There are more ways to rest than sleeping, let’s review them.
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of resting? The best-known forms of rest are sleeping, eating and practicing some leisure activity that you are passionate about.
When someone asks: do you need a break? The first thing that comes to mind is lying down and closing your eyes. This is very beneficial in cases where you have worked several hours in a row without a break, when you spend a sleepless night to meet a deadline, or when you have had a lot of physical activity during the day. However, the truth is that in this context, rest would be limited only to when the body felt exhausted, and today we know that the mind also gets tired, even more than the body, and that not all brains work in the same way. That is why everyone may have a different way of resting and today we will talk about how to discover which one would benefit you the most.
According to current studies, humans need physical, mental, social, creative, emotional, spiritual and sensory rest. Thinking that simply doing nothing for a specific period of time is resting is very old fasion.
If it has happened to you that after a long day you go to sleep and wake up, hours later, almost as tired as when you closed your eyes, it is a sign that this type of rest is not exactly what you need (because everybody, undoubtedly, needs to sleep).
Physical rest: If you have trouble keeping your eyes open and getting out of bed feels like you're trying to get your feet out of a mud puddle, then it's time to review what specific type of rest your body needs. A good idea would be having moments to inhale and exhale during the workday, or taking some yoga classes.
Mental rest: If you have ever felt that your brain is overloaded and all thoughts become heavy, then you already know what kind of rest you need. In cases like even though you've read the same page 10 times you still don't understand what you've read, or you just can't answer an email, then a good idea is to turn off all screens and try to meditate for a few minutes, this simple exercise can help you to increase the mental attention that is so necessary on a day-to-day basis.
Social rest: Sometimes socializing can be exhausting, but it depends on the type of socializing you are doing. This type of break is mainly needed by people who spend a lot of time in conferences, meetings or discussions at work. To disconnect from the work environment, a good idea is to meet with close friends who allow great freedom to express themselves. On the other hand, sometimes the ideal is simply to disconnect from all kinds of screens and social environment to dedicate a few hours to yourself.
There are still 4 types of rest that we will be talking about in a next part. For now, you can tell us if you have been surprised to discover that there are more ways to rest than you knew, or if you have a specific one that we have not yet mentioned. Who knows? Some reader may discover a new way to rest that only you knew.