Redefining Rest:How to Recharge in a Chaotic World

Rest has a subjective definition for everyone. For some, rest may mean laying down on the couch and binging their favorite TV show. For others, it might be meditating in a quiet room with a candle burning. Or it might be getting together with a group of friends after a long week of work. 

In a very basic sense, rest is when we stop working so we can refresh, relax, or recover. The idea of rest is very subjective, but rest is something we all need to survive and be the best that we can be. It can feel nearly impossible to rest when life feels chaotic, especially during the holiday season. The to-do list seems to get longer by the minute, stores are crowded, work is bustling at the end of the year, and you might feel perpetually behind. 

This is when we need rest most, because if we do not give our bodies and minds the time to heal and recover, our resilience will be impacted and our bodies might begin to fail us. You may notice you frequently get sick around this time of year - sure, there are viruses going around, but it’s also a very busy time. When you are constantly in fight or flight mode and only rest when you sleep, your body’s immune system will eventually falter. And productivity that you need to get things done is subsequently impacted.

There are various ways to achieve rest, and not all will work for everyone. The best trick in the book is obviously to get enough sleep, but we tend to let go of that one first. Why do we deny ourselves a basic need so that we can get more done during the day? Go to bed even a half hour earlier - your body will thank you. And it’s okay to miss the gym because you want to sleep in - you needed it anyways. 

Here at Revival, we like to remind ourselves of the importance of rest and sleep with NuCalm. By activating the brain waves that are most active when you are at rest or sleeping, NuCalm can bring you into a deeper, slower mental state. NuCalm helps your brain slow down, allowing you to finally come out of the “fight-or-flight” mode we so easily fall into with the chaos of life. When your brain slows down and settles a bit, the rest of your body will follow suit.  

Secondarily, meditation has proven effective in resting not only the mind but the body as well. It could be in your car, at home, or even somewhere as seemingly chaotic as in the bathroom of your workplace. Any quiet space where you can sit down for five minutes and focus on your breathing will bring your heart rate and nervous system down a notch and re-center you. It could give you that final boost to get through the rest of the day, or it could give you that mental clarity and peace to take a breather after you have been running yourself ragged. 

Finally, as scary as it might be to hear: put your phone away and get off social media for a while! Our phones emit blue light, constantly keeping us in a state of mental arousal, whether we are consciously aware of it or not. We use our phones to decompress, but our bodies are just as overstimulated as they were at work or in school. We aren’t doing ourselves any favors doom-scrolling on social media, either. I know, the rabbit holes are easy to fall into, but making the conscious effort to take a step back and look at the world around us can deepen our sense of peace after a long day. Putting the phone away for a while brings us to reality, to where our feet are, which is right where we are supposed to be anyway. 

So I ask you - what does rest mean for you? And how are you going to try to input a bit more of it into your life?