Physical vs Mental Rest
For several months, I was getting enough sleep. I was within the 7-9 hours recommended to adults, but I was still exhausted. I was up in the mornings, let’s say by 8am (college student) and finally in bed around 12am. Sounds ok right? Nope. Those 16 hours were filled to the brim with classes, my job, extra-curricular activities, homework, etc. My schedule was so crammed, I couldn’t think about anything else. Mentally, I was so tired.
Let’s go back a few years prior to that. I’m getting like 5-6 hours of sleep a night (as a teenager), but mentally, I’m doing great. I’m socializing with friends, having nights where I just chill and watch some shows, singing and dancing in the show choir, doing my homework, etc., but physically, I’m exhausted. My body is tired from all the go-go, and as soon as my head hits the pillow, I’m out.
In both of these situations, I’m excelling in one area and struggling in another, and I’m sure we can all relate. Both physical and mental rest are important but different.
Physical rest can be active or passive. We definitely need the passive, which is sleeping and naps. No matter how hard we try, we really can’t go on little to no sleep (and be at our best). Something gives when we aren’t sleeping, whether that be our mood, productivity, alertness, etc. Active rest looks like activities that restore or recover our physical body. This could be yoga, stretching, or a massage (Dalton-Smith, 2021). These types of activities help our body to recuperate from what we put it through every day. In summary, are you getting enough sleep every night? Do you participate in evening stretches, yoga, or even an occasional massage?
Mental rest is what helps your mind relax and let go of all the business, tasks, distractions, etc. Have you ever had a day where you just worked from sunup to sundown and didn’t take any breaks? Let’s be honest, that is probably a lot of us most of the time. We need breaks! Not every five minutes, but every hour or couple hours, just take ~five minutes to get up, walk around, drink water, do some deep breathing, etc (Dalton-Smith, 2021). Give your mind a reset. Past just the workday, what are you doing? This can look like even just one night per week where you’re doing solely what you want to do. For example, I’ve painted, gone on a walk, hung out with a friend, made an extravagant meal, etc. It doesn’t have to look like doing nothing - it’s whatever you need to do to feel mentally rested.
We can’t just sleep enough and expect our mind to feel as great as our body. And we can’t see a friend every week and expect to feel physically rested. We need both. I encourage you to evaluate where you are at with both of these. Where can you improve or how can you maintain your rest?
Reference: Dalton-Smith, S. (2021). The 7 types of rest that every person needs. TED. Retrieved from https://ideas.ted.com/the-7-types-of-rest-that-every-person-needs/.
Challenges/Points:
We need two big kinds of rest - physical and mental. These require different actions and can’t be substituted for each other.
Physical rest is active and passive. It includes sleeping and something like stretching. Mental rest looks like giving your mind time to empty itself and not focus on anything else.
Evaluate where you are at with rest. Determine what you need to do to get better rest or maintain your rest.
Questions:
Which area (physical or mental) do you feel like you are getting enough rest in?
In which area (physical or mental) are you lacking adequate rest?
How can you make sure you’re getting adequate rest in both of these areas this week?
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