Treat yourself with some quality rest

Have you felt tired and tried sleeping longer during the weekend only to feel more exhausted than before? According to Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, we tend to mix up what rest means with sleep. She describes 7 types of rest that exist, and that combined will boost your energy and stop the feeling of being tired all the time. Or you can start learning what types of rest exist and the one that is more useful to you for the next time you are needing some rest. Next time you feel tired take a little advice from Tom and Donna from Parks and Recreation and treat yourself!

Rest is necessary and sometimes we don´t give it the importance it has. When we are rested, stress is easier to control, we can maintain a positive attitude, we will be more productive at work, it will boost our creativity and some studies have shown it even has healing properties for the body. So really, treat yourself to some quality rest this coming weekend or even during your daily routine.

We will tell you the 7 types of rest your body will appreciate, how to recognize them, and how to practice them.

Physical rest: You know you need physical rest if you are feeling aches and pains, and/or general fatigue. And you guessed it, this is where sleep falls in, but a good night is not the only way our body can rest. There are two ways to enjoy this kind of rest, the first one would be sleep which is passive physical rest. Active physical rest, on the other hand, can be achieved by doing well-being activities such as stretching, yoga, or going for a massage. Next time you feel aches and pains, and fatigue you can go for a massage, a yoga lesson or just stretch before a good night´s sleep.

Mental Rest: Have you ever felt like your memory is starting to fail you? Maybe you´ve gone into the wrong room for something you needed but can´t remember what it is, or are you having trouble silencing your mind at night? Or are you constantly irritable? These are symptoms of someone who is needing some mental rest. People who are suffering from mental rest deficits usually have long work days and take no breaks. To start mental rest, try to take active breaks to slow down your mind, a breathing exercise once in a while or keeping a notepad near to write down intrusive thoughts can help. (Giving some love to your plants for the Growth challenge can be a good daily pause)

Sensory Rest: Working in a remote company means we are exposed to screens and strong stimuli constantly. This kind of rest is especially useful when you feel overwhelmed, or when you feel your energy is draining too quickly during the day. Closing your eyes for a minute and taking a deep breath to give your brain a pause from a sensory-demanding environment goes a long way. And to go a step further, disconnecting from electronics (going for a walk, taking care of your house plants, or reading a book you enjoy for a while can be good alternatives) and setting your phone on do not disturb once you´re out of work can help to get the much-needed sensory rest.

Emotional Rest: People who are people pleasers are usually the ones who need the most emotional rest. These are the people who will always say yes, even if they don´t want to do something. They are the people who we call whenever we need a favor. They will always say yes to anything and are people who are just nice and will rarely show vulnerabilities. To get this kind of rest, try to express your emotions with people who will care and support you. If that sounds like something haunting (which will be another signal of needed emotional rest) try to write down what you feel. Take some time to consider your internal dialogue and your emotions writing them down can also help to organize what you need, and externalizing them (by talking, writing, or even drawing) can help to calm them down and start acting for them. Also, people who lack emotional rest are very likely to be lacking social rest too.

Social Rest: Someone who needs social rest has similar symptoms to someone lacking emotional rest. Contrary to what the name might imply, this doesn´t mean we should stop seeing people. It means we should carefully select the people who we are meeting with. Some social relationships fill us with life and recharge us just with some time with them, on the other hand, some relationships fill us with more gossip or uncertainties. Try to spend your precious social life with people with whom you feel recharged, and that give you positive vibes and support instead of people who will drain your energy with nagging and that give you negative thoughts. Recognizing the difference is fairly simple, how do you feel when you get home after a night out, do you feel more exhausted or do you feel recharged? Does time seem to slip away when you are with a group of people or does it seem like never ending when you are with other people? be mindful of how you feel during and after social interactions to choose who you need to spend time with.

Creative Rest: Feeling like we are all out of ideas (especially if it is for a long time) is a clear symptom that we need creative rest. To achieve it, go for a trip in nature and spend some time marveling at your surroundings and appreciating the small details we seem to forget during our daily lives. If a trip to nature seems unlikely, going to a museum or decorating your office space with some art can improve the likelihood of appreciating your surroundings and spending a couple of minutes enjoying the beauty of things. (Listening actively to a song, or going for a car ride through a different place and watching the scenery can be good alternatives.) Ideas won´t necessarily start flowing immediately, but you will start to feel renewed and the likelihood of new ideas greatly is improved.

Spiritual Rest: Like social rest, the name can be misleading for spiritual rest. Some people might say this rest is not for them just by reading the name it has, but I believe this one is one of the most relevant. You can recognize you need spiritual rest if you feel like you have no purpose or if you are working on an autopilot paycheck to paycheck. To get the rest you need to feel fulfilled, you can involve yourself more in what your community needs, some community work or helping someone in need will improve the sense of belonging. Praying or meditation can also help, as long as you believe it will show you purpose and make you feel like you belong.

The combination of the 7 can make you feel renewed and refreshed. Try to recognize which one is the one you are lacking and focus on solving that one first. Some tools can help you get some insight into which type of rest can be the one that makes you feel better, here is a quiz you can use as a guideline (I will also send the link in the email for the blog so if clicking on a quiz doesn´t work you can copy and paste it from your email.) I hope your rest improves greatly after reading this and implementing some of the tips offered.

If you want more tips don´t forget to join our HouR spaces in nubii city, or email me to juan.herrera@cargobot.io to schedule another space to talk about rest or other topics that you might find helpful.