Scientific Evidence that It’s OK to Rest
Ever felt guilty for resting?
Me, too! In fact, this is very difficult for me to do. Partly why I like to talk and write about self-care and me-time so much is that I need the constant reminder that it’s ok to rest. I need the reminder that it’s actually good for me. If you feel the same, we are not alone. Our society has a huge productivity bias. We are rewarded for being busy and doing all the things. We’ve been instilled with this sense of obligation that makes us feel lazy if we dare to take a break. We often feel pressured to push forward at greater velocities and to always be hustling. Hustle more. Do more. Be productive. Outperform last year. Then, maybe it’ll be good enough. Society has instilled a sense of obligation in us that causes us to feel lazy if we deviate from productivity. Each year it is easy to feel pressure to push forward at a greater speed and outperform the previous year. Yet we can use time to restore and replenish our energy. This is productive time as well. It’s also time well spent. Resting is not just okay, but I would argue that it is imperative for our overall health and wellbeing. Resting the body and mind has significant advantages.
1. Physiological
Rest plays a critical role in the health of your endocrine system, which directly affects the immune and nervous systems. Melatonin, called “the hormone of darkness” is synthesized by the pineal gland and released in response to a darkened environment. With shorter days, and longer nights during winter, it is only natural to need more sleep. instead of struggling against the flow by muscling your way through your to-do list, allow yourself to doze!
Our bodies need recharging for proper functioning, just as we need to charge our electronic devices when the battery gets low. Lack of sleep can lead to hormone imbalances and keep your body from being able to regulate stress hormones and blood glucose levels. Getting adequate sleep keeps your hormones balanced and also plays a crucial role in healthy metabolism, immune function, learning, and memory.
2. Psychological
It has become common knowledge that the most successful people are workaholics. However, some of the most well-known, successful, and greatest geniuses only worked a few hours a day. In between these bursts of productivity, they rested. They understood that in order for the creativity to flow and the ideas to flourish, they needed to constantly rebuild and renew the mind. And science is here to back that up.
Even in our brain’s resting state, those moments when we are not directly focused on a task, it is still active. This “unfocus network” or Default Mode Network (DMN) is engaged to plug away at problems, examine possible answers, and seek out new information to analyze the solutions. This is the mode of functioning your brain goes into when the “focus” mode of “doing work” shuts down. By allowing the mind to rest and power down the intense focus mode, we can support this “default network”. We can think of it similarly to singing or running. When you allow yourself to rest and shut off the intense mode of focus, your brain has the space to make connections and produce new ideas. You can get that spark of creativity to solve problems that seemed difficult. Resting is the best way to activate this DMN. Research has also shown that productivity typically begins to burn out at 90 minutes. You can try setting a timer every 90 minutes to remind yourself to take a 10-minute break. Rest, go on a walk, listen to some music, or spend some time with a guided meditation. This little bit of a break can recharge your brain helping you to better retrieve memories, incorporate new information, and synthesize existing information.
Meditation is an incredible way to relax and strengthen this connection. When you meditate, you quiet the mind and follow the breath. You are able to give the thinking mind a break. These are times when you can reach deeper insights that may have been pushed down by the stress of daily life. CONFESSION: I had slipped from my regular meditation practice. Yes, it can be challenging to keep up, and I had let it go for several months. I started adding back in a 10-minute meditation before bed and noticed a huge difference after just a few days. I started sleeping better, waking up more refreshed and inspired, and started to see solutions to some problems that had been weighing me down. Try a simple ten-minute seated meditation upon waking or before going to bed or break up your day at lunchtime with a short walking meditation. It’s powerful. I am reminded over and over again every time.
Do No Thing
Top athletes include rest and recovery into their training, so why doesn’t the general public? We can break up the day and chunk our tasks and commitments in a way that will build in these 10 minute bite-sized moments of rest. It helps you feel less overwhelmed and more capable. More resilient. More YOU.
So instead of feeling guilty, enjoy your rest! Trust that you will be even more productive when you’re ready to be, and you’ll be feeling physically and psychologically rejuvenated.
To help start your rest and recovery, I would like to share with you a 20-minute relaxation session that will help you move into your body and release tension, then start to allow your mind to take a rest as well. Enjoy xoxo
