rest

Reflecting on the Seven Types of Rest

Nathan Smith6 Comments

After writing my most recent post about misunderstanding the meaning rest, the idea continued to sit in my mind. As I wrote in that post, it’s clear that many of us know we’re not getting enough rest. Even the people who are getting enough rest feel like they aren’t. And in the way the world has changed in recent decades, there are more reasons than ever for exhaustion. But did you know just how many different types of rest exist? In the spirit of trying my best, I decided to look into these various types and share what I’ve learned.

The seven types of rest

The inspiration for this post came from a TED article titled “The 7 types of rest that every person needs.” I learned a lot of things reading this article, and not only that there are different types of rest! We tend to think of rest as inaction, as not moving or being alone. Whether that’s an American way or a Western way of thinking, that’s how I’ve seen rest portrayed in my life. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say resting is synonymous with sleeping – but actually, it’s much more.

Something this article opened my eyes to is the fact that rest happens when we have the time and space to do so. It’s difficult to rest if you’re stressed, don’t feel comfortable, or have pressing things to do. Removing yourself from situations is often seen as the optimal version of rest. That said, it was interesting to learn that rest can also involve enjoying things you love or being around people who fill up your cup.

While physical rest is important, it’s far from the only type. Other types of rest include mental, sensory, creative, emotional, social, and spiritual. What I love about this variety of rest is that each type of rest fills a unique need for people. It reminds us that we’re all different and that we need different things. As someone more introverted, focusing on sensory rest and social rest might be more important to me than other people. At the same time, some people value having more or less emotional rest than myself. We are all different, which means we have different needs.

Shifting how we view wellness

This lesson on rest not only helped shift the way I view my mental health, but wellness in general. There are so many ways we can take care of ourselves and in that same vein, there are so many ways to rest. Rest is more than sleep, and sleep alone won’t always give us the restoration we need.

It can be frustrating to learn that sleep isn’t always the answer, but I’m choosing to lean in. When you think about it, rest and mental health have a lot in common. Just as there is not one way to rest, there isn’t only one way to take care of our mental health. The more we learn, the more we grow, and the better equipped we are to get what we need. In whatever ways you rest, I hope you learn how rest can provide restoration and rejuvenation – something each one of us deserves.

"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." - Arthur Ashe

How I Misunderstood the Meaning of Rest

Nathan Smith1 Comment

It’s the wintertime, which means that we’re all tired, and the desire to do anything is as frozen as the weather. I often write about how challenging the wintertime can be for our mental health, and it happens every year. Like seasons, we go through our own cycles, reaching the same points across the calendar year. Even though January has become known as a time of resolutions and rebirth, I enjoy pushing back on that. To me, January is a time for rest. But despite feeling this way, I don’t think I’ve been going about it the right way. Reflecting on this has led me to a new way of thinking for how – and why – I need my rest.

Why do we rest? At first glance, this question has a simple answer: we need it to function. Rest has several benefits for our quality of life, for certain (sounds like a good idea for a future post!). But at the end of the day, humans need rest to be our best possible selves.

So, given that we all know how important rest is, why don’t we get enough of it? According to the results of the “Rest Test,” a survey completed by Durham University,

more than “two-thirds of the public would like more rest…the study also revealed that nearly a third of respondents said they need more rest than the average person, while 10 percent think they need less.”

Science Daily

This survey, which was completed by more than 18,000 people in 134 different countries, speaks volumes about our view of rest as a society. We need rest, and we’re not getting it.

Looking inward, I thought about why I rest. I know the benefits of rest. It improves my health (physical, mental, emotional, etc.); calms me down when I’m riddled with anxiety; and plays a vital role in my mental health toolkit. But here’s where I’ve been wrong in my thinking. Almost 100% of the time, I use rest as a tool. And while I think it’s a good tool, it shouldn’t only be used that way.

In fact, when I think about it, I’m often resting so that, when I’m done, I can immediately go do something else. This doesn’t foster a healthy relationship with rest, and it puts undue pressure on me. My rest needs to be “good” rest, otherwise I won’t be able to do what I want to do. I’m not resting for the sake of it, which can take away the power and benefits of doing it in the first place.

