Lack of sleep has been blamed for increased stress, weight gain, decreased ability to be creative and reduced ability to solve problems. For those people who sleep the recommended amount, but still feel tired, however, it is possible that we are not resting our bodies and minds in the way necessary to restore them.
“I consider rest to be the bridge that takes us from our hectic and chronically stressed schedules to the deepest levels of sleep we desire,” said Dalton-Smith, who lives in Birmingham, Alabama. Her book details the seven types of rest she recommends to increase productivity, be happier and live “your best life”. Among these types of rest: sensory rest, creative rest, social rest and passive physical rest (sleep).
These types of rests don’t come from sitting on the couch over the weekend with a series of Netflix shows in the queue. “Rest is not simply the cessation of activity, the core of rest must be restorative,” she said.
CNN: Let’s start with the old saying that eight hours a night is good for the body. Is this the right amount of sleep?
Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith: Physical rest is the first type of rest we need; can be passive or active. We all have our basic amount of sleep that makes us feel refreshed – this is passive physical rest. Statistically, anything between six and eight hours is recommended. How much you really need depends on what is going on in your life. If you are training for a marathon, you may need more. Many people are under excessive stress, now suffering with their families, dealing with job losses. This can lead to the need for more passive physical rest.
After determining the ideal hours of sleep for you, play with it. When you cut down by two hours because you were awake watching a movie, see how you feel. These types of internal assessments can help you find out where your ideal sleep level is.
CNN: What about mental rest? How can we achieve this in an ever-connected world?
Dalton-Smith: Our culture trains us for multitasking. For many of us, our work makes us think, process and calculate new ways of doing things. It uses a lot of mental energy, making it difficult to find that quiet space.
Look at your computer – do you have 10 tabs open at any time? Our minds are constantly jumping from one thought to the next. Let’s say you are someone who is trying to be attentive and in the moment – when you are at home with your family, for example – but your mind wants to jump to the to-do list. Try doing what I call a “word chair”. Focus on a single word and come back to it. It’s like when you ask a child to sit quietly in a chair. It is difficult because the child wants to bounce off the walls.
Your word chair can be “family”. When your brain goes elsewhere, direct it back to the idea in your word chair and focus on what you need to be present for. This is a way to get some mental rest.
CNN: With screens all over our lives, tell us about sensory rest.
Dalton-Smith: Many of us are not aware of the amount of sensory stimuli we experience during the day, so we remain at a level of sensory overload. It is not just the time of the screen. Things like background noise – even just people talking – can increase sensory overload. We need to rest from this. Decreasing screen time is a start. Be aware of how it affects you.
Another thing you can control is unnecessary noise. Decrease the number of notifications on your devices so that email and social media no longer require your sensory level, controlling when you get involved with them. Turn off the TV when no one is watching. Most of us do some of these restorative activities naturally – we intuitively know when it will make us feel better.
CNN: The fourth type of rest you mention is creative rest. Only creative people need it?
Dalton-Smith: Everyone needs creative rest. It is for those who have to solve problems and find solutions. And that doesn’t mean taking painting or pottery classes – that’s creative work. Creative rest means allowing yourself to appreciate beauty, be it natural beauty, like the mountains or the ocean, or creative beauty, like work of art, music or theater. When you experience other people’s creativity, it can awaken something within you and inspire you. Even if you have to resort to virtual things now, experience beauty in any way that inspires you for creative rest.
CNN: Some people can get caught in a cycle of pleasing people. How does emotional rest help?
Dalton-Smith: A lot of energy is needed to keep a smile on your face, even when you are not happy. It is important to have someone with whom you can really be authentic and real about what you are feeling and not have to embellish your emotions to make them easier to digest for others – this is where you get emotional rest. It can be a trusted family member or friend, but it can also be someone you are paying for, such as a therapist or coach. Emotional rest helps mental health because you are not keeping toxic emotions suppressed.
CNN: The social rest you describe is not a break from socializing, is it?
Dalton-Smith: What I call social rest is the rest we experience around people who give life. The first part of assessing your need is to look at the different people in your life and how they benefit from your social energy. If they are demanding and asking for things from you, they are pulling negatively – but that does not mean they are negative people. They can be your spouse, co-workers or children.
You get social rest by being around people who don’t need anything from you – you feed on time in their presence. People who don’t need anything from anyone who doesn’t demand anything from you – they’re not the loud ones in your life. You have to intentionally make room for them.
CNN: The last type of rest you are referring to is spiritual. What about people who don’t consider themselves spiritual?
Dalton-Smith: At the heart of spiritual rest is that feeling of acceptance and belonging to something other than ourselves. For some people, this is religious or based on faith. For others, how they connect with spiritual rest usually has to do with community and a sense of belonging. Look for those places where you feel you are blessing and helping others – where it is not just you. When you are coming back into the world with the feeling of contributing to something greater, it is a form of spiritual rest.