The Importance of Rest: How To Find What Re-Energises You
taking time to rest is essential for our physical and mental health, and can help us be more focused and energised in the long run. Rest is important for health and wellbeing training at home and at work. It can mean lots of different things - slowing down and sleeping properly are essential to staying happy and healthy, mentally and physically. Without rest, we can’t function day-to-day. Are you taking the right steps to recharge properly?
In today's fast-paced world, it can be difficult to find time for rest and relaxation. We often prioritise our work and other obligations over our own well-being, leading to burnout and fatigue. Little by little, decent and peaceful rest fades into the background, and we often find ourselves running on fumes.
However, taking time to rest is essential for our physical and mental health, and can help us be more focused and energised in the long run. Rest is important for health and wellbeing training at home and at work. It can mean lots of different things - slowing down and sleeping properly are essential to staying happy and healthy, mentally and physically.
When we fall out of a resting pattern, it can be much harder to relax and recover. In honour of World Sleep Day 2023, if you’re wondering how to relax or are looking for some personal or staff wellbeing ideas, this blog is going to help recharge your batteries and find what re-energises you.
What Is ‘Rest’, Really?
It may sound like an obvious question, but what is rest?
Rest is the act of taking a break from activity or work to relax and recharge. Your mind switches off, your body relaxes, and your mental and physical wellbeing is renewed. Believe it or not, rest is more active than it is passive when it comes to intention.
As humans, we need our rest - it’s nature. But we don’t always get it. According to DirectLine, 7.5 million people in Britain have low levels of sleep at night - just under 5 hours.
Consistent poor sleep is linked to:
Fatigue
Lower levels of productivity
Depression and anxiety
Long-term health issues such as cardiac problems, dementia, and diabetes
This is where mindfulness can help. What is mindfulness? Mindfulness is a form of wellbeing champion training, an important tool all about awareness and deliberation to consciously take these steps to have decent peaceful rest.
An example of mindfulness when it comes to rest is what the NHS calls ‘effective resting’. Effective resting focuses on quality over quantity when it comes to rest, minimising your sensory demands and having regular breaks.
How to rest effectively:
Balance your needs
Too much rest can lead to lethargy, not enough can be bad for our body and mind. Find a balance of work and play that doesn’t eat into your rest time, and consciously prioritise maintaining this balance.
Set a routine
This can be for your overnight sleep, or little moments where you sit down and take time to yourself each day. If you’re at work, eat away from your office space, or try some desk exercises throughout the day.
Switch off your mind
Racing thoughts make rest almost impossible. Exercise, yoga, breathing exercises, and meditation can loosen tense muscles, relax the body, quiet the mind, and keep rest restful, not stressful.
Reduce stimulation
Cognitive activity such as watching TV stimulates us. It stops us from going into deep rest and can lead to sensory overload. Reduce screen time when trying to rest to be able to do so peacefully.
Create a restful environment
It can be as simple as separating work from home, not allowing phones in bed, or stepping away from your desk into the outside world. A specific time and place dedicated to resting helps you relax as soon as you enter that space.
All of these combined offer a strong, impactful rest that act as guidelines to use in your day-to-day life, or as part of larger workplace wellbeing training.
Re-Energise With Self-Assessment
Looking for wellbeing ideas for staff or yourself? Try self-assessment.
Self-assessment is strongly linked to mindfulness. It is the process of reflecting on your emotions and feelings in certain situations, such as meetings or moments, in order to identify patterns and areas for improvement. It’s a chance to identify bad habits and prioritise new, good ones instead.
When it comes to mental health and wellbeing training, self-assessment reflection exercises are key to finding what re-energises you personally and the office as a whole.
We’ve put together some ways to self-assess, re-energise, and re-prioritise in ways that let you rest and recover.
Mindful journaling or note-taking
After a meeting, moment, or situation, take time to write down what you think and how you feel. Putting these thoughts to paper actualises them, validates them, and helps put them to one side, making rest easier.
Making plans through problem-solving
Finding solutions to problems instead of worrying about them helps put them (and you!) to bed. This lets you take control of what you can, let go of what you can’t, and redirect that energy into something positive.
Grounding exercises
Grounding exercises such as yoga, meditation, pilates, breathwork, tai chi, and stretches can reconnect us to the present moment. It’s all about bringing awareness to the physical sensation of the body. This can be used as a tool for rest by promoting a sense of calm, reducing tension, and easing stress.
Get creative
This could be painting, drawing, colouring, cooking, baking, crafting, knitting, and so much more. For more ideas check out our blog on crafting your way to mindfulness.
Go outside and connect with nature
Disconnect by going for a walk, get active by running, swimming, or playing a sport, go in the garden, or take a trip to your local park.
The trick is to wear yourself out the right way - through energising, fulfilling acts, rather than tired burnout.
These ideas can be implemented in your own life, as part of staff wellbeing policy, or holistic wellbeing and resilience training personally and professionally.
Goes to show, there are lots of benefits to mindfulness in the workplace and at home, too.
Rest, Recover, Re-Energise
“When we rest, our energy is restored.” - Lailah Gifty Akita
In a world that values being go-go-go, the best thing you can do is take a moment to rest, reset, re-energise, and renew. Avoiding what drains our energy and prioritising what restores it is key to consistently uplifting and sustaining strong mental and physical health, as well as keeping burnout at bay.
Now we know what rest truly is and how to do it effectively. Sleep and rest have a domino effect throughout your whole life. At home and in the office; during downtime and during work hours.
Take some time to consider what mindfulness techniques you can introduce to your life to prioritise moments of rest and wellbeing, day after day.
For more guidance and information, get in touch with us at: info@mind-it.co.uk
