7 Types of Rest You've Been Missing

Are you tired?

I know I have moments where a spontaneous 2-week vacation sounds amazing! You may be looking around and thinking, “I get 8 hours of sleep every night, what’s wrong?!”

Well, first—I am so happy that you’re getting adequate sleep. 7-9 hours of sleep is recommended for adults; if you’ve struggled with sleep, then you know that you can sleep 8 hours and not feel rested. While rest is supposed to be the product of sleep, that isn’t always how it works when we are impaired by stress or mental illness. Also, sleep is most closely linked to physical rest and we often need more than that. For instance, I’m an introvert, so if I have too much contact with other people, I need social rest or I'll feel off no matter how much I sleep.

Today I am going to be outlining the 7 different types of rest as proposed by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, and how to get that rest if you're feeling tired.

Physical Rest

There are both passive and active forms of physical rest.

Sleeping and napping are the two most common forms of passive rest. To maximize the likelihood of getting restful sleep, make sure that you follow a sound sleep protocol (e.g. consistent bedtime, control temperature, not drinking caffeine late in the day, wind-down routine).

Active physical rest includes activities like stretching or yoga, breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, hot baths, and massages.

The type of physical rest you require will depend on where and how much strain you carry in your body. For instance, I spend a lot of my day sitting, so I can have a build-up of tension in my back, shoulders, neck, and hips. I find it really helpful to do Yin Yoga in the evenings to stretch everything out and provide relief.

Watch out for signs that you need physical rest, such as lacking the energy to make it through the day, feeling tired but having difficulty falling asleep, weakened immune system, frequent muscle pain and soreness, reliance on substances to give you energy (e.g. energy drinks, coffee, sugar), and depending on substances to give you more rest (e.g. alcohol or drugs).

Mental Rest

Next up is mental rest—who doesn’t need some of that with all of the stress we have in our lives and with the pandemic! Mental fatigue can result from a variety of things including negative self-talk, rumination, anxious what-if thinking, being stuck in the past, and judgements.

Signs that you may need mental rest include irritability or decreased frustration tolerance, avoiding activities, feeling like you’re in a mental fog throughout the day, and feeling overwhelmed by daily tasks.

One way to ease the...

Keep reading on Quick and Dirty Tips