In this era of productivity and life-hacking, I’m concerned that rest often gets misappropriated. Why should I be looking to get the most out of resting my body? What’s the point of rushing through a process that restores my cognitive and physical health? What are we doing here?

I know a large part of this is because of the time of year. I’ve started to think of winter as my time of hibernation, and rest is key to that hibernation. But it’s an important thing to reflect on all year-round. As I move through the winter, I am hoping to reassess my relationship with rest – why I do it, how I do it, and what I’m trying to accomplish. In doing so, I hope that not only can I develop a healthier relationship with rest, but with myself.

I’d love to hear from you on this topic! How do you think we view rest in today’s world? Why do you think people aren’t getting the rest they need? Do you think you’re getting the rest you need?

"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." - Albert Einstein

Finding More Ways to Reset and Recharge

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Recently, I noticed a lot of my posts this summer have focused on resting and recharging. This got me thinking about how this happened. I know people tend to focus on relaxing in the summer, which makes perfect sense. But all year, I’ve had a fixated interest in the concept of rest. At first, I wanted to unlearn the concept of rest that I’d practiced my entire life in favor of something new. But I learned something else invigorating about resting and recharging, and I’d like to share that today.

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Winding Up Versus Winding Down

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Every so often, I deal with situations or moments that I’ve come to recognize as “winding myself up.” I know that it’s a pretty well-known phrase and this happens to a lot of people, but I wanted to talk about my experience with getting wound up because I think it’s a unique insight into what it’s like to experience anxiety. Even though it can be extremely easy to get myself wound up, it’s much, much harder for me to calm myself down in a similar fashion. So today I ask – why is it so much harder to get wound up than to settle down?

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Five Ways To Prioritize Rest

Nathan Smith1 Comment

Earlier this week, I wrote about my upcoming vacation, which is coming on the heels of learning just how bad at resting I really am. Most of the time, my first step toward change is awareness – in the past few weeks, I’ve become painfully aware of just how poorly I prioritize rest and getting what I need for my physical health. That’s why I decided to try and five ways that can help me begin to prioritize rest – not because it’s what I want, but because I know it’s what I need.

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Do I Know How to Rest? Probably Not.

Nathan Smith3 Comments

Exciting news – for the first time in a while, I’m going on vacation! I’m going to see my family, enjoy time off work, and hopefully reset and recharge in the way many of us do on vacation. But one thing I’m nervous about is that I’m going to try doing something that doesn’t come easy to me: I’m going to try to rest. I recently learned that not only am I pretty terrible at resting, but it’s probably something I’ve never learned how to do. So how do I handle that?

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The Importance of Taking Time Off

Nathan Smith3 Comments

We’re in peak summer time here in the United States, which means beautiful sunny weather, sometimes scorching temperature, and figuring out the age-old question of going on vacation. This would be a good time to post about why vacations are important for wellness, but since the logistics of going on vacation are still pretty difficult (worldwide pandemic and all), I decided to go even broader with my message. Even if we can’t get away this summer, it’s still important to take time off. Whether it’s from work, school, the lifestyle of a grinding entrepreneur, etc. there are many benefits from taking time off to relax and restore your wellness. Here’s why!

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Tips For Sleeping With Anxiety

Nathan Smith5 Comments

There’s no doubt that there’s a connection between mental health and sleep, especially when it comes to the quality of sleep we get. There’s plenty of advice to dole out about this, so you have to be careful not to look at the problem from the wrong point of view. For instance, if you are anxious and you can’t sleep, there are other ways to fall asleep than getting rid of your anxiety entirely. Even though people will take that route.

Instead, you can manage that anxiety through different tips and techniques to help you sleep better. Yes, limiting screen time and not having caffeine too late in the day are both very important tips, but that could honestly affect everyone. Instead,  I’ve found 3 tips that have proven to be helpful to sleep well with anxiety, so I thought I’d share them!

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