Home or Hotel? Which is best for stress?

Home or Away?
86% of business travellers would prefer to spend the night in a hotel rather than at home, before an early meeting. (research conducted by Quadriga)

Everyone likes a break, a change of scene but 86% is a high percentage. What is this saying about our homes lives, when we would rather stay at a hotel than at home?

‘Me’ time and being able to work without distractions were listed as the reasons for choosing a night in a hotel rather than at home. Today we are busier than ever. We all appreciate a little bit of ‘me’ time, but should we be spending more time on ourselves than we do on others. in 2009, 9.8 (estimated) working days were lost as a cause of work related stress (hse.gov.uk). During the years 09/10, sufferers of work related stress took approximately 22.6 days off. Although this figure is higher than previous years, work related stress is not ‘new’. Stress has consistently been the second most commonly reported type of work-related illness. (hse,gov.uk) Could spending a little more ‘me’ time in hotels before meetings help to reduce stress?

Benefits of a Hotel
In a hotel you don’t have to worry about the day to day tasks which might be getting you down. There is no tidying up to be done, the bed is made freshly for you, there are no distractions unless you chose for there to be. The phone isn’t ringing in the background, and you are afforded the space to think, and the space to work. Our lives are more cluttered than ever. We own twice as many goods as our grandfathers, and they can take up a lot of space. There is something so refreshing about staying in a space devoid of identity, of personality, reminders of things we have done, wished we could do, and would rather forget.

Hotels are equipped with advanced tv systems meaning you have everything you need at the touch of a button, rather than having to search for the remote down the back of the sofa. You can order room service, watch a film, or browse the internet. It is easy why 86% of business travellers would prefer to spend the night in a hotel rather than at home, before an early meeting.

It can be difficult to set some time for yourself in this modern world. Work can be a stressful place, home can be a stressful place, and we don’t all have the luxury of having some ‘me’ time in a hotel. It can help to set aside some time to relax at home. Ensuring you are actually ‘relaxing’ by taking yourself away from distractions and allowing some time to focus on yourself. This can help to reduce your stress levels. Many people feel that they don’t have ‘time’ to relax. Taking just a few minutes out of your busy day can work wonders.

Stressful work situations can be a whole different kettle of fish. If you are feeling stressed at work, here are some tips to help:

Breathing. Inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth can help to regulate your thoughts and calm you down.
Concentrating on your breathing will help to focus you and take your mind away from what is causing you stress.
Walk away. Is the situation you are in immediately stressful? If you can, remove yourself from the situation and count to ten. Focusing on something other than the trigger will help.
A regular change of scene can help to take your mind off things