It's cliché to say that life moves pretty fast, but it does. You have busy workdays that turn into busy evenings and fleeting months. You're taking care of your family, hanging out with friends, and keeping up with your daily routine and responsibilities. Before you know it, you've forgotten to take time to rest. And your body feels it, mentally and physically.
Learning how to rest sounds simple, but you might need a refresher. Have you heard of emotional rest, sensory rest, or social rest? It's more than simply taking regular naps. Incorporating more rest into your routine might be difficult, but your body will thank you for it the next day and for years to come.
In this article, we'll explain why rest is necessary for everyone. Plus, we'll talk about effective and not-so-effective ways to rest your body and how you'll benefit from routine rest. Take a deep breath, and let's begin.
Types of rest
When we talk about rest and learning how to achieve it, we usually think of physical and mental rest first. We’re physically exhausted from a day of errands or mentally exhausted from a work sprint. Sometimes we’re dealing with both. But there are actually at least seven types of rest. Tapping into each can help us feel properly rested:
- Mental rest: This is necessary when we feel overwhelmed, are unable to focus, or feel mentally exhausted. To achieve mental rest we can take short breaks, journal our thoughts, and disconnect from digital devices, especially before going to bed.
- Physical rest: This type of rest is required when we are physically exhausted or experiencing pain. It includes passive rest like sleeping, and active rest like restorative yoga, stretching, or professional care treatments.
- Social rest: We need social rest when interacting with others becomes draining. We can manage our social energy by spending time alone or with people who uplift us, and not overextending ourselves socially.
- Emotional rest: This type of rest is needed when we feel emotionally overwhelmed. Suggestions include setting boundaries, taking time before responding to requests, and expressing our feelings in a safe environment.
- Sensory rest: Sensory overload from constant sensory input like noise and lights can be addressed through digital detoxes, meditation, and sensory deprivation therapies.
- Spiritual rest: This type of rest helps us reconnect with a sense of purpose and belonging. Engaging in a community, volunteering, and working with mentors are ways to achieve spiritual rest.
- Creative rest: When we feel uninspired, we need to take a break and engage in creative rest. This involves immersing ourselves in nature, participating in purely fun activities, and surrounding ourselves with other creative individuals. It's also important to disconnect from technology and allow our minds to wander freely. By doing so, we can regain our creativity and feel more inspired.
Criteria for getting rest
Activities that promote rest are essential for maintaining a balanced lifestyle and supporting physical and mental well-being. Supporting the different types of rest we mention above play a significant role in reducing stress levels, improving sleep quality, and restoring energy. To truly recharge, try activities that meet specific criteria designed to relax the body, calm the mind, and alleviate stress.
Minimize physical strain
One of the main characteristics of restful activities is low physical strain. This means that the activities should involve low levels of physical exertion to help the body relax naturally without causing fatigue. For instance, gentle activities like stretching, walking, or yoga are often recommended. Additionally, short breaks during the workday can help decrease stress hormones and improve physical health.
Mentally relaxing
In addition to physical relaxation, restful activities should also promote mental relaxation. They should encourage a state of mental calm or mindfulness. Engaging in activities like reading, journaling, or listening to a podcast can help reduce mental stress and clutter, leading to a more restful state. Creative rest, such as engaging in hobbies like painting or writing, can also help improve mental well-being.
Low-stress
Another critical feature of restful activities is stress reduction and preventing burnout. The primary goal is to reduce stress and anxiety levels. Activities like deep breathing exercises, aromatherapy, or listening to a playlist can promote rest and help individuals relax. Social media and bright lights from electronic devices can affect sleep schedules and decrease the quality of rest, so it's important to practice digital downtime and limit exposure to blue light before bedtime.
Enjoyable
Restful activities should also be enjoyable and comfortable. Engaging in activities that you enjoy enhances the relaxation effect and helps to improve the quality of rest. Additionally, effective restful activities often involve stepping away from daily responsibilities and work-related tasks. This disengagement allows the mind to recharge and can improve overall well-being.
In a pleasant environment
Finally, the environment that you engage in restful activities can play a significant role. A quiet, comfortable, and soothing environment enhances the effectiveness of rest-promoting activities. Additionally, practicing self-care activities and getting enough sleep are essential components of a daily routine to ensure a good night’s sleep and rest time.
How to rest: 11 activities that promote rest
You have plenty of ways to rest besides napping. Learning about all the different types of rest is a fun way of incorporating new activities into your daily routine. It's a way to explore sensory rest, social rest, or even creative rest. This helps you beat physical and mental exhaustion and energize your body for the next day.
But as you start practicing more resting ways, remember to set boundaries. It's important to communicate to others that taking time to rest is a priority for you. It's okay to decline activities that require too much effort and instead choose those that promote relaxation. However, if you decide to rest, make sure that it's something you dedicate your time to.
Here are 11 ways to practice rest:
1. Take part in meditation
Meditation is something that fits in your morning or night routine, or anywhere in your day, really. You might choose to meditate alone or with others. Explore different types of meditation, like a mantra, movement, or spiritual meditation. It's a way of spreading calm throughout your mind and being aware of how your body feels.
2. Practice slow-moving exercises
Not all exercises have to have high intensity and make you feel exhausted. Yoga, pilates, and tai chi allow you to slow your body down but remain active. They focus on being purposeful with your movements and relaxing. Plus, they do without straining your muscles.
If you feel you’re straining your muscles, check out more beginner classes and go at your own pace. You might also find good YouTube videos with beginner workouts to follow along with from home.
