Rest is not Just Sleeping: The Seven Forms of Restoration That We All Require

Sometimes, regardless of the amount of sleep that you get each night, you still feel exhausted during the day. Can you relate to this? 
While sleep is the most obvious kind of rest, it only hits one out of the seven types of rest that every person needs. So let’s look at each type of rest that we need and how we can fulfill that need. 

Physical Restoration 
As stated above, physical rest can include activities such as sleeping through the night or napping. These are considered passive forms of physical rest. In addition to this, we can perform active physical rest through rejuvenating exercises such as yoga, general stretching, or getting a massage. 

Sensory Restoration
Every day we receive sensory input. It’s often overwhelming, from computer screens at work to overhead fluorescent lights and music in retail stores. Sensory rest allows us to reset our senses. Try closing your eyes and taking a deep breath or intentionally putting your phone away for an hour. You’ll be surprised how revitalized you feel after taking a break from sensory input. 

Emotional Restoration
If you have been feeling drained by your emotional output, you are most likely in need of emotional rest. This entails creating time specifically for expressing your feelings and crafting a space in which you don’t feel a need to people-please. Emotional rest will allow you to feel safe and connect genuinely with others and yourself. 

Mental Restoration
If you struggle to slow down and often feel like you cannot concentrate or turn your thoughts off, you crave quality mental rest. In order to achieve this, focus on taking short breaks from your work every few hours. In addition, journaling those racing thoughts is another healthy way to release the stress of your inner world. 

Social Restoration
Social exhaustion is often triggered by a failure to differentiate between the people around us who uplift us and the people who pull us down with them. Do you find this problematic? You need a healthy dose of social rest. Try to focus on surrounding yourself with positive, healthy people. Enjoy your time with them as a form of recharging. 

Creative Restoration
Creative rest is crucial for people who need to solve problems or think creatively. Set aside time to appreciate the things in life that inspire you. Whether that be nature, art, books, music, or anything else, be sure to slow down and take it all in. 

Spiritual Restoration 
Do you feel connected to something beyond your physical self? Meditation, prayer, and involvement with your community can aid in this feeling of belonging that we all desire. In addition, spiritual rest will make you feel alive in ways you never felt before.

These seven forms of rest will not only help you feel better emotionally, but they will also lead you to live a longer and healthier life. Others around you will start to notice a difference in you, and they’ll ask, “What changed?” Be sure to share your newfound wisdom with them. Everyone deserves to feel fully rested through the seven types of rest.