Music stimulates the production of dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter that plays an important role in our cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning. It is also known as the chemical which causes you to feel good. Your body will produce dopamine when you eat or when you are in love for example. Dopamine in the brain plays a big role in the pleasure people feel when they listen to music, which means that music has a very powerful impact on our mood. That is why we have to take advantage of this knowledge!

Imagine: you are very tense about your date, you fear the meeting with your co-worker or you are just very tired. Try to listen to songs that make your heart beat faster. The right song will cause an ultimate confidence boost! Do you need inspiration? Give the following songs a try:

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

Whatever happens, no mountain is too high or valley is too low. You will overcome obstacles!

Bad – Michael Jackson

“The sky is the limit!”

Lovely Day – Bill Withers

And you know.. it is going to be a lovely day.

Get Down Saturday Night – Oliver Cheatham

And then you realise, I am going to have some fun myself.

One More Time – Daft Punk

One more time, we are going to celebrate. You are doing good.

Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars

If you feel good, flaunt it!

Happy – Pharrell Williams

Do we need to say more why this one is on the list?

NiceDay App

In NiceDay you can plan activities. Try to plan an music activity and discover the effect of music on your mood. Compare your experiences before and after listening to your favourite music. Follow our NiceDay Spotify to listen to the playlists our coaches put together!

A burnout often arises after a very long period of stress, in which you physically and mentally ask too much of your body. For a long time your body uses more energy than you actually have in storage. In this blog we explain how your energy supply can run out during a prolonged period of stress.

A bottle of energy every day

Everyone has a bottle of energy a day. Everything you do in a day costs energy, and for each activity, energy is poured from your bottle. The bottles of energy are stored in a fridge. Every day you can get one bottle of energy from this fridge to use. The fridge is then replenished from the pantry. The pantry is the place where the energy is produced. If you use a bottle of energy per day, all systems are properly adjusted to each other. Your energy level remains approximately the same over a longer period of time.

Using too many bottles of energy

Suppose you use one and a half bottles of energy per day. In the first instance you will notice that the fridge runs empty faster. The refrigerator is able to continue this function with a somewhat lower energy supply. However, at some point the storage in the fridge runs out. It will give a signal to the pantry, which has to work harder to replenish the energy supply.

The pantry will produce more energy. But at a certain point, the pantry will also reach its maximum production. The pantry will give signals that it is getting overloaded. At this moment the stress signals arise, such as examples of fatigue, pain (headache, abdominal pain, muscle pain), high muscle tension, irritability, anxiety and feeling of sadness. The longer the process of overload continues, the worse the complaints can become.

When you are burned out, this is often because you have used more energy (more bottles) during a long period of stress than the one bottle that is available per day. Therefore, it is important to supplement the energy storage.

Recovery is slow

To replenish the energy supply, it is not enough to go back to 1 bottle per day. You need to spare some energy every day to refill the fridge and pantry. It means that you use up ¾ or ⅔ of the bottle every day, so that that some energy can be returned to the fridge.

Need help?

Do you want help to replenish your energy supplies? Discuss it with a NiceDay coach. For long-term help with burnout, you need to contact your doctor for a referral to a PsyQ professional.

Hygge: the Danish way of cosiness. It’s all about being calm and peaceful with all that is important. And the Danish know what’s right, they can call themselves the happiest country in the world for a couple of years already! Want to know their secret? We describe it in 6 steps.

Step 1: Seek warmth and comfort

After a tough day of work, it’s time to destress. Go and get comfy! Take off your jeans and get into a woollen sweater or your favourite pyjamas. Make a cup of tea and sit close to the heater. It’s cold enough outside already!

Step 2: Get a cosy interior

Make your home a cosy place. Don’t use bright colours in your interior but go for colours that radiate calm. Candles are very hygge, so light them even when you’re alone! Get some nice pillows and a beautiful rug. Change your bathroom into a spa and get some (extra) plants. Dive in Pinterest for some nice ideas! Your surroundings unconsciously affect how you feel.

Copyright Pinterest

Step 3: Spend time with family and friends

Spend some time with your loved ones. Turn off the television and do not use your phone, enjoy each other’s company. Take a moment to be grateful for what you have and for the people who are part of it.

Step 4: Get some me-time

However, it’s also important to spend time with yourself. Do something you like and relax. Take a bath or read a book or magazine. Don’t think about other people’s needs and focus on yourself. It’s time to recharge!

Step 5: Comfort food

Does cooking stress you out? Go for comfort food! Comfort food can be very healthy, for example a vegetable stew and warm apple with cinnamon as a dessert. Also hot drinks and soups are hygge-proof.

Step 6: Get your rest

Stress is not done: hygge is all about rest and calm. Enjoy your night. Take care of yourself and the people around you. Let all the things bugging you go! Search the web for relaxation exercises of try some mindfulness.

“Hygge is about simplifying life, a feeling of cosy, being aware of a good moment, lingering over an evening with friends and stopping to enjoy the simple pleasures.”

NiceDay: Do you suffer from stress? Plan a hygge evening in your Daily Planner and write down in your diary whether it was successful and how it felt.

Taking care of your health is something many of us like to do. However, because we also have obligations to family, work, our hobbies and friends, we don’t always take the time to do so. But if we were to be healthy during our work hours it would give us a great health boost already! That way, you will have more energy to do things outside of your work hours. And who doesn’t like that? So here are some tips to start being a little more healthy at work:

Know a healthy lunch
If you go out and buy something to eat and drink everyday, you already have an easy way to get some extra exercise in. You will quickly feel more alert, because your blood circulation is being stimulated by moving your body. But your body needs more for energy: food! If you enjoy eating bread, that’s no problem at all. Carbohydrates are important in providing energy. It is important to choose for whole grain products, though. This will provide energy for a longer period of time. It’s possible to check the ingredients list to see what exact percentage is whole grain in a product! Something that’s also easy to do, is to cook a little extra the day before you go to work. That way, you have an easy and healthy meal at work, that you made yourself!

Take the time for your health
If you have a job that requires you to stare at a computer screen for extended periods of time, it is important to allow your eyes to get some rest as well. Remember the 20-20-20 rule for this: take some time every 20 minutes to look away from the screen for 20 seconds. Look at something in the distance outside. This will help prevent tired eyes. It’s also possible to use an extension for your web browser to remind you to take these breaks. Also, drinking some water every hour and taking a short walk can do wonders for your health and productivity.

5 quick tips

• Don’t buy snacks for your work area. Choose to eat fruit!
• Ask your colleagues to take a walk outside during or after lunch today.
• Drink water and tea. Don’t drink coffee in the afternoon.
• Open a window every other hour. Give your brain some oxygen!
• Talk to others and support each other by lunching together and giving each other tips!