What is real rest?

When it comes to self-care, there's the assumption that you need to be really fancy with how you participate – a luxurious self-care day at the spa, an expensive meal, a new haircut… and I could go on. 

While these are ways someone can practice self-care, self-care can be as simple as deciding to go to bed early tonight. 

What is self-care?

The definition can be subjective based on whom you ask, what their preferences are and what they consider as self-care.

But at its core, self-care is prioritizing, preserving, or improving your health and wellbeing.

Today, we will delve deeper in one of the pillars of self-care: real rest. 

Relaxation & How it Reduces Anxiety

What is relaxation?

& how does it contribute to self-care and your overall health?

The concept is foreign to most of us because of long work hours, days that stretch out, never ending weeks and even after getting off work, there's more work to do at home. 

Relaxation is difficult to include in our cluttered lives, but vital to your health in the long run.

Relaxing is simply allowing yourself to find calming techniques that allow you to reduce anxiety from a day due to partaking in particularly non-relaxing tasks. 

There are numerous ways you can relax, ranging from bubble baths to journaling. 

As long as you remember to shut off your work brain and give yourself the peace and quiet you need and deserve to recover from the pressures of daily life.

Rest & Restoring Lost Balance

We're often told that we need to rest.

But you have work, you have kids to take care of, shopping to do and about a thousand other tasks on your endless to-do list. 

Here's the thing. Eventually, your exhaustion will catch up to you. You'll get slower. You’ll make mistakes. You will endanger your health. Maybe you already have. 

This is why rest is crucial. 

What is rest?

Rest is a specified period of non-doing. Rest involves your whole being. We can choose to rest parts of ourselves that have been overstimulated or overused to restore a sense of balance. 

This can be...

• Taking a nap

• Meditating 

• Doing yoga (or just lying really still)

• Reading a book

• …and so much more

This depends on your idea of rest.

Resting has been known to increase productivity and efficiency. 

During your busy workdays and long weeks, remember that rest is crucial. 

But, keep in mind, you're not actually resting if you're thinking about work or making a mental list of all the things you need to finish. 

Sleep & Recharging Your Mind

One of the easiest ways to partake in self-care and restore balance to your mind, body and spirit is sleep.

And yet, it's taken for granted. 

Most people are so busy, they look for ways to cheat sleep or take shortcuts.

This can include only sleeping 4-5 hours and then wasting money on energy drinks and coffee.

Sleep is a necessity.

While you sleep, your body rapidly regenerates cells as well as goes through extensive hormonal and brain processes. True sleep slows down our bodily functions and is where healing can take place. 

Without sleep, our memory falters, we get slower, we get crankier and impair cognitive function.

So what is real rest? 

Real rest is relaxation, rest, and sleep. It is reducing your anxiety, restoring your balance, and recharging your mind. 

Commit to yourself and start small. For 5 minutes at least every day, take the time out of your busy schedule to allow your mind to rest and find peace. 

For this week, in what ways can you prioritize each of these equally?