Monday, July 21, 2014

Always Tired? Expert Tips to Get More Rest

There are four types of active rest:

Physical rest, where you pay attention to your body processes to calm, relax and concentrate
Mental rest, where you focus attention to obtain a sense of relaxed control [such as with self-hypnosis]
Social rest, where you connect with people in different ways
Spiritual rest, where you connect with things greater than one's self [such as meditation].

Physical rest means that you focus all your attention on a single muscle group, which when done properly, causes the rest of your body to relax.

In mental rest, you pay attention to something in your environment. [For example,] by focusing your mind on sounds and objects in your room, you reset perceptions while controlling your frustrations, letting the "steam come out of your ears" as you relax in periods of major stress.

Do we need active rest if we get enough sleep?
The population has a sleep deficit almost as big as the federal budget deficit.

Look at mothers who work and have kids: They're averaging a little over six hours of sleep a night and they just feel chronically exhausted.

If they can learn active rest techniques, it can make it easier to get through the day – even if they're not getting enough sleep.

What's social rest?
Humans are social animals, and [the number of] friends, colleagues and acquaintances we have is a large part of our overall health. It's as big a factor as smoking or high blood pressure is.

When people know they have a connection, they start using it regularly. [It should be] someone you feel [very] close to, so you can say, "If I have a real problem, is it OK if I call you anytime?" That's very powerful [social rest].