It's March – a month about basketball, clovers and lucky charms, spring, and sleep. Like Daylight Saving Time, Sleep Awareness Week just passed us by (March 10-16). This annual observance served as a great reminder that sleep is more than just catching some shut-eye (or desperately trying to!). March might be all about sleep awareness, but let's be honest – with DST messing with our literal and internal clocks, some of us are still feeling a little...fuzzy. Like, looking forward to Friday to catch up on rest kind of fuzzy. But wait, what the heck is rest anyway?
‘Rest’ and ‘sleep’ are often used interchangeably, but they aren’t the same. Think of sleep like dinner and rest like a snack. Sleep is a full meal; your brain is storing new information and getting rid of waste, repairing cells, restoring energy and nourishing your body for the long term. Rest is like a snack; it gives you bursts of energy to keep going while also lowering heart rate and stress levels and decreasing the risk for stress-related health problems. Rest allows us to give our body and mind breaks that we need to rejuvenate before resuming a task.
Rest, unlike sleep, offers short bursts of rejuvenation throughout the day. Activities like regular breaks, stepping away from our computer, meditation or yoga actively promote relaxation. These techniques help us manage our nervous system. However, some rest falls on the passive side, like napping, scrolling on our phones or watching TV. While these can be helpful, they don't necessarily teach us to regulate our nervous system as effectively. The key is to find activities that engage your mind and body in a calming way.
So how can we get better at resting?
