A recent news story, currently making its rounds on the Internet, started with a Twitter user sharing a response to her email from the CEO of the company she works at. The employee sent an email out to her team, sharing that she was going to take a couple of days off for a mental health break. The CEO directly responded and thanked her for being a great example. He shares how emails like this serve as a reminder to all and how important it is to remove the stigma around mental health. The tweet has garnered 14k+ retweets and 40k+ favorites, with thousands of people sharing support and their own experiences.
The Era of Mental Health
Mental health has been growing a topic of interest and discussion in the past couple of years. With significant statistics such as 1 in 5 adults will experience a mental health condition in a year and 50% in their lifetime, it’s time that taking care of one’s mental health becomes a priority, in and out of the workplace. Luckily, stories like this shine light on the growing encouragement of using sick days as mental health breaks.
Source: American Health Council
While taking full days off might not be feasible, a great way to improve and maintain mental health is through short breaks of meditation. Even just one week of brief daily mindfulness meditation practice has been found to produce significant improvements in attention, energy, and stress. 
Practicing mindfulness and meditation has also repeatedly been shown to improve our ability to sustain attention. Even in high stress work environments, research found that people who were trained in meditation were able to stay on a task longer.Consistent practice of mindfulness meditation can also have a notable beneficial impact on our overall mood, including depression and anxiety.
Here are some recommended meditations for those stressful work weeks:
This 7-day series guides you through daily breathing exercises, finding moments of silence, and showing gratitude. 
Listen here: https://www.simplehabit.com/break-from-stressful-days
Slow down for five minutes to refresh your mindset and improve any frustration and anxiety. 
Listen here: https://www.simplehabit.com/work-stress
Without proper rest and time off, our performance declines and ability to tolerate stress diminishes. Access the benefits of rest with this 7-day series: 
Listen here: https://www.simplehabit.com/learn-to-rest
Taking breaks to check in with your mental and physical health are crucial to continue performing at your best. Try just 5 minutes of mindfulness with Simple Habit today for free to help you work smarter and stress less. 
Need A Massage? Learn How To Give One To Yourself And Your Loved Ones
Receiving a massage, whether it’s given by someone else or self-administered, can help loosen your muscles and establish a better connection not only with your body but also with the people you love.
