But, not all of us view breaks the same. For some of us, it may be harder to take breaks than others. Some personalities have a running list in their head of what needs to get done and have to fight against the voice telling them they can’t rest until everything is complete and in its place.

In one study, researchers found that high heat levels raise your heart rate just enough to give it a gentle workout. The same study found positive anti-inflammatory and blood sugar responses, two of the body's signals that relate to illness or infection.

It was a gift of a whole day. One that I would not have to spend in school waiting for the hours to pass by, but instead, I could go back to sleep, read a favorite book, play a game, go sledding or play in the snow, or just get cozy on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate and a favorite movie to watch.

When you hear the word “vacation,” what do you think about? Laying on the warm beach, listening to the waves with a book in hand? Hiking through the mountains on a brisk morning?

the whole time you’ve been forced to rest up, you’ve been grouchy and mad about it because you know the longer you rest, the more progress you lose in what you were working toward, whether that’s running a certain distance or winning a competitive sport. 

“I need to rest.”

What’s the first thing that comes to mind for you? Is it a nap in a quiet room or a vacation to some far off locale?

There is an episode in the show, Friends (season 2), where Joey and Chandler get these Barcalounger chairs. They simultaneously sit down, pull on the lever, put their feet up, and groan in bliss as they relish in the comfort of the chair.

Insomnia is a real problem especially when you have a full day ahead of you that definitely requires getting some rest. If you’re like my sister and you’ve struggled with this, one of the best things she’s found that helps is listening to guided meditations for sleep.

If you have relationships in your life, then it is almost guaranteed that you will also face conflicts from time to time. Ignoring difficulties or handling them in harmful ways, can affect your mental rest and even rob you of sleep at night.

Have you ever thought about what truly goes into a good night of rest? There are so many environmental factors that can impact how we even get to sleep and stay asleep that are important to address. 

Small things like meal prepping give our minds the space to fill with other things. Why should we have to worry about what we’re eating for lunch when we have 10 million other things going on?

Have you ever had one of those nights when sleep actually sounds wonderful? But instead of falling back asleep, your brain has kicked into high gear and wants to race to solve every problem you can think of right that very minute. 

Mindfulness is not something that is going to take up 30-60 minutes of your day (unless you want it to). Mindfulness looks like 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there, etc.

Did you know that ⅓ of U.S. adults take DAILY naps? And that men are more fond of naps than women typically (Mayo Clinic, 2020)? There are several benefits to taking a nap. This can include using them as a way to relax, reduce fatigue (of course), improve mood, and increase alertness.

You see, I am a mom of three young kids. And in every single room, there seems to be evidence of this fact.. So in order to rest indoors, it would most likely have to be with my eyes closed, or at least with a book in my face, as otherwise I am viewing a kid-sized disaster from every corner of our home.

Or maybe we get so busy that we forget to include any time or space for curiosity, literally elbowing it out of our productive lives. Without evening noticing it, our eyes lose their sparkle and we walk right past things that would have intrigued us once upon a time.

I wish this weren’t the case, but until you’re an adult, there are things you may not have a say in that will always drain you. That was the case for me as a teenager with my parents visitation schedule after their divorce. Packing and switching homes every week was exhausting in a way that went bone deep.

Last year, my anxiety was through the roof, and I went to see a therapist. She was able to speak truth into my life based on just knowing about my enneagram number. During one of our first sessions, she brought up the idea of grace statements. We agreed that I would never talk to a friend the way I talk to myself regularly.

In the middle of a busy day, do you ever just stop? When you have a list a mile long, do you ever hit the pause button? When your brain feels overwhelmed and fatigued, do you just take a few minutes and turn it off? I’m not talking about the kind of scheduled time off or breaks we are most familiar with when we talk about rest.

“I don’t think I can do this,” I murmured out loud.
“What?” My husband asked. My voice went up a hormonal octave.
“How can I possibly be a good mother if I can’t even figure out how to pick the right bottle!?”

There’s a name for what I experienced in the store that day.