Rest is Best
Humans need rest. We need rest like we need food & water. Without rest, we can't function our best.
Remember when nothing was open on Sundays? So there was nothing to accomplish or do. It was a day of rest. I remember as a child that on Sundays we would go to church, then visit with family or prepare food for the upcoming week or spend time at home. It didn't feel like we were missing out. In fact, it felt like we were well connected to our community and ourselves. Can we bring that back, please?
Okay, okay. So maybe we can't shut the economy down on Sundays again, but we can schedule rest into our lives. Whether it's a Sunday, Monday or any day of the week, can you commit to a day or half of day of rest?
What does rest look like?
Rest might look different for each one of us. Depending on your lifestyle, job and other activities, rest can come in many different forms.
Rest doesn't have to mean laying down and doing absolutely nothing. Rest can be a gentle yoga practice, reading a good book, playing cards with your family, drinking a cup of tea or going for a walk in nature.
Seven Types of Rest
Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith has broken down the 7 types of rest that we all need. They are...
- Social Rest
- Emotional Rest
- Spiritual Rest
- Mental Rest
- Sensory Rest
- Creative Rest
- Physical Rest
Learn which type of rest might be best for you and how to encourage that type of rest in another blog post here.
All The Professionals Practice Resting
Talk to almost any doctor, professional athlete, spiritual leader, or corporate manager and they will all tell you to take time to rest because rest is essential for living a healthy and balanced life.
Doctors are now beginning to prescribe rest. In Canada there is a program called PaRx that prescribes time in nature to rest & rejuvenate.
Professional Athletes have schedule rest in their training programs. Don Lewis of Tier 1 Athletic Performance says that athletes should work hard 5 days a week and rest for 2 non-consecutive days per week for optimal results.
Spiritual Leaders in most religions have scheduled rest days each week or rest times each day. Prayer is a time of rest.
Corporate Managers might not always be the most encouraging when it comes to resting. But the successful ones know that rest breeds productivity. Naps at work are the new best thing, according to this article from the Globe & Mail.
The Benefits Of Resting
As you relax, your autonomic nervous system begins to slow, which in turn slows your heart rate and breathing rate. This lowers your blood pressure and offers many other benefits. Some of the benefits of resting include, but are not limited to;
- Improved mood
- Reduced stress and anxiety
- Sharper brain function
- Lower blood pressure
- Can help relieve chronic pain
- Improved immune health
A Day Of Rest
An entire day, or even half of day of rest might be unrealistic for many of us. But why can't we change that? Because you can only work so hard and get so much done in one day. Everybody needs to rest and recharge in order to be truly productive.
Can you try this week to schedule half a day for resting?
We'd love to hear from you about how you're resting into 2023!
xo Shelley
