Tired After Work? Here’s Why & Ways to Fix It.
You spend your work shift thinking about what you want to do when you finally clock out and head home: Maybe you have books to read, instruments to practice, or friends to hang out with. Or maybe you want the simple joy of indulging in a tasty meal, cooked from scratch.
But often, by the time you get home, it feels like you’ve been hit by an energy-zapping laser beam. All desire to do anything but nap has fled from you, and once again, you have to put the plans you looked forward to all day on hold.
If you find you’re tired after work on a daily basis, know that you aren’t alone—post-work exhaustion is incredibly common. But what’s the cause? And, most importantly, what can you do to combat chronic fatigue and reclaim your life after work? Let’s dive in.
Understanding Post-Work Fatigue: Causes and Effects
No matter how you hit the grind during the day, you can find yourself susceptible to extreme fatigue after hours. Some of the most common reasons for feeling tired after work include:
- Burnout and stress – Both job burnout and stress are at an all-time high across virtually every field of work.[1] If you find your job stressful, you may get burned out. This means everything you do can hold more emotional weight and lead to emotional and mental exhaustion.
- Work that’s physically or mentally demanding – This can include positions in the service industry, medical fields, and high-risk occupations. If your work demands more time and energy than what you can reasonably give, you’re bound to end up fatigued after hours.
- Poor work-life balance – This can be a problem on your company’s end or yours, and can often be one of many lack of motivation causes. You need a healthy balance of work and free time to maintain your energy levels.
- Personal lifestyle choices – If you don’t take care of your own mental health and wellness, it can easily lead to extreme fatigue. Dehydration, sedentary hobbies, poor diet, and staying up until the early hours of the morning can all contribute to feeling exhausted at the end of a long workday. Discover additional tips on how to not be tired in the morning.
A combination of factors likely causes your post-work exhaustion. Try zooming in on different areas of your life to see what you can alter and what changes you can make to alleviate some of the biggest energy-draining symptoms.
Recharge and Reenergize: Strategies for After-Work Relaxation
So, you’ve identified the main culprits in your post-work malaise—but some of them are out of your hands. If you work in a field that’s physically or mentally demanding, for example, you can’t exactly change how much energy you give.
Fortunately, there are still ways you can replenish your energy levels after you clock out by utilizing relaxation techniques and creating a wellness routine.
Relaxation Techniques
From meditation to binge-watching a favorite show, relaxation comes in numerous forms. Some popular ways to relax include:
- Practicing mindfulness by journaling
- Spending time in nature
- Taking a bath
- Doing Tai chi or yoga
- Regular exercise
- Setting aside “you” time
Test out a few of these relaxation techniques to see which provides the most relief over a long period of time. You can also combine techniques or use different ones depending on the day and how you’re feeling. Remember: relaxation is all about what your body and mind need in the moment.
Stress Management Techniques
Stress management refers to strategies you can use to change your reactions to stressful situations.[2] Often, these strategies start with healthy lifestyle changes, like:
- Getting adequate sleep
- Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet
- Physical activity and moving your body on a regular basis
It’s also helpful to remove yourself from stressful situations and practice deep breathing exercises to ground and rebalance.
Therapy
Stress doesn’t have to be something you deal with on your own. If your life and the stressors in it feel out of your control, it might be time to seek out a therapist or counselor to help you work through your feelings and put the above strategies into practice.
Creating a Restorative Evening Routine
Once you’re home from work, you can foster relaxation and restore your energy levels even further by establishing a relaxing evening routine—and the following tips can help:
- Limit your screen time, especially in the hours before you go to sleep.
- Unwind with a favored low-energy activity, like listening to music or reading.
- Knock out any preparation for the next day so you don’t have to worry about it.
You can also try adding a soothing yet energizing beverage to your evening routine, like a kava drink. Derived from ancient plants, kava has a calming effect that promotes relaxation naturally.[3]
Reclaim Your Day with Botanic Tonics
No one wants to feel too tired after work to do anything other than sleep. Restoring your energy levels and personal work-life balance can make a world of difference in the happiness and fulfillment you get out of your daily routine.
No two methods of achieving restorative balance will work the same for everyone, so trial and error is an important part of the process. By combining Botanic Tonics products with other lifestyle changes, you can create a path to more relaxing evenings and a more energetic future.
At Botanic Tonics, we prioritize your quality of life by offering kava products sourced from only the best, natural ingredients. Explore our line today to discover the relaxation and peace of mind you’ve been searching for.
Sources:
- American Psychological Association. Burnout and stress are everywhere. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2022/01/special-burnout-stress
- Mayo Clinic. Stress Management. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/basics/relaxation-techniques/hlv-20049495?p=1
- Alcohol and Drug Foundation. What is Kava? https://adf.org.au/drug-facts/kava/
About The Author
Jamal Bouie is an accomplished professional with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from Lemoyne-Owen College in Memphis. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD in Biomedicine at Salus University. Jamal has worked in several industries; he began his career in pharmaceutical manufacturing and transitioned to the cannabis industry, where he specialized in analytical testing and manufacturing, playing a vital role in ensuring product safety and compliance. Now, Jamal has turned his attention to the dietary supplement field, combining his scientific acumen with his passion for health and wellness.
