Research is clear: seven to eight hours of sleep can reverse emotional exhaustion and increase energy levels. Physiological recovery is the foundation for burnout recovery, and getting enough sleep is essential for the body to repair and regenerate.
It takes an average time of three months to a year to recover from burnout. How long your burnout lasts will depend on your level of emotional exhaustion and physical fatigue, as well as if you experience any relapses or periods of stagnant recovery.
If you're “losing it,” you need eight hours of sleep plus two ten- to 15-minute relaxation breaks. “Hitting the wall” means eight to nine hours each night, plus two breaks. And once you're “burned out,” you need eight to ten hours of sleep, plus three 15- to 30-minute naps or retreats.
Rest and relaxation help us to recover before we reach burnout. Basically, finding that balance between working our hardest and taking a breather is essential for avoiding burnout.
Fatigue. Fatigue is a major symptom of burnout and can affect all areas of your life. You might feel like sleeping all the time, or find that even simple tasks take longer to complete.
Bottom line: Don't push through burnout
If you've ever been there, you know that burnout can be serious and debilitating. Don't underestimate the impact it can have on your life. But also don't underestimate your ability to take action on your own behalf. Burnout isn't something that just happens to you.
If chronic stress has led to overwork, you can usually recover from it within a few weeks. If chronic stress has led to burnout, your body is exhausted. With exhaustion, recovery usually takes six months, a year or even longer. There can be a lot of variation in that.
The final stage of burnout is habitual burnout. This means that the symptoms of burnout are so embedded in your life that you are likely to experience a significant ongoing mental, physical or emotional problem, as opposed to occasionally experiencing stress or burnout.
Science is pretty clear on the amount: it's 42%. That's the percentage of time your body and brain need you to spend resting. It's about 10 hours out of every 24. It doesn't have to be every day; it can average out over a week or a month or more.
For anyone who feels they are burnout, consider talking to a medical doctor or a mental health professional – seek only properly registered professionals for psychological assistance. These symptoms can also be related to longer term clinical health conditions, such as depression.
Burnout Recovery Time
Since burnout affects people differently, recovery time hinges on how a person experiences work-related exhaustion. Because of this variation, recovery time can take anywhere from a few weeks to several years.
One of the best ways to return to work after being off sick with employee burnout is to do so gradually. A phased return to work after stress, including reduced hours or amended duties, can help to minimise any triggers.
If left untreated, burnout can become a part of your everyday life and eventually lead to anxiety or depression. You can also begin to experience chronic mental and physical fatigue that prevents you from working. Your job status may be put in jeopardy if you continue on this path.
Being burned out means feeling empty and mentally exhausted, devoid of motivation, and beyond caring. People experiencing burnout often don't see any hope of positive change in their situations. If excessive stress feels like you're drowning in responsibilities, burnout is a sense of being all dried up.
Physical Burnout Symptoms
Chronic stress may be felt physically in terms of having more aches and pains, low energy levels, and changes in appetite. 4 All of these physical signs suggest that you may be experiencing burnout.
Engage in self nourishment: Involve yourself with activities that uplift your mind and body, such as exercise, healthy eating, and getting enough sleep. Seek support: Talk to a friend, family member, or mental health professional about how you're feeling.
Burnout is when a person reaches a state of total mental, physical and emotional exhaustion and it has some similar signs and symptoms to a nervous breakdown. Your doctor can prescribe medicines for many mental health conditions, and refer you to other healthcare professionals, such as psychologists or psychiatrists.
When a person reaches a phase of burnout, they may be unable to complete their responsibilities at a job or at home. The inability to take care of day-to-day obligations will lead to increased stress and eventually to a mental breakdown.
When your day to day life is an endless cycle with a plate that's just too full to carry, eventually your arms have no choice but to collapse. It's a constant battle: if you don't work hard enough everything builds up but if you work too hard, eventually your body collapses from shear exhaustion.
Your brain on burnout
Chronic stress has long been known to contribute to mental and physical diseases, and now researchers are able to capture what happens to the brain. “One of the most striking (effects) is thinning of the gray matter of an area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex,” Arnsten said.
One of the biggest signs of burnout is a “busyness” hangover.
Symptoms include exhaustion, reduced productivity, and cynicism, according to the World Health Organization. It can also lead to mental and physical exhaustion, a loss of identity, and feeling a lack of accomplishment, the Mayo Clinic says. Experts believe that burnout can lead to depression.