Written by: Kamini Wood, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Our daily responsibilities require a lot of time and energy. Even if you don’t have any major sources of stress in your life, the little things that stress you out every day may add up and make you feel exhausted all the time. Leading many people to seek out different types of rest.
For most people, sleep and vacation are not enough. Burnout rates have skyrocketed in recent years worldwide and across all professions. According to the American Psychological Association, about 79% of employees in the United States experienced work-related stress in 2021. When asked, the workers said that stress significantly affected their motivation, interest, and effort at work. In addition, they said they were mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted.
The results showed that stress and burnout levels were much higher than they had been before COVID-19.
Feeling exhausted and don’t know why?
If you are a high-achiever who is passionate about what you do, you might be at a higher risk of stress and burnout. Even though you know that chronic stress is bad for your health and that you should slow down, you keep going – deadlines, meetings, lunches, trainings, projects, flights, you name it. And if you have children, the demands only get more complicated. This makes it impossible to feel rested. You feel chronically tired and burned out.
Why you may not be getting the amount (or type) of rest you need
If you consistently get between seven and eight hours of sleep every night but still feel exhausted all the time, the problem is most likely not a lack of sleep but rather a lack of rest. There’s a difference between sleep and rest, even though you might assume they’re the same thing. If you feel constantly exhausted, sleeping alone will not fix the issue. It would help if you had more than simply a good night’s sleep to feel properly recharged and refreshed.
The 7 types of rest that every person regularly needs
According to the physician and author of the book “Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, and Renew Your Sanity,” Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, humans require the following seven different forms of rest:
Physical
Mental
Social
Emotional
Creative
Spiritual &
Sensory rest
Physical rest
Our bodies require physical rest before anything else. Rest is an essential process for the normal functioning of our mind and body, and it can be passive or active.
Sleeping, napping, and spending the whole afternoon on the couch are all examples of passive rest. On the other hand, active rest comprises relaxing activities such as getting a massage, taking a hot bath, going to the sauna, practicing yoga, stretching, or doing breathing exercises.
Mental rest
We’ve all experienced brain fog at some point in our lives. It is about that confusing condition in which we lack mental clarity, struggle to focus on our work, or forget what we were about to say or why we entered a room. You may also feel easily irritated, overwhelmed, and overly self-critical. Mental fatigue is usually a sign that you lack mental rest.
Dr. Dalton-Smith says taking short breaks throughout the day is a great way to help your mind rest. Other helpful strategies include journaling, mindfulness exercise, digital detox, and time management.
Social rest
You may feel socially drained when you have too little or too much social interaction, struggle to keep up relationships, please others, engage in toxic relationships, or withdraw from social contacts.
To overcome social rest deficit, differentiate people and relationships that make you feel good from those that drain you. Surround yourself with positive people, start a new hobby, reduce your time on social media, or take a break from partying.
Emotional rest
When the stress of day-to-day life becomes overwhelming, you may experience emotional fatigue. But, on the other hand, if you experience anxiety, hopelessness, irritability, apathy, and frustration easily, emotional rest might be just what you need.
Get some emotional rest by tuning into your feelings and expressing them openly. So, talk to a close friend, a family member, your life coach, or a therapist. Working through your feelings might help you relieve some of the emotional burdens you’re carrying and give your soul the rest it needs.
Creative rest
Most of the time, whether at work or in our personal lives, our brains are occupied with activities such as solving problems, brainstorming new ideas, or finding original solutions. To give your mind a break, avoid multitasking and take regular breaks. Connect with nature (think spending a day at the beach, taking a hike, or having a picnic at your favorite park), listen to relaxing music, or go to an art gallery or museum. Making time to do things you usually don’t do is a great way to get some creative rest.
Spiritual rest
Spiritual rest can include anything that involves connecting to a higher power. For some, this may be prayer, meditation, a religious service, community participation, or volunteer activities – anything that gives your life meaning and connects you to something greater than yourself.
Sensory rest
Most of us in today’s environment are continually exposed to excessive stimulation. Everything from a busy morning at home and a traffic jam to countless calls, texts, emails, tweets, and feeds may sap your energy.
Take breaks from technology and stop using your phone, social media, computer, and other tech devices for a set amount of time to avoid being overstimulated. Go outside, do a quick mindfulness exercise, or grab a good book instead.
Why prioritizing time to rest is essential
Prioritizing rest is one of the cornerstones of self-care and well-being. If you constantly lack rest, you may find it difficult to think clearly, concentrate, remember things, solve problems, and make decisions. A lack of proper rest can also compromise your mood and emotional control, affecting how you feel, react, manage emotions, and get along with others.
If you need help balancing your life and work and are constantly exhausted, it may be time to seek the advice of a trained specialist. Coaching can be a helpful way to stop unhelpful habits, learn the practical strategies and tools you need to implement the 7 types of rest in your daily life and reduce stress.
Kamini Wood, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Kamini Wood is the founder and CEO of Live Joy Your Way and the AuthenticMe® RiseUp program. An international best-selling author Kamini is driven to support people of all ages to heal their relationship with themselves and to stop outsourcing their self-worth. As a result, her clients become their own confident, resilient self-leader with healthier relationships. Kamini is a certified life coach, board-certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners, holds specialty certifications in Calling in the One®, Conscious Uncoupling®, NewMoney Story®, and teen life coaching. Also trained in conscious parenting, Kamini aims to meet her clients where they are, supporting and guiding them on their journey to where they want to be, both personally and professionally. Her mission: create space for each person to see the unique gifts they bring to this world.
