We live in an age of hustle culture where we’re told we need to be constantly on it and if we’re not being productive, we’re being lazy. Rest is seen as a weakness and you might start to feel guilty for taking time to do nothing.
But 24/7 hustling isn’t productive. It leads to burn out, stress and illness. It’s not healthy and doesn’t lead to productivity.
When you live with a chronic illness, rest is even more important. Your body is often fighting itself which is exhausting. Simple tasks can leave you feeling extreme fatigued and knock you for days. It’s not uncommon for people who live with chronic illnesses to be seen as ‘lazy’ but let me tell you something, you are not lazy. Resting and listening to your body is the most important thing you can do and is a form of self love.
What is rest?
Rest can often be misconstrued as sleeping. However this is such a narrow form of rest.
Google defines rest as;
To cease work or movement in order to relax, sleep, or recover strength.
Even in its simplest definition, it’s clear that rest is much more than sleeping. Rest is relaxing, giving your body time to heal, taking a pause.
Last year I read a brilliant book called The Art of Rest by Claudia Hammond, and I also saw her talk about this, and it’s honestly changed my perception of what rest means.
I live with multiple chronic illnesses and I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve been told I need to rest, but never fully understood what that means. Often medications, pain and even conditions themselves make it hard to sleep, which makes the term rest even more frustrating.
However, Claudia Hammond has conducted a massive study on rest and explains sleep is not the same as rest, rather it’s conscious thought “And, although it is experienced differently for every person, it can be defined as something “intentional, temporary, restorative, relaxing and you feel better afterwards”.”
So rest can be a multitude of things; reading, watching tv, going on a walk, gardening, listening to the radio – the list is endless.
There is no universal way to rest
What you find restful is unique to you. There is no universal way to rest, as long as you find it calming, soothing and relaxing.
There is often a pressure to be doing the right things. The right, restful things. Remember when everyone was baking banana bread? Well that’s not restful if you’re someone who finds baking stressful. The pressure to read X amount of books isn’t restful, especially if you struggle reading or don’t enjoy it.
There are so many relaxing activities for you to try; gardening, painting, cooking – find what’s right for you!
As you can see, making time for rest doesn’t have to be boring!
Why is rest important to us
Whether you’re chronically ill or not, rest is essential. There are a lot of benefits to rest; it improves your mood and creativity, it helps with your sleep, it restores energy and, most important, it helps your body heal.
Giving your body the time and space to heal is one of the most important things you can do. When you’re chronically ill, your body is trying to do a lot especially when you mix into that fatigue and medications.
Restoring your energy is paramount to productivity. If you’re wanting to be productive, you need to be factoring in rest into your daily routine. If you’re trying to be hustling 24/7, then you’re going to burn out pretty quickly.
However, if you make space for rest and your wellbeing, you’ll find that you’re working more efficiently and enjoying life a lot more.
Prioritising rest may feel unfamiliar to you. So where to start? Try scheduling in 30mins per day which is just for you. Maybe it’s reading, listening to a podcast, baking, going on a walk. Make it a non-negotiable. If it helps you, block off that time in your diary so you can see it, and can’t put something above it
How to prioritise rest in your daily life
For me, 2020 was the year I stated prioritising my wellbeing and rest. This was mainly because by the end of 2019, burn out was real and my chronic illnesses were flaring up a lot more reguarly.
Slowing down can feel scary, but it’s something you won’t regret. Once you get into the habit of making time for your wellbeing, it will start to become second nature.
The recipe for prioritising rest and wellness in your daily life is this;
- Find what makes you feel relaxed
- Block off time in your day every single day
- Remind yourself of WHY you enjoy this activity
The key to wellness and resting is to do it for you. You don’t have anything to prove. As long as it makes you feel good (and doesn’t harm anyone) then do it.
There’s no right way to rest. There’s no right way to be well. These are all things which come from inside us, our internal barometer of calm, so go with the flow and prioritise
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