Have you ever tried to fix an ongoing lack of energy by getting more sleep — only to do so and still feel exhausted? If that’s you, here’s the secret: sleep and rest are not the same thing, although many of us incorrectly confuse the two. We go through life thinking we’ve rested because we have had enough sleep — but in reality, we are missing out on the other types of rest we desperately need. The result is a culture of high-achieving, high-producing, chronically tired and chronically burned-out individuals. We’re suffering from a rest deficit because we don’t understand the true power of rest.
We all need restoration in seven key areas of our lives:
1 Physical rest. This can be passive or active. Passive physical rest includes sleeping and napping, while active physical rest means restorative activities such as yoga and tai chi, stretching and massage therapy that help improve our body’s circulation and flexibility.
2) Mental rest. If we start work every day with a huge cup of coffee, are often irritable and forgetful, find it hard to concentrate on out work, then when we lie down at night to sleep we frequently struggle to turn off our brain as conversations from the day fill our thoughts, and despite sleeping 7/8 hours, we wake up feeling as if we never went to bed, then we have a mental rest deficit. The good news is that we don’t have to resign or go on holiday to fix this. If we schedule short breaks to occur every two hours throughout our workday these breaks can remind us to slow down. We could also keep a notepad by our bed to jot down any nagging thoughts that would otherwise keep us awake.
3) Sensory rest. Bright lights, computer screens, background noise and multiple conversations — whether they’re in an office or on video calls — can cause our senses to feel overwhelmed. This can be countered by doing something as simple as closing our eyes for a minute in the middle of the day or using some noise cancelling headphones or earbuds, as well as by intentionally unplugging from electronics at the end of every day. Intentional moments of sensory deprivation can begin to undo the damage inflicted by our over-stimulating world.
4) Creative rest. This type of rest is especially important for anyone who must solve problems or brainstorm new ideas. Creative rest reawakens the awe and wonder inside each of us. Do you recall the first time you saw a stunning view? Allowing ourselves to take in the beauty of the outdoors — even if it’s at a local park or in our back garden — provides us with creative rest. And creative rest isn’t simply about appreciating nature; it also includes enjoying the arts. Turn your workspace into a place of inspiration by displaying images of places you love and works of art that speak to you. You can’t spend 40 hours a week staring at blank or jumbled surroundings and expect to feel passionate about anything, much less come up with innovative ideas.
5) Emotional rest. If everyone thinks we’re the nicest person they’ve ever met, the person they depend on, the one they’d call if they needed a favour because even if we don’t want to do it, they know we’ll give them a reluctant “yes” rather than a truthful “no”, but when we’re alone, we feel unappreciated, like others are taking advantage of us. Emotional rest requires the courage to be authentic. An emotionally rested person can answer the question “How are you today?” with a truthful “I’m not okay” — and then go on to share some hard things that otherwise go unsaid: they make the time and space to freely express their feelings and they cut back on people pleasing.
6) Social rest. If we’re in need of emotional rest, we probably have a social rest deficit too. This occurs when we fail to differentiate between those relationships that revive us from those relationships that exhaust us. To experience more social rest, we need to surround ourselves with positive and supportive people.
7) Spiritual rest. This is the ability to connect beyond the physical and mental and feel a deep sense of belonging, love, acceptance, and purpose. To receive this, we need to engage in something greater than ourselves and add meditation, community involvement or prayer to our daily routine.
Sleep alone can’t restore us to feeling rested. So, it’s time for us to focus on getting all the right types of rest we need. NB Fatigue can also be associated with numerous health problems, so please get checked out by your GP if it persists.
