How to Maximize Your Rest - Part 1
Burnout is prevalent these days as we continue to push ourselves to work and work without any rest, but we forget that rest is important for us to function properly. It was Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith who found that her patients often reported the lack of seven different types of rest: physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, sensory, social, and creative.
Physical rest is one most are familiar with; it is allowing your body to get an adequate amount of sleep while also allowing your body to recover from daily activities, exercise, or physical strain. The obvious signs that you are not getting enough physical rest are aches and swelling in parts of your body. Here are some ways to improve and increase your physical rest:
Try having a consistent sleep schedule.
Create a better sleeping environment that would allow you to sleep right away.
Try doing yoga or stretching before bed.
Have a massage.
Avoid caffeine or heavy meals before going to bed.
Try to avoid using electronics before going to bed.
Don’t go into your bed until you are ready to sleep, as this conditions your brain to believe it is a sleeping space.
Mental rest is the type of rest that has always been at the top for deficiency. Our brains are constantly in use, and we find ourselves overthinking until late at night, unable to sleep. Here are some solutions to improve your mental rest:
Have breaks every few hours to clear your mind.
Journal throughout the day.
While walking or running, focus on your breathing and your environment.
Set some time aside from electronics.
Set aside some time to do hobbies or leisure activities.
Spiritual rest is one of the more difficult types of rest to define, as everyone has different beliefs, but it can be summed up as the need to have a purpose, a sense of belonging, and receive love from others. A lack of spiritual rest can leave you restless and unable to believe that anything you do matters. To increase and improve your spiritual rest, try the following:
Engage in mediation or a prayer.
Spend time in nature to be more connected to the world.
Participate in community services.
Practice gratitude through journaling or thanking those around you.
Emotional rest is crucial for how often our feelings are masked in social settings. Often the answer to the question “How are you?” or “Are you okay?” is “I’m fine,” but people are never just fine. Emotional rest is necessary to express yourself without judgment and be more relaxed. Those who are not emotionally rested tend to be more on guard and unable to express their emotions. To have emotional rest, try the following:
Share how you feel with a trusted person, a friend, a family member, or a therapist.
Practice self-compassion and remind yourself that it is fine to feel overwhelmed.
Engage in activities that bring joy or release pent-up emotions, such as hobbies or exercising.
Set boundaries with people who often cause you to be emotionally drained.
Physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional rest are only four of the seven types of rest (the following three will be covered in part two of this two-part series). Many of us struggle with getting enough of just one type of rest, but it is not impossible. Take at least a few minutes to breathe, to clear your mind, and to regroup yourself. Take at least an hour for yourself to do nothing or something you like. Taking a break to rest is crucial to not burning out. Do not forget that your body needs this rest.