You know that feeling when you have 15 tabs open in your brain, even the light feels too bright, but you cannot afford to just log off and take a nap? This is called overstimulation, where your brain is not completely tired, but it has a lot of things going on at once. The good news is you don't need to stop everything to reset. 

Things To Do When Feeling Overstimulated

Here are 7 things you can do right at your desk that calm your nervous system without breaking your flow.

1. Sip a Warm Drink

Change your routine a little by taking a small break and making a cup of tea or green tea for yourself. Focus completely on the physical sensation and temperature of the drink. If tea or coffee is not available, you can also sip to warm water, easily available at offices.

2. Switch To Single Task

Multitasking can be tiring and will drain you. Stop that immediately and focus on a single task. Put away non-essential items to reduce immediate sensory input.

3. Change Your Breathing Pattern

This is an easy method to quickly energise yourself for a short period of time. Use the box breathing method, where you have to breathe in for four seconds, hold for four, exhale for four, and hold for four. This method gives a safety signal to the brain and nervous system.

4. Use Cold Shock

Quickly splash cold water on your face or hold a cold object for 30 seconds to activate your parasympathetic nervous system and lower your heart rate. This will energise you for a while.

5. Externalise Your Thoughts

Externalising your thoughts is an effective method to get things done when you are tired. Write down every pending task to clear your mental working memory and start prioritising each and every task one by one.

6. Change your sensory backdrop

By turning down harsh overhead lights, you can help your brain relax. Along with this, you can also put on familiar instrumental or brown noise, or move slightly if you are sitting rigidly.

7. Practice muscle tension release

Pick a single area, like your lower legs and calves. Take a deep breath in and squeeze or tense that specific muscle group hard for 4 to 10 seconds. Make sure you tense the muscles firmly. Exhale and let go of the tension suddenly and completely. This will provide some relief from the stress. 
Try one of these seven suggestions next time your brain feels too noisy due to workload. Your work will still be there, but you will come back to it feeling a lot clearer.
(Image Credits: Magnific)
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