Resting for your mental health - quick tips

Resting for your mental health – Quick Tips

Resting for your mental health –  Quick Tips – part of Paul Carter’s Quick Tips series we look at a variety of areas and consider different things that you can do to implement change straight away. Today we are looking at rest.

We live in a fast paced world, everything is instant and 24/7, we are encouraged to hustle and be productive. This constant striving and working can have significant impacts on our mental and physical health. Rest is essential for our wellbeing.

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

Giving ourselves permission to rest is the first step in including more rest in our lives. Rest can also look different for different people, think about the times when you feel at peace, the times when you feel happy, the times when you feel refreshed. These times could include taking a walk in nature, doing yoga, having a nap, watching a film, meditating, doing a hobby, going to the gym, turning off the tv/radio and putting down your phone, spending time with a friend, journaling.

  • Choose one thing that you could do each day that would help you feel rested. It could be something different each day
  • Schedule in your rest if you need to
  • Sometimes your rest can be short, just 10 minutes or for a longer period.
  • If you can’t take a long period or rest consider taking a number of shorter periods of rest.
  • Make sure you take a lunch break that is away from your desk and maybe also away from your phone.
  • Make sure that your nightly rest is protected. Allow yourself to wind down before you go to sleep.
  • Consider planning in days of rest, doing whatever you would enjoy or recharge you.
  • Remember to plan a holiday into your year.

Rest can happen in pockets of time in your day or can be for longer periods. Consider what will work for you and purposefully ensure you rest.

Below are other blogs on our website that you might find useful.


Whatever you are struggling with sometimes there is no substitute for speaking to a professional. If you are struggling with any issue you might find it beneficial to speak to a professional. If you would like formal help and would like to make an appointment with Paul, please call Paul on 07843 813 537 or fill in the form on the Contact Page, if he doesn’t answer he is probably in a session, please leave him a message and he will call you back as soon as he can.