Many think of the summer as a time of relaxation, vacation, and fun in the sun. While these are all great activities that do happen during the summer, many others find this season to be stressful. The days are longer, schedules are busier, and our attention spans are challenged. If you’re someone who feels summertime is stressful, read along with this blog to see what you can do to manage the stress.

Prioritize

Summertime is one of the busiest times of the year. The days are longer and the sun is always out, which means people want to go out and have fun. While having fun outside with all your friends and family is fun and should be a priority, sometimes it can be a bit too much. People find summer to be a time of stress simply because there’s less time to sleep. The days are long, but work, and sometimes school, must continue. At the same time, you are always being invited out to picnics, the beach, BBQ’s, and more. Staying out later to enjoy time with your friends and family can take away from your sleep schedule. During the summer, it is important to prioritize your obligations. Enjoying yourself with friends is important, but shouldn’t be compromising your sleep schedule. Being able to keep up on sleep despite the longer days is important in order to maintain mental and physical health. Learn to find a nice balance!

Self-Care

Vacations are a huge part of summer. While the idea of going on a tropical vacation is tempting, the planning that goes into a vacation is stressful. Vacations, parties, and picnics are all things that can take great organization, and, on top of the preplanning, you must also be alert and able to ensure that everything is going well during the actual event. This type of stress can take away from the whole idea of what a vacation or party is about. We still encourage you to take those summer vacations and host that summer get together, but we also suggest you take time to keep up with your self-care! Allow yourself time between planning, hosting, and managing to relax, decompress and enjoy yourself. We suggest that you plan a spa day while on vacation or pack your favorite snack for the picnic. During the event, if you find yourself stressing and becoming overwhelmed, ask someone for help!

Focus

Summertime in the world of social media is a whole new type of stressor. Everybody is filming, editing, and posting what they are doing each day in order to prove they are having a great time. While the problem isn’t the post in and of itself, it’s the effect it will leave on those who are having a totally normal and unedited summer. We suggest unplugging and leaving your phone in your bag when you are out having fun with your friends and family. Snap some photos, but worry about posting and checking your social media later. Placing your focus on the happy activities and times happening right in front of you is far more important than focusing on what your friends are doing. If you focus on the right people, you are less likely to feel left out, inadequate, and stressed about what you are doing this summer!

Conclusion

Summertime is filled with late nights, delicious food, and exciting vacations. With that being said, there is still room for potential stress to sneak up. Due to the lack of sleep, hefty organizing, and focus errors, stress is something that can take the fun away from these upcoming summer months. In this blog, we highlighted some helpful ways to move past stress this summer. For more mindful practices and help, head on over to Mind Enhancement Center’s website to learn more!