{"id":523,"date":"2013-10-18T06:00:33","date_gmt":"2013-10-18T10:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/?p=523"},"modified":"2013-10-10T22:36:59","modified_gmt":"2013-10-11T02:36:59","slug":"the-3-best-ways-to-unwind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2013\/10\/the-3-best-ways-to-unwind.html","title":{"rendered":"The 3 Best Ways to Unwind"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"nature\"<\/a>I have a big academic paper\u00a0 to write. This kind of task, like many we encounter at work, requires sustained energy and focus. But after awhile, we all need a break. So what is the best way to unwind for a few minutes?\u00a0 Coffee, candy, stretching?<\/p>\n

1) Take a nature walk.<\/strong> Researchers at the University of Michigan proved that performance on tasks that require sustained focus improved by 20% when subjects took a nature break. It has to be nature, not just any walk down a city street. Apparently the elements engage our minds differently than other types of settings. So if you have a park, arboretum, or nature trail near by, get on it!<\/p>\n

2) Stanford researchers found that people who believe they have unlimited willpower<\/strong> can work longer and keep their performance up. Good news for college students who need to power through studying for an exam or those of us who must make a deadline.\u00a0 Just believe you can do it.<\/p>\n

3) Go exercise or grab a healthy snack<\/strong>. This seems to be better than downing coffee to help with concentrate. Too much coffee can increase anxiety and leave you more stressed than before a break. And the choice of an energy boosting snack is better than one loaded with sugar and fat. So if you are yawning at your desk and need a boost, Health.com<\/a> recommends 1\/2 cup sliced banana or a small apple with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, 4 wholegrain crackers spread with 1 tablespoon of hummus, 1\/4 cup of dried fruit or nuts, 6 ounces of plain nonfat yogurt mixed with a tablespoon of granola, or a whole grain high protein bar,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have a big academic paper\u00a0 to write. This kind of task, like many we encounter at work, requires sustained energy and focus. But after awhile, we all need a break. So what is the best way to unwind for a few minutes?\u00a0 Coffee, candy, stretching? 1) Take a nature walk. Researchers at the University…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[925,918,1],"tags":[135,349,351,16,345,83,350,347,56,17,348,346,134],"class_list":["post-523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mintle-mentions","category-relationship-to-food","category-uncategorized","tag-anxiety","tag-deadlines","tag-eating","tag-exercise","tag-fatigue","tag-health-2","tag-healthy-snacks","tag-overload","tag-relaxation","tag-stress-2","tag-unwind","tag-work","tag-worry"],"yoast_head":"\nThe 3 Best Ways to Unwind<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2013\/10\/the-3-best-ways-to-unwind.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The 3 Best Ways to Unwind\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I have a big academic paper\u00a0 to write. This kind of task, like many we encounter at work, requires sustained energy and focus. But after awhile, we all need a break. So what is the best way to unwind for a few minutes?\u00a0 Coffee, candy, stretching? 1) Take a nature walk. Researchers at the University…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2013\/10\/the-3-best-ways-to-unwind.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doing Life Together\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-10-18T10:00:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-10-11T02:36:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2011\/09\/nature.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Mintle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drlindamintle\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The 3 Best Ways to Unwind","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2013\/10\/the-3-best-ways-to-unwind.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The 3 Best Ways to Unwind","og_description":"I have a big academic paper\u00a0 to write. This kind of task, like many we encounter at work, requires sustained energy and focus. But after awhile, we all need a break. So what is the best way to unwind for a few minutes?\u00a0 Coffee, candy, stretching? 1) Take a nature walk. Researchers at the University…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2013\/10\/the-3-best-ways-to-unwind.html","og_site_name":"Doing Life Together","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","article_published_time":"2013-10-18T10:00:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-10-11T02:36:59+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2011\/09\/nature.jpg"}],"author":"Linda Mintle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@drlindamintle","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2013\/10\/the-3-best-ways-to-unwind.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2013\/10\/the-3-best-ways-to-unwind.html","name":"The 3 Best Ways to Unwind","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2013\/10\/the-3-best-ways-to-unwind.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2013\/10\/the-3-best-ways-to-unwind.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2011\/09\/nature.jpg","datePublished":"2013-10-18T10:00:33+00:00","dateModified":"2013-10-11T02:36:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2013\/10\/the-3-best-ways-to-unwind.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2013\/10\/the-3-best-ways-to-unwind.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2013\/10\/the-3-best-ways-to-unwind.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2011\/09\/nature.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2011\/09\/nature.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2013\/10\/the-3-best-ways-to-unwind.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The 3 Best Ways to Unwind"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/","name":"Doing Life Together","description":"Relationship Doctor, Mental Health, Emotional Wellness, Relationship Advice & Entertainment","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142","name":"Linda Mintle","description":"It is rare that a trained academic who speaks passionately to the heart of people providing real answers to real life problems is so relatable. Dr. Linda\u2019s fun personality and expertise comes through whether she\u2019s helping her audience stress less or make peace with their thighs! Dr. Linda has her Ph.D. in Urban Health and Clinical Psychology and is a national expert on mental health. She has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety, depression and pain management. With 30 years of clinical experience working with couples, families and individuals, she brings her common-sense approach to people who want to live in positive mental health. Dr. Linda is also a bestselling author with 21 book titles to her credit, a radio host of the Dr. Linda Mintle show, professor, national speaker, winner of the Mom\u2019s Choice Award, a national news consultant, featured writer for Beliefnet and hosts her own website. Her academic appointments keep her abreast of current research in her areas of expertise. Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family\u2019s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to everyday living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought-after speaker on college campuses, conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and integrate faith and mental health in everyday living. Check out her latest book Hope and Healing for Anxiety, a whole-person approach to eliminate anxiety. .","sameAs":["https:\/\/drlindamintle.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/x.com\/drlindamintle"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/author\/lmintle"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=523"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5472,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523\/revisions\/5472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}