Is there a right and wrong way to rest?
Written by Lyn Hatch
Photo credit: Andrea Piacquadio
In a world where being active and pushing yourself to breaking point is seen as the norm - even as a badge of honour - taking a break and resting can feel like a failure. However, rest is a hugely important part of health and is certainly part of the solution for chronic illness.
It can be hard to rest though can’t it? Rest can feel like laziness but…
Rest is essential.
Just to clarify, sleep and rest are not the same thing. We often think that if we sleep more that we will feel better but often we wake up feeling just as tired as before.
That’s because living demands that we use many types of energy that need replenishing in different ways:
Mental
Spiritual
Emotional
Social
Sensory
Creative
Physical
Where are you using the most energy in your day?
“Rest is the most underused, chemical free, safe and effective alternative therapy available us us.”
So, is there a right and wrong way to rest and what kinds of rest should you be making time for in order to restore yourself and your batteries?
Creating the right type of rest is key for you to reap the benefits.
Slumping in front of the TV, watching endless boxsets while snacking, and sipping on mugs of coffee can feel like rest, but none of these things are going to give your body what it’s craving.
This kind of rest is surrounding your body with negative energy, stimulants, and will probably leave you feeling down and exhausted. Amanda knows this well because these are all the things she tried when she was first told to rest.
There are other ways to rest that can boost your mood and recharge you. Here are some ways we get our clients to try when they need to rest more.
Find things that fill you up - do more things that you love.
Rest can look different to everyone. For some it’s taking a bath, dancing, reading a good book, watching a film that boosts your mood or lighting a candle and mindfulness meditation. Rest doesn’t have to mean stopping everything, it’s about carving out space in your day to slow down and focus on what your body needs.
Amanda has a love for creative activities, this helped her to rest and repair from her chronic illness. (You can read her full story here). Creativity reawakens the child-like awe and wonder in us. That can even mean taking a moment to appreciate beauty and nature around you or admire a picture or work of art. After all, we can’t expect to spend 40 hours a week staring at beige walls and wonder where our passion or creativity has gone!
Are you doing enough of the things you love to do?
Emotional & social rest
Eliminate or reduce that people-pleasing, draining behaviour. Learn to be honest and say when you are not ok, share the hard things you’re experiencing. Surround yourself with positive people who fill you up. Mirror neurons in our brain mean that if we are around negative, draining people, we can soon start to feel like that too. Invest in those genuine friendships which love you as you are and forget those superficial acquaintances who take energy to serve.
Why ignoring taking regular breaks is a bad idea
It’s easy to power on and use caffeine or sugar to get through the slump but if we listen to our bodies instead, we’ll notice something interesting. Every day we experience Ultradian rhythms: biological patterns cycling every 90 minutes through a peak and trough in order to manage the energy production in our bodies. Ignore them at your peril! When disrupted or ignored they mess with your health, happiness and general wellbeing.
If you think about that mid-morning and mid-afternoon slump then you’ll realise perhaps now what it is. It’s your body working exactly as it was meant to. It’s a sign that you need to take a break to allow cellular regeneration, blood sugar rebalancing, detoxification of systems and repair of the body’s tissues. Stepping away from what you’re doing, even for as little as 5-10 minutes can make a real difference.
Here are some ideas of what that break might look like:
Head to the toilet
Get a drink of water or a cup of tea and drink it slowly and mindfully
Grab a healthy snack
Take a walk outside
Stare into space and let your mind wander
Visit a colleague or friend and express something positive
Listen to a piece of music that helps you feel good
Do a mindless task like stapling or cleaning your desk
Make a list of things you’re grateful for
Reflect on your strengths and how you’ve used them that day so far
Rest doesn’t have to mean sleep
As we’ve said, you don’t have to sleep when you rest. Listen to your body. Does it need to sleep or, does it need something else? Laying down in a quiet room for 10 minutes may be all the rest you need. Try this mindfulness practice to help let go of your thoughts whist you tune into your body.
Switch off
Turn off social media, switch off your notifications, put your out of office on, silence your phone. Unplugging from technology completely, even if for a short amount of time, can really help boost how you feel and give you good quality rest. Once in a while, we plan a full day with no technology. We urge you to give it a try; you will feel so recharged!
Sensory Rest
Our overstimulating world inflicts sensory damage on us. Escape the bright lights and ambient noise by closing your eyes and switching off the radio or other distractions for a while. Try being still for just a few moments to restore your sensory energy levels.
Reframe what rest means
Is it time to tell yourself a different story about resting? It’s not weakness or laziness. It’s essential. It’s necessary. It will help you in so many ways.
So, next time your body is crying out for you to rest, think about what kind of rest you’re giving it. Sitting on the sofa in front of the TV is okay to do every now and again, but there are so many other ways to ‘rest’ that will leave you feeling rested and recharged – in both your mind and your body.
If you’re interested in doing some more reflection on rest then this great quiz provides some structure to do that:
What’s your favourite way to rest? What might you do more of?
This blog was written by Lyn Hatch, Feel Well Coaching. To read more of her tips about healthy living, click here
