The 7 Pathways of Rest to Prevent Burnout

So many of us walk through our days sleep deprived, stressed, and depleted. I often hear people say that even when they do get enough sleep, they still feel depleted and tired. So, why is that?

When we’re feeling overwhelmed and burnt out from juggling so many balls in the air – at work, at home, in our social lives, with all of the roles we try to fill and tasks we feel we need to complete – we can feel physically exhausted even though we are technically getting enough sleep.

In psychology, we talk about somatizing emotions – which means that instead of noticing our emotional stress, we notice it in our bodies. In this case, perhaps stress is showing up in the form of muscle tension and physical fatigue. This is our body’s way of attempting to get us to pay attention and offer ourselves some care to regain balance in our lives and lifestyles.

Today we are going to talk about 7 different forms of rest that can help replenish our energy and nourish our wellbeing. Of course, there are more than 7 forms of rest – I’m sure we could brainstorm many more! But, to keep things simple, Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith wrote a book entitled Sacred Rest and suggested that offering yourself these 7 in particular can help you notice a change.

Now, a little preface here is that the last thing I want to do is add more to your plate. You’ve already got all of those balls in the air, now I’m going to add 7 more in the form of resting techniques?

No. Not at all. Let’s consider this a reflection and an exploration. Something to get those wheels turning about the possibilities that might be available to you for your replenishment. Not another to-do on your list. Ok?

Now, let’s continue:

The first form of rest is the most obvious one. Physical rest. This includes any activity that involves relaxing your muscles. It could mean actually taking a nap or getting good quality sleep at night. It could involve a breathing exercise. It could be restorative yoga or gentle stretching. It could mean closing your eyes for a few minutes just to rest your eyes and facial muscles. If you have access to it, this could mean getting a massage. Anything that helps your body have ease and time for recovery from demands.

The second form of rest is mental rest. This essentially means giving your brain a break from having to problem-solve. This could involve meditation, taking a break during your work day and going out for a little walk or stretch. It could involve a mindfulness exercise. It could involve silencing your phone and not having to respond to emails for a little while.

The third form of rest is emotional rest. This could mean getting some distance from an emotionally draining situation. It could mean giving yourself space to let your feelings flow, either in the form of journaling or simply sitting with whatever feelings emerge and allowing yourself a safe space to feel them so that you can get that release and reset. Sometimes, this might involve a trusted and safe friend or family member, or a therapist or coach so you can receive the support you need. This could also mean time out in nature, experiencing connection and peace in the natural world around you.

The fourth form of rest is sensory rest. The idea of sensory rest is to allow your body and brain a break from the noise and stimuli all around us all the time. This could involve dimming or turning off the lights. Moving into a quiet space or offering yourself soft music. This could mean turning off your phone and computer and creating a gentle space for a few minutes within which you aren’t interrupted or jolted by noise, lights, sound, or touch.

The fifth form of rest is creative rest. What might you engage in that offers you a connection with beauty? This could involve engaging in a hobby, it could mean going to a spot outside that you find beautiful. It could mean listening to beautiful music. Whatever can connect you with the creative beauty that is all around you, ready to nourish you.

The sixth form of rest is social rest. Similar to emotional rest, the idea here is to allow yourself a break from people that might feel draining or depleting to your energy stores in that moment. Social rest can also mean taking a little break from being social at all and simply enjoying your you time – your alone time. Making a date with yourself to stay in or go out just with you.

And the seventh form of rest is spiritual rest. Spiritual rest involves connecting with something greater than yourself. This could be engaging in prayer, meditation, going out in nature, or being in the wider community in some way. This form of rest is intended to offer a sense of belonging, of connection, and of perspective.

I invite you to notice which kinds of rest come easily to you.

For some of us who are super creative, that creative rest may be something we are already intentionally offering ourselves and can’t imagine life without. For some of us who are introverts, taking that alone time to re-charge our batteries might be the living-giving rest we’ve relied on all our lives.

The areas that come easy to you are your gifts and strongest tools – thank goodness you have those! You might even offer yourself a moment of gratitude for naturally re-balancing in these ways.

Now, I invite you to notice which kinds of rest do not come as easily or do not sound appealing at all. I wonder if we can get curious about that.

What might be the barriers you set up to not allow yourself those kinds of rest? Are those barriers ok with you – they might be and that’s perfectly fine – or are you wanting to experiement with allowing yourself a different kind of rest or a wider range of replenishment?

If so, I invite you to consider a small way you can inch into that form of rest.

When we’re growing our ways to rest and replenish, it can be helpful to schedule some time with intention. Maybe begin with a very short period of time. For example, for sensory rest, you might schedule 5-10 minutes of time where your phone is turned off or in the other room or put in a drawer or something. And for that time, you get to offer yourself an opportunity to take an intentional break from scrolling, from receiving and answering texts or phone calls. You might turn off the lights too and notice the natural light, the stillness.

I encourage you to do this in increments that feel good to you in the areas of rest that you would like to work on. There are no badges or trophies for how long you can go or how little you can do. There is no right or wrong here. It’s simply an opportunity to explore replenishment in these different ways and notice what works best for you.

I welcome you to get in touch with me by leaving me a comment or messaging me on Instagram or Facebook at The Calming Ground and let me know what kinds of rest resonate most for you. How do you integrate resting in your life?