Do you plan a break over this holiday season? As leaders, workers, and family members – we find it hard to move past the busy parts of any day – to relax and shift gears.
Most would agree … the human brain needs a break. Yet holiday benefits are no sure bet for the human brain. How so? 
1. Consume too many fatty or sugar laden foods or drink too much and your brain slows down, while moods can act up.
2. Spend too much, worry or exclude people you know and your brain takes on board … harmful cortisol chemicals.
3. Allow stress to get the best of you … through negative or sarcastic tone and you can literally shrink your brain mass.
4. Party too much and exhaustion leaves you cranky, cantankerous, or downright discouraged as your brain takes the brunt.
5. Do all the same traditions, see only people you know well, and adhere to similar routines daily and you slow down your brain to the speed of a slug.
Even on holiday, genius is still Thomas Edison’s one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. Tame the holiday turkey … give thanks for a real break … toss in one new festive tradition from another culture … and you’ll come back to work rejuvenated and ready to shift your brain back into gear.
Will the coming break work for or against your brain?
Ellen,
Headed to the car to go fetch my daughter from NYC for the holiday week.
The stress of driving crosstown and back is more than compensated for by the joy...
(I'll let you know whether that reality came to pass after returning :-)
Merry Christmas!
Posted by: Steve Roesler | December 22, 2007 9:01 AM | Permalink to Comment