After the year of 2020, slowing down may be the last thing on everyone’s mind. People are antsy and want to get back to the way things were. On the other hand, many people realized how much their health benefited as a result of hitting the pause button during the pandemic. They were forced to appreciate things that they took for granted. The pandemic was and is absolutely unfortunate, but it did show people what matters most in life.
The modern day hustle and bustle is not sustainable for a healthy mind and body. We’re not saying that staying inside and avoiding all social interaction is either, but there are benefits to downshifting and cruising through life at a slower speed. When you slow down, you have the opportunity to reprioritize all the things that are important in your life. You can give your attention to the things that deserve it. There’s no worry about neglecting this or forgetting that. Continue reading to learn more about the benefits of slowing down.
Find Your Focus
When you take it slow, you’ll find that it’s much easier to accomplish tasks throughout the day. Rushing through things can result in a worse outcome or partially spirited effort. That effort shows in the final product, no matter what it is. Too often do we give our attention to five different things at once, and you may not care about all of those things. Slow down and give your full attention and effort to one thing at a time. The quality of whatever you produce will increase dramatically.
Improved Memory
You can only hold so much information at once. Some people can’t remember what they ate for breakfast yesterday! When you are constantly going through life at full throttle, information is bound to get lost. This is viewed as normal, an accepted part of society, despite the fact that the fast-paced lifestyle is not conducive to your memory. It’s not acceptable to lose bits and pieces of information willy-nilly, but slowing down can change all that. Give your undivided attention to what you do, when you do it. Read that email, don’t just skim it. Actively listen during the phone call and don’t zone out and simultaneously scroll through Instagram. Your memory will improve and so will your relationships…because you’ll remember things!
More Time For Tranquility
Often times, people have the desire to invest more time in relaxation to invite tranquility into their lives. When they are moving at a thousand miles per minute, it’s difficult to do that. Take time to slow down for 30 minutes to one hour a day for a spiritual bath. This is a new concept that allows you to get more in touch with your being and spirit. Add tea bags, flower petals, essential oils, or fresh herbs to a warm bath and soak in the tub. When you get in a tub like this, you can slip into a fully relaxed state. You also shut out the world, decompress, and only focus on being tranquil in that moment. Light some candles too!
Less Stress
Rushing around, checking social media, responding to texts & emails, and binging Netflix, among other things, can raise cortisol levels in the body. Adrenaline also pumps through your veins, and the combination of high adrenaline and increased cortisol is a recipe for disaster. These two hormones attack your body like a ravenous grizzly bear. They aren’t life threatening, but they can elevate blood pressure, reduce immune function, and cause hormonal imbalance when they run wild. Women can even experience menstrual cycle suppression and too much stress can lead to irregular blood glucose levels. Take a beat and pull over to the slow lane. You’ll find that when you itemize things in your life and approach them with a slower, composed mindset, you feel less stressed and overwhelmed. Cortisol and adrenaline return to non-emergency levels when you slow down, which is great for overall health.
