Why You're Always Exhausted đ´
I feel like we can all relate to being exhausted -- we've all been there. Sometimes it seems like no matter how much sleep we get or how good weâre being about resting regularly, we just have this underlying sense of fatigue.
Like youâre going through your days and youâre just dragging. The mental fog is thick, your body feels tight and tense, itâs taking all of your inner strength to keep your eyelids from clamping shut. Thatâs so frustrating especially when you feel like you really are making it a priority to rest and to get good sleep.
Well did you know that there are actually 7 (SEVEN!) different types of rest?
Keep reading this post to learn:
â The 7 types of rest and how you can make sure you're getting all of them
The 7 Types of Rest:
A few months ago, I was so annoyed that even after a weekend full of resting and taking off from work I was so dang tired on Mondays. Like so exhausted without knowing why because I wasnât like exerting myself or anything, you know?
So of course, I took to google and started researching rest. You know what I found out that I had NO previous knowledge of?
There are SEVEN different types of rest, you guys! SEVEN! I discovered Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith and her book Sacred Rest which talks about the seven types of rest needed to optimize your productivity and increase your overall happiness. I havenât read the book yet, but I did spend some time digging into her work and so Iâm gonna share some cliff notes with you today.
After reading over the different types of rest, it became so obvious to me why I was exhausted even after resting...because I wasnât resting in all areas. So letâs jump into the 7 different types of rest because I know youâre over there on the edge of your seat like COME ON JESS tell me the 7 so I can know if Iâm catering to all of my rest needs or not! Okay, okay.
The 7 Types of Rest:
01. Physical Rest
02. Mental Rest
03. Creative Rest
04. Emotional Rest
05. Sensory Rest
06. Social Rest
07. Spiritual Rest
Ummm are you as mind blown as I was when I first heard these? Even just reading the names, like before I even knew what each one really was, I could pinpoint which types of rest I was neglecting. Maybe you can, too. This is so awesome because when you can identify a gap, you can take steps to start to fill the gap!
So I wanna explain what each of these are - some are pretty self-explanatory but Iâm gonna do it anyway and then I want to give you some examples of how you can incorporate each kind of rest in a practical way in your life, sound good?
01. Physical Rest:
Can be divvied up into 2 categories: passive physical rest and active physical rest. Passive rest is sleeping or napping and active rest includes any type of activity that restores the physical body...like yoga, stretching, or massage therapy.
You might need physical rest if:
You find yourself to be physically sore often, you exert a lot of physical energy at work or on a regular basis, or your sleep patterns have been off
Examples of how to rest physically:
Take a weekly yoga class
Schedule a monthly massage
Get 7-8 hours of sleep at night
Stretch for 5-10 minutes every morning
02. Mental Rest:
Is when we give our brains a break by turning off the constant chatter around us and embracing stillness and quiet.
You might need mental rest if:
You experience brain fog or the afternoon slump on the regular or you have trouble falling asleep at night or if you wake up after sleeping for 7-8 hours and you still feel tired.
Examples of how to rest mentally:
Have technology breaks built into your day...yâall know I donât bring technology with me outside for my lunch break and I also wrap up being on technology by 8:45 in the evenings to give my mind time to unwind before bed so I can actually sleep well
Have âquiet timeâ every day...whether itâs part of your morning routine or you have designated activities that are done quietly. So in my life, when I shower, I donât bring any noise with me. I used to watch YouTube in there but now my showers are my time for my mind to rest. No music, no shows, no podcasts.
03. Creative Rest
You might need creative rest if you spend a lot of your time doing creative tasks. When most people hear that, our brains go to like arts and crafts, lol - at least thatâs where my mind went. I didnât consider my work âcreativeâ until I read more about creative rest. Tasks like solving problems, brainstorming, and pitching are all creatively driven.
Examples of how to rest creatively:
Think about what inspires you. That is usually a form of creative rest. So for me, itâs hand down, getting outside. Whether itâs going on a walk or a hike if weâre vacationing somewhere with mountains or paddleboarding on the bay, being outside rejuvenates me creatively.
Other examples of ways you can get creative rest are reading, doodling, or dancing.
Now keep in mind, things that may be restful to one person may sound draining to you. You know you best. Think about what rejuvenates you and boom there you go!
At the end of my workday, I spend 20ish minutes reading a fiction book because letting my mind get lost in a story, helps me to creatively and mentally recharge so that I can have actual conversations with my husband in the evening.
04. Emotional Rest:
Is having the time and space to freely express your feelings without being worried about pleasing others.
