The Seven Types of Rest Every Person Needs
When you’re feeling tired, burnt out or lacking in energy, what’s the first thing you tend to think?
“I need more sleep.”
Sleep is often touted as the answer to all our fatigue-related problems. Whilst good quality sleep is important, and improving sleep hygiene does have huge benefits for our physical and mental health (for more on this, have a read of my previous journal articles here), simply aiming for more sleep is not enough to manage the impact of stress and burnout. Sleep is only one aspect of rest and, on its own, can’t restore us to the point that we feel fully rested.
Benefits of Rest: Why Invest in Rest Beyond Sleep?
Sleep is an immersive and vital experience for our physical and mental health and, ultimately, for our survival. But why invest beyond that? What can alternative forms of rest offer us and why should we prioritise rest in our lives?
Greater presence and connection
Reduce stress
Prevent burnout
Activate relaxation response (lower heart rate, reduce blood pressure, improve oxygen consumption)
Alleviate symptoms of anxiety, depression and insomnia
Increase productivity
Promote long-term wellbeing
Restore energy
Body repair
Emotional balance
Increase resilience to tackle life’s challenges
Cognitive rejuvenation (process experiences, consolidate memories, enhance creativity)
The Seven Types of Rest
According to Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith there are seven key types of rest, each of which serves a unique purpose in helping us to feel refreshed, renewed and fully restored.
Let’s explore what each of these types of rest can look like, and how you can integrate them into your own life:
01 | Physical Rest
Physical rest is all about allowing your body to recover physically from the demands of an often-hectic life. Passive physical rest does include those stereotypical restful activities: sleep and napping. But we also need active physical rest; restorative activities like yoga, stretching, gentle walking and massage therapy. These can help to improve the body’s circulation and flexibility, and boost our energy levels.
02 | Mental Rest
If your mind is often constantly whirring throughout the day: thinking about work, life and family admin, worrying about what’s been and what’s to come, and busy decision-making and problem solving, there’s a good chance you’ll be craving some mental rest. It’s your opportunity to switch off, slow down and recover - not once in a while, but at regular intervals throughout the day. To achieve this, schedule short breaks throughout your day; let your mind wander, reflect and process. Mindfulness practices, like meditation or mindful eating or walking, can also help to give your mind a break from periods of relentless activity. If you struggle with a busy mind at night, keep a notepad by your bed and jot down any nagging thoughts that are keeping you awake.
03 | Emotional Rest
According to Saundra, emotional rest means “having the time and space to freely express your feelings and cut back on people-pleasing.” Constantly covering up how you truly feel, prioritising others’ needs and feelings over your own, and bottling up your emotions is exhausting! To enhance your emotional rest, aim to express your feelings honestly, separate yourself from emotionally draining situations and seek support as and when you need it. Afford yourself a little emotional peace, and you’ll feel more rested all round.
04 | Sensory Rest
Bright artificial lights, endless background noise, screens everywhere - is it any wonder our senses frequently feel overwhelmed in the modern world?! Taking a sensory rest involves intentionally unplugging from all of this to give our senses a break every once in a while. You might choose to turn off your devices and have some screen-free time every evening. Or you could close your eyes or lower your gaze, for a few minutes at a time throughout the day to reduce the impact of overstimulating visuals.
05 | Creative Rest
The perfect way to reignite your creativity, creative rest is especially important for anyone who needs to problem solve or innovate on a regular basis … but also key to reawakening the awe, wonder and joy inside each of us. Seek out the beauty around you by immersing yourself in nature, art or music - whatever works to ignite that creative spark for you!
06 | Social Rest
Social rest is not about taking a break from all social interactions. Instead, social rest calls on us to surround ourselves with relationships that enrich us and lift us up, whilst stepping away from people who exhaust and drain us. Seek to build fulfilling positive relationships with those who support you, and remain engaged and present for those social interactions.
07 | Spiritual Rest
Spiritual rest involves finding meaning and purpose beyond the routines and rituals of everyday life. Connect to something that’s greater than yourself (such as mediation, prayer or community involvement) for fresh perspectives on life, alongside a sense of calm and acceptance.
Incorporating Rest into your Life
If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you’re here because you’d love to build more restful practices into your own life … but finding the time to do so doesn’t always feel easy when there are so many other competing priorities in our lives.
I completely get that. Firstly, it’s important to note that if you can find ways to incorporate rest into your everyday routine, not only are you likely to see long-term benefits to your physical and mental health, but you will likely find that you get time back. This could be in the form of increased productivity, reduced burnout and illness, greater energy or improved cognitive ability.
How can we make space for rest in our lives? Here are a few ideas that might work for you:
⋒ Start Small - Don’t try to do it all at once! Think about which type of rest you might need to prioritise first and find a small, simple way to incorporate it into your day. You can build up from here.
⋒ Experiment - What works for someone else won’t necessarily work for you. Your needs, and the practices that will leave you feeling most rested and restored are unique - experiment and embrace what makes you feel best.
⋒ Be Intentional - Pay attention to what your mind and body needs in the moment; this might not be consistent from one day to the next. If you’re feeling overstimulated, it’s likely you need to focus on sensory rest. If you’ve been scrolling through content that doesn’t make you feel good, a positive social boost might help.
⋒ Commit - Rest isn’t going to happen by chance if you don’t make time for it. Just as you would schedule appointments and meetings in your diary, set aside time for rest … and protect it!
⋒ Set Boundaries - Committing to rest might mean saying no to things every now and then. If you’re experiencing sensory overwhelm, you might choose to say no to going to the cinema. If you identify a need to boost social rest, you might choose to avoid social situations you anticipate will leave you feeling depleted.
⋒ Stay Motivated - Remember WHY prioritising rest is important to you. Are you struggling with constant burnout? Are you stuck in a creative rut? Do you find yourself feeling constantly exhausted? Holding on to your why will help you to stay grounded, focused and committed to making time for rest.
⋒ Mix and Match - Recognising that there are seven types of rest, doesn’t mean having to do seven different restful activities every day. There are many practices that will give you rest and relief in multiple areas at once. For example, taking a gentle stroll in nature can give you a sensory break, allow for creative rest, and promote active physical rest.
⋒ Remain Flexible - Your needs for rest are likely to change over time. Stay open and curious to adapting and adopting new restful practices as needed.
⋒ Work Together - Share what you have learnt about rest with your friends and family, and invite those close to you to engage in restful practices together. It can be easier to stick to and embrace new routines when your whole household or friendship circle are in it together!
Conclusion
Essential for restoration, boosted energy and preventing burnout, there are seven different types of rest, each of which serves a unique purpose in helping us to feel physically, mentally and emotionally well. Explore your own individual needs, as well as what works best for you, to incorporate more restful practices into your everyday life.
Further Support
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss individual support for managing burnout and stress.
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References
Dalton-Smith, Saundra. 2017. Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity. New York: Hachette Book Group