What Is Rest?
Rest can be difficult to define because it can look different for everyone. Essentially, rest is any behaviour or activity aimed at increasing physical or mental wellbeing.
When we think about resting, we tend to focus on physical rest. We picture ourselves doing nothing, being still or sleeping. But rest doesn’t have to be passive – it can be active too. Both forms of rest are equally important to your mental, emotional and physical health.
Why Is Rest So Important?
Regardless of how you choose to rest, making it a priority gives your body time to recover. It supports you physically, aiding muscle repair, reducing inflammation, and strengthening the immune system. Rest also helps lower blood pressure, reduce stress and improve your overall mood. In other words, better rest is linked to better physical and mental health. If we don’t get enough rest, we can become physically unwell, and we can also experience stress related symptoms, anxiety, and low mood.
Rest has never been more vital, especially for mothers. We live incredibly fast paced, busy lives. We’re also exposed to more information than ever before. Mothers face extra pressure. They’re often up in the night with their little ones. Then, regardless of how little sleep they’ve had, they may be working as well. Even if they’re not, being a stay-at-home mum is a full-time job in its own right.
On top of this, if you’ve experienced lots of trauma in your life, you will probably need more rest than those who haven’t. You may find you are easily overwhelmed by life. The more things you’ve been through, the harder it can be to function. This creates a greater need for rest because you’re expending more mental and physical energy to cope with the demands of day-to-day life. Trauma can also disrupt your sleep and affect your appetite, both of which can impact your energy levels.
I Find it Hard to Rest – Why Is That?
Motherhood is busy and so finding time to rest can feel almost impossible if you have a baby or children to care for. Even if your children are at nursery or school, you might be working during those hours, so the opportunity to rest while your children are being looked after by other people doesn’t necessarily materialise. For me, another barrier to rest is that my older children are currently finding it hard to sleep because it’s so light outside during the summer. This means I’m not getting much time to myself in the evenings.
Nowadays, many people are parenting without the support of a ‘village’. Perhaps you don’t have family nearby or many friends in your local area. Again, this can mean you have less opportunities to rest.
As well as these practical barriers to rest, your thoughts might be making it difficult. For example, it might be that you have time to relax but you have rigid rules and beliefs about rest that affect your ability to engage in it. You might think resting is lazy, that you don’t deserve to rest, or that you need to get everything ticked off your to-do list first.
The 7 Types of Rest
In her book ‘Sacred Rest’, Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith describes seven types of rest. She believes they each serve a unique purpose. Embracing them all can help us feel more energised and emotionally balanced. Here’s a list with some examples…
- Physical Rest – Sleep or gentle movement like yoga or walking.
- Social Rest – Connecting with others and prioritising fulfilling, uplifting social interactions.
- Creative Rest – Play and engaging with things like art, music, or nature – anything that leaves you feeling inspired.
- Emotional Rest – Feeling and expressing your emotions in a healthy way, for example through journaling, therapy or sharing with supportive friends.
- Sensory Rest – Turning off electronic devices, embracing quietness, dimming lights or spending time in nature.
- Mental Rest – Taking short breaks, engaging in hobbies that let your mind wander, mindfulness practices.
- Spiritual Rest – Finding meaning and purpose beyond your daily routine through things like meditation, prayer or community involvement.
Knowing there are so many ways to rest can make it easier to incorporate rest into your life. I recommend starting small and building up. Experiment with different restful practices to see what works for you. Pay attention to what your mind and body needs. For example, if you feel overstimulated, you might need sensory rest. This can be difficult with small children, but even just a few minutes without the TV on could help. If your brain feels fried, engage in mental rest by taking break.
3 Tips to Help You Get More Rest
- Remind yourself of the very real physical and emotional need for rest, and the consequences of not resting enough.
- If lack of time is an obstacle for you, try some radical prioritisation. Consider your schedule for the day and write down every single thing you are going to do. Work through this list of tasks and activities and rate whether they are important or something that can wait. If you’re able to identify something that’s not urgent or important, plan rest into that time instead.
- If you have rigid rules or beliefs about rest being bad or needing to be earned, you may need to accept a certain degree of discomfort whenever you try to rest. You might get the urge to get up and get stuff done because that’s what’s normal for you, but the more you resist this and surrender to rest, the more you’ll be able to tolerate it and experience the benefits.
Find Out More
If you need help healing from trauma or overcoming other barriers to rest, you can book a free consultation here. I also share lots of tips and advice via Instagram.
Useful Links
Trauma and the Need for Rest Explained
