Always checking your email on your phone? Working late into the night? There's nothing wrong with working hard, but it is possible to overwork yourself and the holidays are a great time to take a break. Here are the signs you’re overworking yourself.
1. You just cannot focus
Even though you've made yourself a to-do list you just cannot seem to complete even one task successfully. You feel like you are doing a million and one things at a time, without ever truly finishing one task off. Furthermore your mind is constantly wandering or even racing, you cannot seem to concentrate. This is a sign that you need to relax so that your brain and body can recuperate from all those long work hours. Once you have gotten the rest you need, you will find you can do solid work again.
2. You constantly feel irritated and it shows
Whether it is with friends, family or strangers such as waiters, flight attendants, you just can't seem to play nice, even with the people you love. The slightest hiccup causes you upset. You have no patience for small errors from anybody, even your kids. This is a sign that you're emotionally overwrought and very tired. After a few nights of proper sleep you will be back to your old self.
3. You engage in constant caffeine consumption and sugar addiction
In a bid to try to regain the feeling of being awake, alert and enthusiastic you keep on reaching for the coffee cup, drinking energy drinks plus consuming sugary foods and beverages. You seem to need more and more caffeine and sugar to get that buzz. This is a telling sign that your body just does not have enough energy to fuel your hectic days. After relaxing during the holiday you should find you do not need to resort to stimulants to feel energized.
4. You can't seem to shake off that cold or cough
A persistent nagging bug you can't get rid of, like a cough, stomach bug, headaches that won't go away, may all be signs that your immune system is weakened. When you don't get enough rest, your body has a hard time keeping up its defenses. This is your body's way of warning you that you need to slow down, if you don't it could lead to a serious diagnosis later on, so make sure you listen to yourself and take that break.
5. You are plagued by insomnia and lack of sleep
It could be that you can't fall asleep at night because you worry too much about work or maybe you suddenly wake up in the middle of the night with work on the brain. Perhaps you just don't find you have enough time to sleep because you stay up late working and get up early to work, either way you can't remember the last time you had a good night's sleep. Not sleeping is dangerous because the body uses that time to repair and re-fuel itself. Make sure you get a lie-in during the holidays so you catch up on sleep.