Nancy Hastings nhastings@hillsdale.net nhastingsHDN

Nearly all Americans understand that relaxation time is essential to good health, yet most of us dont spend nearly enough time unwinding.

After just observing a relaxing Labor Day weekend in southern Indiana, I pondered the origins of work. Being able to do some work remotely was still an option.

Work has, after all, been around since the creation of heaven and earth. Quite simply, God worked and created man to work. In the fall of man, work was not a punishment. God cursed the land to produce thorns and weeds, but didnt curse the work. Unfortunately, most Americans do.

Many Americans work continuously in jobs they dont enjoy. Often our work can be full of thorns, but we wouldnt grow if we didnt have adversity to overcome. When we like our work, it's rewarding, but breaks are important.

So yes, taking time to relax is paramount. After all, God rested on the seventh day after creating the universe. A Sunday sermon topic out of Ecclesiastes covered how the sleep of the laborer is sweet work in harmony with God and work is a blessing, but it requires rest.

While our society acknowledges that kicking back is indispensable, we dont seem to be practicing what we preach. Indeed, 99 percent of Americans think relaxation is important, yet they actually spend less than five percent of their day relaxing, according to an independent research study.

The goal of the research was to better understand the latest trends about how many of us actually relax and how we go about doing it.

Nearly half of Americans report theyre more stressed than their significant other, with a whopping 82 percent of men indicating that their partner is the stressed out one. Finding ways to de-stress is the key.

Music topped the list of relaxation techniques for those surveyed, with 48 percent reporting music helps them take it easy. Interestingly, only 18 percent find exercise is a good relaxation tool.

For me, yoga works wonders when its time to decompress. Stretching out the trapezius (extrinsic back muscle) or the latissimus dorsi (another extrinsic back muscle) also brings me rejuvenation.

Overall, laughter is really my way to decompress. When Im feeling the walls close in, I find humor in the situation and suddenly its not as important or as earth shattering as what I initially thought. Ive found it prevents burnout, irritability, back pain and the desire to overeat.

After hanging out with extended family and friends over the Labor Day weekend, laughter was my medicinal tonic. It can also help when giving advice to a friend dealing with caregiver stress for whose aging parents are facing the autumn season of their lives. Many baby boomers face stress because they are dealing with caregiver overload from taking care of parents and then are parents themselves.

Even so, the studys most surprising findings were that relaxation causes 62 percent of parents to feel guilty and that nearly one third of Americans surveyed reported being stressed out simply by the thought of relaxing!

Many of us suffer with the inability to take the time and just be. There is a such a strong temptation to fill our lives, (and our kids lives) with activities, so that no time is wasted. Weve become very efficient at being efficient.

When it all feels like too much, it usually means it is. That is when surrender is the best answer, and that is when it's time to just be.

When writers experience writers block, when a pregnant woman is put on bed-rest, when an athlete tears a muscle, when creativity juices stop flowing, its ones body telling them its just all too much at that given moment. When this happens, just stop. Theres always tomorrow.

There is nothing wrong with a little down time every now and then for anyone.

Nancy Hastings is a Daily News staff writer and can be reached at nhastings@hillsdale.net Follow her on Twitter: @nhastingsHDN

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