Sabine Sonnentag

The benefits of the vacation fade out quite quickly.

So about two weeks after the end of the vacation, people are again at the level of their well-being as they were before the vacation.

And this can be even stronger when they face heavy stressors when they come back from vacation.

It's enough just to stop the bleeding again and again.

So I'm very much interested in finding out what people can do to unwind, to recuperate, to feel better after a hard day.

Relaxation is that what many people think when they think of recovery, unwinding, maybe doing nothing, just relaxing.

And so in terms of more physiological processes, it means a low sympathetic activation, so lower blood pressure, lower heart rates.

But that is not the only avenue to becoming recovered.

So that could be physical activities, physical exercise that is in most instances not immediately relaxing, but activating activities that are challenging.

So for instance, learning a new language or having a hobby that really helps

asks to step outside one's comfort zone.

So that can be experiences that are recovering as well.

There are several processes in place.

So one can be the physical exhaustion that results very often in a state of relaxation when the sort of undoing of the depletion kicks in.

So these really challenging activities ask us for focusing and putting our attention on a very specific topic, a specific thing, activity, could be a specific person.

And therefore, our thoughts are not distracted, but really focused.

And that can provide some aspect of recovery.

Yep.

Happy to do so.

Go for where the greatest need is.

and or explore doing this one of the experiences or the others.

If we look in terms of outcomes, I mean, they have many overlapping consequences, but the most striking difference is that relaxation results more in...

Positive affective states, they are calm, they are quiet, they are serene, whereas mastery results in more activated positive states.

So being excited, being alert, being active and so on.

And so therefore, in the evening, it could sometimes be better to strive for relaxation because that should help to sleep better.

Whereas in the morning, if it's possible, it's better to do something that stimulates and that results in positive affective states and not necessarily in calmness and serenity.