3. Take care of your hygiene
After an intense day, your body wants to feel rejuvenated and refreshed. Soaking in a bath, taking a shower, doing a face mask, or other forms of self-maintenance will help your body feel fresh again. It's also a form of self-care that many people find comfort in.
Try throwing on some candles or using a bath balm to infuse some aromatherapy into your cleaning moment. In the heat of the moment, even brushing your teeth might help you feel cleaner and calmer.
4. Do your daily ritual
Is there something that you do during the day that makes you feel at ease? It could be making a cup of tea, sitting outside at sunset, or enjoying a nice dinner. As you do your ritual, feel free to throw on a relaxing playlist to set the mood.
Being comfortable with what you're doing allows you to think freely about other things. It's your chance to reflect or admire something. If you don’t have a solid daily ritual, it’s time to build one.
5. Dedicate time to a hobby
Your hobby could give you a sense of purpose and make you feel rested. It doesn't have to require a lot of energy. It could be fishing, knitting, or painting — something that you enjoy but that doesn't demand too much energy or brain power. Sharing a calming practice with someone can strengthen your relationships. Plus, it's fun.
6. Catch up with your journal
Journalling doesn't require amazing writing skills at all. Your journal might be a physical notebook, or it could be a virtual note pad too. It could be something you do each day or every other day.
Dedicate a certain amount of time each day to your journal. That might be in the morning or at night before you go to bed. Write your laughs, worries, or ideas from the day. Plus, you're able to do this anywhere. Try journaling in the fresh air or in a space that feels peaceful to you.
7. Steer clear of the screen
When it's time to rest, do you reach for your phone? After a long day at work, your idea of rest might be jumping on the couch and scrolling through social media. But that's not a good way to rest. Many people think it is, but it doesn't give your brain a short break. It works your brain even more.
Your brain is a muscle, just like your legs, so you need to rest it. And your brain doesn't rest when you're focused on the bright lights from social media, watching TV, or playing video games. It's still receiving information and stimuli. With all that happens in the world, scrolling through the news or other social media posts may stress you out or upset you.
Too many stimuli from anywhere, especially on your screens, is overwhelming.
Not to mention it messes with your sleep schedule. Melatonin is responsible for regulating your sleep cycle. When the body lacks melatonin, it can disrupt the circadian rhythm, leading to insufficient sleep. Screens emit blue light that can disrupt sleep patterns by reducing the secretion of the hormone melatonin.
Besides your sleep schedule, the rest of your brain suffers when you rely on screens as a way to rest. One study about excessive screen time during the pandemic discovered a variety of impacts on your physical and mental health. Here's what happens when you spend too much time on screens:
- Increased feelings of anxiety, irritability, and uncertainty
- Painful eye strain that can damage overall eye health
- Problems concentrating and focusing on specific tasks
- Persistent headaches that zap energy
- Neck and lower back pain that impacts mobility
8. Reading for pleasure
Reading a good book can transport you to a different world and provide a much-needed break from the stress of daily life. It can also help reduce stress, improve focus, and even enhance empathy by allowing you to connect with the emotions and experiences of the characters in the story. Selecting light or uplifting content can be particularly calming.
9. Listening to Music
Music has the power to calm the mind and soothe emotions. It can lower blood pressure, reduce cortisol (a stress hormone), and increase feelings of serenity. Whether it's classical, jazz, or soft acoustic, the rhythms and melodies (or the most relaxing song in the world) can have a meditative effect.
10. Gardening
Gardening offers therapeutic benefits by allowing individuals to connect with nature through physical activity and tactile engagement with soil and plants. It reduces stress levels and promotes a sense of contentment. Gardening also provides a sense of accomplishment as individuals nurture plants and observe their growth. To communicate effectively, it is important to consider the audience's needs and use familiar vocabulary. Sentences should be kept short and direct, with an easy flow. Using active voice and verb forms also enhance clarity.
11. Crafting
Engaging in crafts like drawing, scrapbooking, or making pottery focuses your mind on the task at hand and away from stressors. This focus is similar to meditation as it brings your attention to the present moment, reducing anxiety and promoting relaxation. Crafting also boosts creativity and self-expression, contributing to overall well-being.
These activities not only provide a break from daily stressors but also enrich your life with experiences that foster peace and joy.
Do I really need to learn how to rest?
Learning how to rest your mind and body may seem easy, but there's more to it than you think. You're trying to slow down, clear your mind, and be in the present moment. With so many distractions and things keeping you busy, it's easy to feel pulled toward action. But the benefits of rest can’t be ignored.
Rest helps you fight off decision fatigue, which will help you make better decisions in life. Making decisions easier and with more confidence allows you to be more productive, motivated, and creative at work and home.
Here's a quick list of other benefits that rest brings your physical and mental health:
- Helps you cope with change better
- Decreases your blood pressure
- Relieves stress and anxiety
- Improves your overall mood
- Helps repair muscle tissues and injuries
Besides those benefits, learning how to rest is a skill that your well-being will cherish in the future. It'll show you the importance of caring for your mind and body and how our resting time is priceless. It’s also a great form of self-compassion.
Find someone who'll provide the guidance you need as you make smart moves that'll help your health in the future. Through a relationship with a BetterUp coach, you'll learn how to prioritize rest in your daily routine and enjoy its benefits for years to come.
Learn to rest before you burn out
It's important to prioritize rest before you're exhausted. Stress causes your body to release hormones that keep you on high alert. Resting is not just about being still or fixing your sleep schedule. It's about recovering from burnout and taking the time to just be. Daydreaming, reflecting, and being mindful are all ways to recharge your mind and body. Remember to take care of yourself and prioritize your well-being. We believe in you!
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