After a big game or competition, athletes know getting adequate rest is vital.  Physical exertion is often accompanied by microscopic tears in muscle fibers, depleted energy stores and dysregulated hormones. By resting, they can heal, lower their injury risk, replenish their reserves and grow stronger.

Like your muscles, your brain is a critical organ that needs regular rest after the demands of a busy workday or hectic life events. Actions like brainstorming, problem-solving or even experiencing high emotions can take a toll on our brains, creating stress, anxiety, tiredness, poor mood and numbing brain fog.

Sufficient rest improves your body’s performance by:

Organizing and strengthening your memory, allowing for better recall and learning.

Cleaning out the brain’s cellular waste products, improving your mental efficiency.

Processing emotions and reducing amygdala activity, leading to lower stress and enhanced mood stability.

Promoting neural plasticity, allowing the brain to reorganize itself, its functions and connections. This ability is necessary for your body to adapt to new tasks and develop important skills.

In this article, we’ll cover different types of rest, including some you may not have heard of, their benefits and ways to ensure you’re incorporating relaxation in your everyday life.

The Many Types of Rest
What do you imagine when you think of resting? Does it mean getting your eight hours of sleep per night, taking a nap or relaxing on the couch with a good book?

Even if you hit your sleep benchmarks every night, it’s still possible for your body to feel at capacity in other ways. These taxing feelings of mental, emotional or physical overload, among others, can hinder your performance no matter how much rest you get. The American Psychological Association (APA) recommends exploring various types of rest to achieve more personalized relief that leaves you feeling restored.

Emotional Rest
As partners, children, parents and friends, we all take on emotionally taxing duties for those we love. Whether it’s accompanying a recently divorced sibling to a custody drop-off or helping a grieving parent with the loss of a spouse, the act of “holding it together” can be exhausting. If you’re struggling with feelings of inadequate rest or poor sleep following an emotionally charged event, consider setting rest-positive boundaries, such as clear guidelines regarding your availability to help and keeping your phone out of the bedroom at night to avoid interrupted sleep.

Creative Rest
Have you ever emerged from a brainstorming session at work feeling utterly drained? This can be a common feeling for those in mentally taxing creative pursuits that require ideas and problem-solving on demand. Continuing to push when you’re overworked can lead to burnout, so be sure to find ways to unwind by engaging in low-stakes, fun activities like going on a nature walk, visiting a museum or picking up your favorite hobby.

Mental Rest
Similar to creative rest, mental rest is needed when your brain has been active for long periods, such as at work or school. Mental work burns energy, leading to fatigue and decreased performance. If you struggled with the day’s efforts to the point of feeling overwhelmed, that stress and anxiety can further hinder performance. Try quieting your thoughts with meditation, deep breathing or shifting focus to a mentally non-demanding activity, like gardening.

Physical Rest
Like our athlete example above, it’s important to take steps to restore your body’s energy when it’s sending you signs that it’s being overworked, such as sleepiness, tense muscles, increased irritability and more. While many hit the gym after a long day at work to relieve tension and tire out the body, depending on your energy levels, it might be better to get a massage or partake in a low-impact physical activity instead of a hard workout. At home, keep screens out of the bedroom and use blackout curtains to ensure you’re getting adequate sleep.

Social Rest
Do you ever feel tired after a large social gathering or event? If you’re an introvert or take your hosting duties very seriously, it’s possible that you need time to recharge after socializing, no matter how much you and your guests enjoyed yourselves. Ways to ensure you’re getting social rest include setting aside time for yourself after an event to partake in a relaxing hobby and setting boundaries regarding your availability.

For a complete overview of the APA’s seven types of rest, read its article.

Despite the importance of relaxation to our health and performance, many small business owners struggle to prioritize their wellness over the day-to-day demands of their business. However, rest should be an essential part of your healthcare routine, as a tool to prevent burnout and provide critical downtime for your body to carry out vital tasks. For more tips on how to ensure your wellbeing while juggling the everyday challenges of owning a small business, read our other newsletters at southernconsumers.org

Articles in this newsletter are meant to be informative, enlightening and helpful to you. While all information contained herein is meant to be completely factual, it is always subject to change. Articles are not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. 

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