Canât seem to be able to catch up on rest? Weâve all been there. The weekend passes, and you donât feel well rested, and the new workweek is already upon you.
There can be so many reasons for this, but one is definitely our poor relationship with and understanding of rest.
Weâre not great at unwinding (we move from screen to screen, we shift our focus only). We glorify the hustle. We focus on being productive, as if that was a goal in itself. We are not really taught about the importance of proper rest. We grow up in the âmore, moreâ culture.
The goal of this post is to raise awareness that rest is multifaceted, and you might be missing out on some types of it.
The following categorization of rest is totally arbitrary, and not all of them will apply to all of you (or youâll feel some of it is pure BS, which is fine). As always, find out what applies to you, and be open to others which you might not have realized you needed.
So, hereâs my absolutely scientificâąïž list of the 7 types of rest
1. Physical Rest
Yeah, we all know this one. This IS rest, right? Activities that recharge the body. Itâs either passive, e.g. lying down, a nap, or a proper sleep, or active, like a good massage, or even yoga.
Super important and can even help with stress.
2. Mental Rest
We kind of know about this, too, these are things that help you unload your mind, calm it and give you some âme timeâ. Meditation, mindfulness practices, journaling, etc. work well here.
Also, super important because pure physical rest wonât always help with your busy mind.
3. Social Rest
Now weâre getting into a touchy territory. Wait, we need people, weâre social animals, and actually, weâre kind of expected to socialize, right?
Sure, but we all have our limits. Weâre all somewhere on the introvert-extrovert spectrum (which place, btw. is not constant!) and we need our alone time, too.
So, donât be afraid to say ânoâ and be explicit that itâs not about them, but you requiring your âme timeâ. Also, ï»żï»żspend time with energy-givers.
4. Sensory Rest
Something we rarely think about. Itâs about taking a break from constant stimuli, e.g. audio and visual. Some of us really need this (I, for one, sure do). Sleeping is a form of it, but I also get easily overloaded with stimuli during the day, and it helps a lot to find a quiet corner and just âexistâ for a couple of minutes.
A trivial way to practice it is a âno phone in bedâ policy.
5. Creative Rest
Iâm terrible at this and I donât feel I miss it from my life, but I have many friends who love it. This is about recharging through creativity, e.g. having a hobby in which you create, pottery, painting, crocheting, etc.
Some others swear by doing puzzles or brain-teasers.
6. Emotional Rest
Another touchy topic â and it ties somewhat to social rest. This is about finding some stability in your emotions, âavoiding dramaâ because as much as itâs a part of our lives, it can drain you. Spend time with real, deep friends, and people who âget youâ. Spend more time being your most authentic self and less time faking it. Ideally, thatâs already your life 0-24. Ideally ;)
7. Spiritual Rest
I left this as last, as this oneâs quite controversial. Many people need spirituality in their lives, and thus, need this type of rest. It can mean a lot of different things to different people, for some this is practicing religion, for others this is new-age spirituality, for me, this is a nice long walk in nature. Activities that make you feel connected.
Call To Action
for this coming weekend, pick one that youâve neglected / never tried and give it a go. Then come back and tell me in the comments how it went :)
This was a great reminder, thanks Csaba! I took some time to rest from the sensory nightmare that is my home XD I have 5 very energetic and loud kids, and it's important for me to take a noise break occasionally so they get less overwhelmed dad :)