How to Actually Embrace REST

What is rest and why do we need it? Rest is vital to our health. It’s something that everyone needs, yet for many of us, it’s hard to do. Because if we are reflecting on ourselves, many of us don’t take the proper time to rest. Mainly, because we aren’t sure what “rest” means entirely. For most of us, rest means shutting off electronics, doing deep breathing, or sitting in silence. Although these things may contribute to factors of rest, why are we still experiencing being tired? You may need to embrace rest and incorporate it into your daily routine.

Especially in winter, when the days are longer, and the daylight is shorter. Thus, rest is the occurrence or period where we halt doing any work or taking on any plans to renew, relax, and restore our body’s strength. Not having enough rest leads to burnout, fatigue, increasing stress, anxiousness, overt exhaustion, and more. It is beyond sleep, beyond feeling tired, it is when you are feeling drained. Not to confuse a lack of rest with a lack of sleep. Sleep is a form of physical rest, whereas a “lack of sleep” refers to physically not getting enough sleep at nighttime. In addition, a “lack of rest”  means not being sufficiently replenished or recovered. 

It may seem simple, but rest can sometimes not be so easy. Especially, in a world where things are constantly moving and changing, and you need to slow down. Notably, it’s important to slow down and take a rest for yourself. I can always tell when I need to rest more because I tend to have less tolerance for frustration or stressful situations. When I am well rested, I have a greater focus and concentration for getting things done, patience, creativity, and cheerfulness. Resting is a lifelong practice that needs to be exercised and implemented into your routine. 

Now, that you understand rest a little better, here are some tips on how to embrace rest in your daily routine. 

how to emBrace rest.

tell them no.

Lean into the power of saying no. Specifically, when you need to rest or be depleted- learn how to say no. 

Without guilt or an excuse to justify your reasoning for saying no, if you need to rest, then just say no. Simply, knowing that it’s okay to turn down an invite when you need to recharge. Furthermore, learning this practice will help you in the future when you need to say no other things. 

If you are not taking care of yourself, then how can you help take care of others? This is essential self-care in your routine. If others are upset with your choice to say no, it’s setting a necessary boundary and future practice when situations occur. 

relax in nature.

Another way to embrace rest is to be in nature. Actually, being in nature includes benefits like improving mental health and increasing your ability to focus. You can go outside for a walk, hike, or to the park. If you live near water, then go to the beach. Try going for a 30-minute stroll outdoors, and rest in nature.

take short breaks.

Create space in your schedule to give yourself short and frequent breaks throughout the day. For example, keep a timer and remind yourself to step away from your environment to rest. Take note when you begin to feel overwhelmed or anxious and know it’s time to step away for a moment and readjust. This takes consistency to make it habitual. Moreover, you can plan out times during the day, regardless of the busyness- to allow yourself to rest with grace and care. 

do absolutely nothing.

Don’t do anything. Completely shut down and turn everything off. During this time, take a break or day off, where you do nothing related to work or engage with technology. Specifically, spend this time alone, with family or friends, and enjoy community. In addition, fully take a rest and try to make this a weekly habit. Certainly, we are not machines, we cannot run all day, so remember to take some time to do absolutely nothing. 

In short, being able to understand what rest is and why we need it is crucial. This to say, understanding what rest truly is allows us the opportunity to naturally embrace it. Rest puts us in a positive mindset and makes us more heightened of what we are experiencing, along with our emotions. However, not enough rest can have the opposite effect. Therefore, embodying rest requires a shift in mindset. Immediately, you can start by incorporating rest into your daily routine. Over time it will become increasingly easier to blend rest into your routine after you have polished repetition after repetition.