You might need emotional rest if:
You identify as a people pleaser or you say yes to everyone all the time or your daily work is emotionally charged (think: teachers, therapists, parents, etc)
Examples of how to rest emotionally:
A big way that I emotionally rest is through journaling in the mornings and in the evenings. Journaling is my safe space to emotionally unwind..a place to express my feelings without having to filter them to please others.
Now, this example isnât my original idea - I have heard a few people talk about doing this and it reminds me of that movie YES DAY but the opposite, lol. Giving yourself a âyes vacationâ is what itâs called. Itâs just giving yourself permission to halt on saying yes to any extra things for a designated time period. So maybe your âyes vacationâ is a week or a day or a month or whatever but when someone asks you to do something, instead of jumping straight to yes, you say something like, âI need to think about it and get back to you or I donât have the space in my schedule for that right now.â Sounds a whole lot like practicing boundaries which yâall know is Hustle Sanely-approved!
05. Sensory Rest:
Is the one that caught me by surprise the most, because Iâd never thought about needing sensory rest.
You might need sensory rest if:
You spend a lot of time around bright lights, screens, or noise..whether itâs loud machinery or subtle background noise. These kinds of things can overwhelm our senses. And hey letâs take it back to kindergarten and review our 5 senses real quick: Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste, and Touch aka How the Human Body Receives Sensory Information.
Examples of how to rest sensorily:
When I used to work outside of the home as an SLPA, I would drive home in silence as a way to give my senses a rest. I didnât want to listen to music or talk on the phone or anything like that.
Or another example is maybe allowing yourself 5 minutes to lay down in a dark space with your eyes closed to focus on just your breathing.
06. Social Rest:
Is when you need some time away from people for a little bit.
You might need social rest if:
Youâre an introvert, youâre feeling a heavy tug, expectations-wise, from people in your life
Examples of how to rest socially:
My favorite way to rest socially is planning a solo date. I probably do this once a month, where I tell my husband that I need some âme-timeâ and I either stay home by myself and read or watch a movie or Gilmore Girls...just something that I love to do. Or it could be driving out to the beach and taking a walk by myself. Just some intentional time that is just me, myself, and I. If you are feeling drained by being around others, plan a solo date! It can be an hour, a whole day, or even a whole weekend away.
07. Spiritual Rest:
is the one that I had the most questions about when I first learned about the 7 types of rest. Dr. Dalton-Smith defines it as the capacity to experience God in all things and recline in the knowledge of the Holy.
You might need spiritual rest if:
Youâre feeling distant from God or whatever you believe in as your higher power.
Examples of how to rest spiritually:
Create spiritual habits in your life like prayer, meditation, and reading the Word
I feel like when it comes to spending time with God, a lot of people think if itâs not an hour or more then itâs not worth it. I used to think this...that if I only had 5-10 minutes in the morning to pray or read my Bible that I shouldnât bother because it needed to be this hour-long event of playing worship music and taking 5 pages of notes during a bible study.
Yâall letâs be real - God doesnât need all that flashy stuff from us - He just wants us to be in a relationship with Him.Serve in your community
Get plugged into a faith community
Go on an afternoon prayer walk during your lunch break for 5 minutes
How to Make Sure You Rest All 7 Ways:
Now hereâs my advice for making sure that you are giving yourself adequate rest in all of these areas...donât overwhelm yourself by trying to do all of them at the same time.
Determine which 2-3 of the 7 areas that you feel like you are exhausted in. Dr. Dalton Smith suggests that we start by thinking through our days...what kind of energy are we exerting? Are you âonâ all day for work because youâre teaching? Or maybe you sit in a bright office with bright screens all day. If you work in ministry you might be pouring out a lot of spiritual energy. Itâs going to be different for all of us but start to make some mental notes about what youâre doing every day, physically, mentally, creatively, emotionally, socially, spiritually, and sensorily.
After you determine where youâre lacking energy (because youâre pouring it out often) then brainstorm some ways that you can start intentionally incorporate regular rest in your life in this area. I gave you some examples already but OF COURSE, you do what works for you, girl!
Once youâve really integrated those 2-3 types of rest by creating habits and routines, stack another one on. Then once youâve built habits and routines for that one, stack the next one on. And so on until you have all 7 types of rest fully integrated into your life.
Donât overcomplicate it. Donât make it a big thing. Start slow and be consistent. Remember, everything that I teach you when it comes to Hustling Sanely is meant to make your life flow easier and feel lighter!
If you enjoyed this post, tune into episode 099 of The Hustle Sanely Podcast to listen into this topic:
