Hello happiness seekers, My name is Claudia. Welcome to the summer break series at the Happiness Challenge. Summer break series is all about short practical episodes inspired by the science of happiness to help you rest, reset and rediscover happiness. This summer and holidays are meant for rest, but switching off can be surprisingly hard. I'm sure you have experienced it as well, but I definitely need some time on holidays before I'm able to let go and just, just enjoy. So today let's explore why it is so tricky and share science back strategies for truly unwinding during our treasured holidays. Let's dive in. So first of all, why is it so tricky to let go on holidays? We dream of the break, then just be back at work instantly in our own head. So there are a couple of reasons what's happening here. First of all, research shows that stress hormones like cortisol can absolutely linger in our body, making it hard to relax straight away. So from a body perspective, we need some kind of activities to let us release the accumulated stress. And secondly, holiday routine is very different to our day to day routine. And it takes time for our brain to shift gears. So we have this tiny bundle of neurons in our brainstem called the locus corelius. And that bundle is a structure that acts like a gill level for our mental state. And in a gear one our mind wander and is fully relaxed. In gear two we are very much focused and engaged and in gear three we are hyper alert, ready to react to emergencies. And research shows that gear 2 is actually optimal for most thinking and problem solving. While gear three, often triggered by stress or pressure, can leave us feeling overwhelmed and less creative. But also what it means is that on holiday we need to give ourselves permission and time to slow down and let our brain go into gear one. So because day to day we generally operating in gear two and gear three, possibly it takes time for our brain to go into gear one. So I think it's really interesting to understand this and be compassionate towards ourselves when we go on holiday that both our body and our mind need some time to relax. So since switching off and truly relaxing on holiday isn't instant, intentional switch of strategies can help and can help our brain to go into that gear one more easily. So some of the tips that I highly recommend and they help me a lot when on holiday are the following. So first of all, set boundaries. So I think it's very important to decide in advance whether you will be checking your emails, you will be checking your messages, you will be checking your phone, if at all. So if you are in a situation that you need to be in touch with work, set times when you will be available and try to stay stick to those time slots if possible so that you have times when you are your brain is able to go in gear one before jumping into gear two or three depending what's happening. But again, it's very important to remember that even if we limit the on time, if you like, our headspace goes away as our brain will think about the situation beyond the time. So the really the best way is to set boundaries around yes, I am truly away and I won't be checking work emails, I won't be possibly even checking any emails whilst on holiday. Second strategy is about creating a ritual. So try to start your holiday with a simple ritual that signals to your brain that you know what, I'm on holiday and it's now time to relax. It might be that you start with unpacking, having a nice bath bath, going for a walk, going for a swim, but doing something that really tells your brain I'm relaxing now we're now going into that gear one. The third tip is about releasing the body stress. So again consider incorporating physical activities to releasing stress. So this goes back to the idea that the cortisol tends to linger in our body. So I personally often plan something more physical in the first few days of holidays. Hiking, swimming, walking, tour. And even though yes I do want to fly and flop and have a restful time when I'm less active, but I know that I won't be able to truly do that till my body relaxes. So I often advice for people to start their holidays with something active so the body can truly release that stress and relax. Tip number four is about engaging our senses. So focusing on sensory experiences, feeling the sand, listening to the waves, really savoring the food. It very much help us to ground to be grounded in the present moment and that can help our brain to relax. Number five, practicing that self compassion. So again, if you catch yourself thinking about work, if you catch yourself thinking about day to day life, gently redirect your attention without judgment to the present moment. Don't give yourself hard time that it takes some time to switch off. I already spoke about this idea of self compassion. This is really important that we just take time and go with the flow. The next step is about parking your thoughts. So again, if anything comes to your mind, you can always put it down and park it to review it later. This happens a lot to me on holiday. So what happens is that the more I relax, the more random thoughts, random ideas my brain will come up with. So I have random lists on my phone or with me on the tiny notebook and I often just put it down there. So if I suddenly have thought, oh, I really want to consider that at work. Oh that's a great idea. Oh yeah, this is what I could do in my home. Oh yeah, this is what I could write up. I often try to park it by putting it on one of the lists and come back to it later. The moment I put it on the park list my brain starts stops dwelling on it. But I always think that the more I start relaxing, the more my brain starts thinking about this. Random thoughts and random ideas it has. And the final one it's about reflecting. So at the end of each day, jot down one thing you enjoyed or the moment when you feel truly relaxed. So again, describing things that makes us happy boosts our happiness, but also can help us to remember our holidays more vividly. And I think that's such a beautiful and important thing that we often feel that, okay, the holiday went quite quickly. But actually research shows that if we sit down and reflect by the end of the day, describe some of the favorite moments, we will feel that the time is slowing down. And also we will remember our holidays in more detail, which I think is absolutely beautiful and that's what we need. So really, I think it's very important to give yourself permission to switch off this holiday. Remember that the real rest isn't a luxury. It's absolutely essential for your happiness and well being and be very much understanding that it will take time time for your body and your mind to fully switch off. So thank you so much for listening. I wish you a very restful holidays. Before I say bye, some of you have messaged me asking whether you could see the chapter list of my upcoming book the Alphabet of Happiness. And the answer is yes of course. So if you subscribe to my substack newsletter called the Happiness Challenge, you can search for a post entitled Exclusive Chapter Reveal and you can there see the complete 26 topics that are covered in the book. But just to entice even more, A to Z starts with A for acceptance and being at peace with uncomfortable feeling and finishes with Z for zest. Kickstart your feel good chemicals and rest well. And the book has lots of predictable topics such as G for gratitude, when, which is very much about appreciating life with its flows and all K for kindness make others happy without resentment. But also there are few surprises such as L for luck, creating golden opportunities in our life and why for yes, making good enough decision to manage regret. So thank you again for being curious about what's in the book. You can absolutely see the exclusive chapter reveal and I hope you'll be pre ordering your copy soon. Thank you so much for listening and until next time, bye.