Busy, busy, busy!!
Busy, busy, busy!!
The importance of REST
Whether we are running the kids to and from school, to their kids clubs, looking after the house, cooking, good fresh food, entertaining, working, traveling, busy, busy, busy!
Our lives have become so busy that we often overlook the importance of looking after ourselves. After all, in order to perform all that is expected of us and that which we expect from ourselves, we must be the best we can be. Without good rest our bodies don’t have the time to heal and recover. Without good rest our minds don’t have the space to process and unwind from all the day’s events.
It is estimated that our minds have up to 70,000 mental processes a day. Yes, 70,000! Most of these thoughts are repeated and repeated. We replay events and conversations in our minds over and over again. A huge waste of time, energy and creativity. Imagine if we could focus all that energy and power in the direction of our goals. Our goals would become easier to achieve.
It has been demonstrated that many of the long terms conditions that affect our health can be brought on or made worse by stress. High blood pressure, asthma, skin conditions, digestive problems, anxiety, depression can be directly related to the degree of stress in the system.
Our busy lifestyle can cause stress to build up in our bodies and minds, and it is very important that we destress for the benefit of our physical and mental wellbeing. Many people try and switch off at the end of the day by couching on the sofa in front of the telly, switching on their social media, having a drink, a smoke. These however, are distractions for the mind but they are not resting the body, or more importantly the mind. They can switch our attention for small periods of time but that is not the same thing as deep good quality rest.
The depth of rest that the mind needs, in order for the positive benefits to be felt, must be of a richer quality than these mental distractions. Scientifically speaking our minds need at least 20mins of deep quiet in order for the system to reset itself. When was the last time your mind was quiet for 20mins? In order for the positive benefits to affect our physical health this should be repeated daily so that this rested state of being becomes a natural state.
One of the most powerful activities that you can do for ourselves is getting good quality rest. There are many techniques for rest. Some are passive such as getting a massage, but it is not always convenient to get a massage everyday (although it would be nice), there are also things that you can learn to do that will fit simply into your everyday routine such as breathing exercises, mindfulness techniques and guided rest sessions. Over the coming weeks I will be writing about different simple techniques that can be used to help the mind rest deeply.