in the space.

    • Increase awareness by providing charts about feelings before and after engaging in a regulating activity. This supports the ability to regulate emotions before they overwhelm the body. 

As the workday and work functions allow, encourage employees to take short, frequent breaks — especially during full-day meetings and higher-stress periods. Research shows taking short, frequent breaks is one of the most effective ways to manage stress and workload on the job. Additionally, this approach may help to prevent burnout, boost mental health and promote consistent self-care. While this may require a massive policy shift, please consider the rewards!

But wait, there’s more: Each workday and industry have their nuances, and no two workdays are exactly the same.

Contact Wellness Collective today to discuss additional ways to layer wellness directly into your work and life — regardless of where you work or what the workday holds. We’ve seen it all and would love to transform workplace wellness for you and your teams.

Author: Katy Tombaugh 

Katy Tombaugh