Why Your Body Holds Stress Even After Work Hours

You logged off and just stepped out of the office. Messages stopped coming. Notifications went silent. But your shoulders remained stiff, your jaws clenched, and your brain swirling. If this rings true

to you, then you are not imagining it. The stress does not stop with working hours. For too many of us, our body still holds the stress of the workday after the laptop has gone into sleep mode.

The Office Timings Do Not Make Sense To Your Body

The nervous system of human beings is not designed to receive constant emails, due dates, and notifications. When work stress sets in, your body switches to survival mode and releases cortisol and adrenaline so that you are not sleepy. The problem here is that, unlike a meeting which has a definite end time, your nervous system does not know when it is done. When there are no positive indicators of safety, your body remains highly alert- even when you are back from the office.

When Body Becomes The Storage of Stress

Stress is not something mental, but physical. Tension can build up in the body out of hours of sitting, repression of the heart or muscle-powering through overwhelming fatigue. The tightening shoulders are expected to carry the blame, the clenching of the jaw is usually the expression of the frustration that is not said out loud, and the pain below the back is often associated with stress that took longer than necessary. When emotions are not processed, the body acts as the storage unit.

The Delusion of Post-Work Repose

When you scroll through your phone, binge-watch, or doom-scroll the news, this might feel like rest; however, your brain does not consider it as rest. Screens ensure that the nervous system is stimulated and prevent it from switching to recovery mode. That is why even after spending several hours in a state of relaxation, you can be too tired, restless, or irritated.

Why You Feel Exhausted, But You Can’t Sleep

When you are stressed, it definitely affects your sleep cycles. You will often find yourself in a situation when you are exhausted after a demanding day at the office, but still, you will be struggling to fall asleep or to wake up without feeling refreshed. It occurs because cortisol levels remain at an elevated level, informing your body that it is not the time to fall asleep, even at midnight.

How to Gently Release After Work

You do not need radical regimes. Simple rituals assist in bringing your body to a feeling of safety. To relax, one needs to practice slow breathing, stretch, take a brisk walk, take warm showers, or even sit down quietly. These indicators inform your nervous system that working hours are indeed over.The process of healing starts as soon as you give up the question of “why I cannot relax,” and begin the question with “what do I need to feel safe now?”