Why Rest is Essential for Your Wellbeing

How do you spend your rest time? Or is rest time an unimaginable idea? Read on to find out about why you might want to think about rest and how you can optimise your rest time.

You get home, do the jobs that need to be done (dinner, bins, children’s bedtimes…that sort of thing). And then, what do you do next? For most of us its time for a rest at the end of the day. What’s your go to…phone, TV, chat to friends?

I’m Dr Kate Ella. A health coach on a mission to transform people’s lifestyles and optimise their health. After 15 years as a doctor in the NHS I was broken. A combination of tricky interpersonal relationships and a busy home life had an impact. And a lack of rest was very much part of my problem. So I got help, learned, passed exams and now want to help you rest (with the ease of a cat).

In my research about rest, I came across Dr Saudra Dalton-Smith pretty early on. She is an expert in rest and has described 7 different types of rest that can benefit us all. But, before we get started on that, she has also said that she understands that rest can be tricky, “uncomfortable even”. That very much resonated with me. The Disney image of rest is all palm trees and soothing music but rest can feel very different to that. When you are busiest and most in need of it, rest can feel like the last thing you want to do.

So why rest?

We’ve all felt exhausted, low in energy, not behaving our best or most creatively at times. Sometimes it can feel like that’s normal, there’s an inevitability to feeling that way. So why rest? Why try and fit another thing into your already busy life? What’s the point? Studies in groups as diverse as clergy and psychiatrists have found a clear correlation between a lack of rest and burnout. Given that the symptoms above are all described in burnout it would seem likely that rest can help all of us before we reach that stage too.

What is rest?

The Oxford Dictionary defines rest as “a period of time in which you relax”. Now, as we all know, there is nothing less relaxing than being told to “relax” and resting definitely doesn’t always feel relaxing in the moment. Sometimes the benefits are only felt much later. So how would I define rest? I really like the “7 types of rest” model.

The 7 types of rest

Dr Saundra Dalton Smith has described 7 types of rest; physical, mental, sensory, creative, emotional, spiritual and social. I think that it really helps to remind us that rest is not just one thing for everybody. Rest is all sorts of different things at different times. Take physical rest for example. If you’ve been sitting down in front of a computer all day then physical rest might be a walk or a stretch, something to rest those muscles that have been stuck in one position all day. However, if you have been running around after a child all day then physical rest might be a float in the bath, something to soothe the tired muscles.

How do I rest?

I get it, the 7 types of rest can create a type of overwhelm. Too much information…best give up and go back to what you know. The thing is, that you won’t need all of the types of rest every day or even every week. What I think the 7 types of rest does is give us a foundation on which to assess where we currently are most in need of rest. That way we can see what might be the best way to use our downtime, no matter how limited.

Here’s some suggestions as to how you can fit the types of rest into your life. Choose the area that you are most in need of rest and just try one.

Even as I was writing that I went to take a rest, I’m learning! Maybe next time that you come home, do what needs to be done and flop you could try one of these ideas. They’re free, they don’t take much time, so there’s not much to lose. Maybe they’ll make no difference. But, maybe they’ll help you start on the journey to more energy, less exhaustion and more productivity. Maybe you’ll even sleep better.

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