The importance of rest for your mental well-being can be easily dismissed, we live in a world where we are in a constant state of rush, next day delivery, instant access and a pressure to respond and be available 24/7. As the clocks went back this weekend and we were gifted an extra hour of sleep, perhaps this is a good time to consider the importance of finding pockets of rest and recouperation in the midst of our busy lives.
According to the Mental Health Foundation rest:
- Reduces stress and anxiety and improves your mood
- Decreases blood pressure
- Relieves chronic pain
- Improves immunity
- Improves thinking, empathy and compassion
- Improves problem-solving skills
- Improves creativity
The Mental Health Foundation has a very interesting document about rest and rethinking rest you can have a look at it here
The Mental Health Foundation – Rethinking Rest
When we don’t have sufficient rest we can feel more anxious and depressed, we can struggle to concentrate, make decisions and plans. We can feel more irritable and find everyday life more difficult.
For many of us the thought of holidays and time away from our normal lives is what keeps us going. The promise that in X number of days we can put down our responsibilities and REST. What if we gave ourselves that in small amounts every day or every week?
What if we scheduled into our day an amount of time where we put down our worries, put everything aside and just stopped?, perhaps on our lunch break, in the early morning or as part of our bedtime routine. What rest will mean to me, will be different to what I means to you. It could be:
- a walk in nature
- doing yoga
- having a nap
- watching a film
- meditating
- engaging in a hobby
- going to the gym
- having a bath
- turning off the tv/radio, putting down internet enabled devices and having a period of time without the stimulation
- Journaling
- Spending time with a friend
It might be that there are different aspects of your life that you need rest from. For instance if you are online all day for you it will be most important to take a rest from screens and social media. If you are talking to people all day you might need to rest by taking time on your own.
To cultivate rest in your life you need to:
- Schedule it into your daily or weekly life
- Think about resting your mind and body, consider resting your senses too, what you are seeing or hearing.
- Play with rest – try different kinds of rest and explore what gives you greatest satisfaction and sense of peace.
Below are some other blogs on our website around the subject of rest that you might find interesting.
Are holidays good for our mental health?
The Benefits of Taking a Lunch Break
Is an Instant World Bad for your Mental Health
If you are struggling to rest you might want to talk to a professional. Paul Carter is a counsellor and psychotherapist with many years of experience, you can learn more about Paul here on the About Paul Page. If you would like to make an appointment with him please use the Contact Page or call on 07843 813 537. Paul works in Birmingham and Kingswinford, although currently due to COVID is working exclusively online and on the telephone. For more information about how counselling works and current fees please take a look at the FAQs page
