The Power of Rest
Slowing down and tuning in to find balance and healing for daily life and for work.
Rest almost sounds like a luxury these days, don’t you think?
We manage to fill our days with meetings, catch ups, zoom calls, parenting, meal prep, life admin, notifications, holiday bookings (or dreaming)…there’s just so much ‘go’ and not so much ‘slow’.
Our lives are extremely busy. Filled with overthinking and overworking. We constantly push ourselves to the point of exhaustion, leading to often dire physical, emotional and relational consequences. Very often, the next logical step after exhaustion is burnout - complete physical and emotional withdrawal from self. Like a wounded animal, we retreat, not to rest and rejuvenate, but to attend to our wounds. We pull our attention away from our innate mindbody connection in order to attend to separate parts. Our inherent wisdom is lost in the harried space of putting out fires, dealing with emergencies and activating the stress response. Our body and mind move out of balance, and the potential for reintegration and healing is lost.
And we know it because we feel it. We feel that sense of agitation. The Restlessness that accompanies high stress living. It creates the twitching, nervous energy that can’t find a place to settle. It makes our eyelids flutter and our hearts race when we try to sit in quiet contemplation and meditation.
A lack of rest can take the form of insomnia or not enough sleep. But it can also look like not enough downtime away from work, not enough holiday time, or an imbalance of work and home life so you’re pulled in many directions. Not enough rest typically takes the shape of someone who has been getting signals to slow down and stop throughout the day, but chose to ignore them time and time again.
Not enough rest sets the stage for health risks like heart disease, and lower immunity.
The body can only put up with so much.
An incredible study called the Framingham Heart Study followed a group of men (approx. 12,000) aged 35-57 years for nine years. The men were at risk of heart disease and the researchers were interested in their lifestyle choices and whether they had any effect on longevity. The researchers looked at the frequency of holiday time among the participants and found that the more often they took a holiday, the longer they lived. This held true even when controlling for variables such as income and level of education.
Within us all, there is a deeply ingrained ability to take ‘time in’. We all have the ability to pause, nurture and repair; to disconnect from the world and reconnect with ourselves. It is possible for anyone to do this, and if we are listening carefully, there is an inner drive to do so when we are getting out of balance. The question is, will we get quiet and listen?
Getting quiet and listening can be done with a regular mindfulness practice. But it can also be done with just a few moments pause. Take a few moments in the morning, before the cortisol really kicks in, to keep your eyes closed, take some breaths and check in with yourself.
Ask yourself how you’re feeling.
Are you feeling refreshed?
Are you waking up tired?
This can be the first step in listening in to the messages your body is sending.
Taking ‘time in’ allows us to interrupt the Stress Response and help your body adopt a new way of being, in open and relaxed awareness.
Taking rest is good for you no matter where you are, but it is nice to know that being adequately rested is good for your job as well as your home life. You can be more productive, with better focus and clarity. You’ll have more energy and better balance with less risk of burnout. Overall this means you can get more done with less fatigue so you go home with that little bit left in the fuel tank for family and friends.
HOW TO GET MORE REST
Sleep is one of the key areas where healing and restoration can take place. Most research nowadays points to a minimum of 7 hours of sleep a night. But it is not just the quantity, it is the quality that is also important. Ensure you are sleeping in a darkened room, away from distractions, and do what you can to minimise disruptions. Paying attention to what you eat and drink is also important. Try not to drink caffeine too late in the day, and eat a smaller meal at dinner so you don’t feel too full when you go to bed.
Schedule in some time out - small breaks and larger breaks. Increase your productivity by stepping out of the office or house every day for a walk, preferably in nature. Take regular breaks from your tasks to stretch, breathe and drink water.
When possible, take a day trip to a place with fresh air and beautiful views. Stepping away from your usual routine is invigorating and energising. If you can step into nature, this is going to have an even better influence on your health and wellbeing. Phytoncides are airborne chemicals emitted by plants and researchers believe they are healing for us. The Japanese tradition of ‘Forest Bathing’ has been shown to reduce cortisol levels and increase immune system defences. So there’s no better time to step out for a walk amongst the trees.
If you can, book yourself in for a longer holiday. The research is clear. Taking frequent breaks is good for your health and also does wonders for your quality of life. And if you can’t take a break away, give yourself a ‘staycation’. Stay home, but don’t get stuck doing all the jobs you need to catch up on. Step out for some walks, create a delicious meal from scratch, take a snooze with a picnic at the park - Slow Down.
You can also take daily rest with a mindfulness practice. Or, try Yoga Nidra as a way to have deep rest and increase your awareness and insight.
Whatever you decide to do, you might have to go against long-held habits of over-working and over-scheduling your life in order to prioritise ‘time in’. Keeping in mind that this is ultimately good for your health and wellbeing and may even help you to live longer will give you even more incentive to slow down and take a rest.
So, if you’re inspired to plan a trip, where will you go?