When we think of “resting”, the first thing that comes to mind is sleeping. In theory, both the body and the brain go to sleep and we recharge the batteries to continue the next day. But there are actually lots of ways to rest, to break with the hectic pace of everyday life that sometimes invades us. In an interview with Stylista researcher, Dr. Saundra Dalton Smith, author of a book called “Sacred Rest”, explains in six lessons how to truly rest.
Fatigue is biological, and essential sleep, of course. Studies are increasing on the importance of sleeping properly, regularlyto limit mental illnesses, dementia… You should be able to sleep 7 hours a night, and this every night, according to a recent study published in Nature Aging. It is a way to regenerate, but there are others.
In every aspect of our lives, a mode of rest
Because, unsurprisingly, in our lives, there is the reality of the body, but not only. Our mind also gets tired, because of multiple stimuli, waves of emotions that cross us, because of our social environment that asks us to make efforts, to help someone, to please someone.. . Every aspect of our lives has a way to restexplains doctor Saundra Dalton Smith explains.
She divides rest into six categories, which she considers at least as important as rest through sleep: emotional, social, spiritual, creative, sensory, and mental rest. Depending on the personality of each and what we live on a daily basis, we do not necessarily need to access all these modes of rest. Here are some keys to access it.
Sources:
- The 7 types of rest everyone needs – and how to get them, Stylist
- The brain structure and genetic mechanisms underlying the nonlinear association between sleep duration, cognition and mental health, Nature Aging.
