8 Types Of Rest We All Need

If you’re struggling to operate at peak performance then it’s likely you’re missing out on one of these types of rest.

After working for a while over a period of a year, I realized that I need longer breaks apart from the weekends. In these breaks, I just wanted to feel relaxed and did not want to:

• perform any energetic activities
• speak to anyone
• look at anything complex
• have any known people around me

On the contrary, I did want to:

• do activities different from work and regular mundane life
• enjoy and laugh at silly jokes
• delve into spirituality
• have no emotions and remain passive

Each of these bullet points represents a particular type of rest that our body warrants. The first four signifies physical rest, vocal rest, visual rest, and impression rest. And the last four are creative rest, spiritual rest, mental and psychological rest. Based on my personal experience and understanding of life, I have identified these eight different types of rest.

Some of them are already mentioned in the book ‘Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore your Sanctity’ and an article by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith.

Each one of us has felt the need to have these types of rest at some point of time in our lives. Human body witnesses a lot of experiences with the help of organs in our body. These rests provide relaxation to our body organs. And when we return from these rests, we feel rejuvenated.

Let's look at each of them one by one.

Physical Rest

This is the most common form of relaxation which a person undergoes every day. It takes place when a person sleeps during the night. If a person doesn’t take physical rest for longer periods of time, he is prone to develop body pains, backache, and fatigue.

Also, if you feel physically tired during the day, and need physical rest, you can practice it by placing a mat on the floor. Then, lie on the mat with your back touching the mat. Close the eyes and try to take a small nap for 10 mins. When you wake up you will feel energized physically.

Vocal Rest

After prolonged periods of vocal activity, our vocal cords require rest. This rest is simple and can be practiced by staying silent for a few hours or a day or two. The frequency of this rest depends on each individual.

Whenever I practiced this rest, I witnessed a lot of benefits that are mentioned below.

I felt energetic because I lose less energy as compared to speaking.

Enhanced creativity: My speed in writing articles, painting on canvass, and performing handicrafts improved.

I became a patient listener. The ability to absorb information from another speaker increased considerably.

There were fewer distracting thoughts in my mind. As a result, my focus and concentration on the tasks got boosted.

In my opinion, this is one of the rest which has multiple benefits.

Visual Rest

In the age of technology, exposure to computers, LCD screens, smartphones is not uncommon. The effects of these gadgets on healthy eyes, in the long run, is a concern. The millennials will be the first generation of people who have utilized these devices to a great extent. Therefore, their visual health will be a matter of study when they become old.

Some noticeable effects of exposure to artificial screens include headache, dry eyes, eye fatigue, and blurry vision. All these are termed Digital Eye Strain (DES).

However, there are some remedies to avoid or improve digital eye strain. Practice the tips below.

• Take intermittent breaks from the screens.
• Blink your eyes often.
• Adjust the lighting of the ambiance and the display to suit your needs.
• Eye exercise: Close the eyes and roll the eyeballs in a clockwise direction a few times. Repeat it in an anti-clockwise direction.

Apart from these tips, a study on the internet (based on findings by the American Optometric Association) mentions that foods like fatty fish, nuts, carrots, sweet potatoes, green leafy vegetables, and seeds are good for the health of your eyes.

Impression Rest

Every person or thing we witness or interact with within our daily life leaves an impression on us. It could be a visual, audio, touch, or emotional impression. For example, when guests visit my home for dinner, I spend time with them by having a conversation, playing board games, and finally eating food.

In this entire process, I look at them while communicating. Also, I hear them as the exchange of ideas continues.

After their departure, they still persist in my mind and psyche in the form of visual impressions of their physical appearances, the audio impression of their voice, and feelings of happiness in my heart as the emotional impression.

If an impression makes me feel good, I like to savor it for a long time. However, sometimes, the impressions of people on me are not positive. Let’s say listening to the speech of a lying politician, witnessing violent hooligans on the streets, an animal attacking my car, etc.

All these adverse experiences render unpleasant impressions to me. So, it becomes essential to remove them. This is possible by practicing this impression rest.

So, how can we practice this rest?

As I have heard before, the only way to get rid of unpleasant thoughts is to keep ourselves engaged in activities. Similarly, I have realized, the best way to reduce the effects of negative impressions is to stay in the present.

Since I do this rest only to remove the negative impression, therefore I practice this rest when it’s really needed. One way of practicing this rest is by quickly creating a pleasant experience. These include:

• Chatting with a dear friend about amusing experiences in the past.
• Pursuing intense physical activities like exercises, and yoga. It’s better to even practice sports that demand attention and leave you exhausted. Some of them are badminton, football, table tennis, etc.
• Undertaking mental activities like solving puzzles, playing online quizzes. It will be better to perform these activities with other friends to get yourself focussed on the present.

Creative rest

This is my favorite type of rest. All of us have the ability to entertain ourselves, especially during periods of loneliness or boredom. This is where Art steps in to fill the void. Here, a person pursues his creative hobbies or activities related to art like painting, singing, theatre, writing, dancing, etc.

Art in any form is creative in nature. It flows freely, with no rules, bounds, patterns, or purpose. Just like the water in the river flows manoeuvering through a path without any constraints, art also flows freely, taking directions on its own.

In this type of rest, I detach from daily life activities to dive into the realms of art. As a result, I get captivated by the artistic experience to feel this unique kind of rest.

For example, when I paint on canvas, my mind focuses on the strokes, the emotions in my heart give shape to these strokes, my senses remain captivated by these strokes, and in the end, I surprise myself with a piece of art.

In one of my article, I have described the scientific effect of performing visual arts on human mind.

Apart from painting, creative rest can be witnessed while performing other creative pursuits, like writing, acting, singing, etc. The key lies in taking the initiative to embark on a creative journey.

Spiritual rest

This category of rest is very special because it infuses a lot of calmness, satisfaction, and happiness. In religious countries like India, it is a ritual to worship God every day.

Spiritual believers look to the almighty for strength in adversity. For this purpose, they either pray or perform rituals. In a study, it was found that a prayer reduced anger and aggression emerging from adversity.

I too witnessed the same experiences on many occasions. Often, I felt it works on the belief system, where the mind believes in god. And as the saying goes, ‘if you believe in something, it really happens’. So, people derive motivation, satisfaction, and peace based on this belief in God. In the past, people have talked about the profound benefits of spiritual rest.

After practicing this rest for a brief period of time, one also recognizes meaning in life. I witness this rest while praying, performing a religious activity or ritual.

Mental rest

Recently, issues related to the human mind have gained prominence globally. Mental rest is a type of rest where mental activity is limited to only simple activities.

Generally, sleep is considered to provide a sort of mental rest within a day. However, sometimes it may be required multiple times in a day, especially in periods of high mental activity.

One of the best ways through which I do to ensure mental rest is to take a stroll in the woods. While wandering in the woods, I get detached from daily life activities. Also, I feel refreshed by observing the flowing water in a stream, flying wisps in the air, humming sounds of the bees, and the hasty squirrels behind the bushes. All these provide ample rest to my mind.

Another method that is widely used for mental rest is meditation. In a study, it was found to decrease stress in individuals.

In order to practice the most simple meditation, follow these steps

Choose a quiet place where you can sit for some time

Adopt the basic posture with folded legs and palms on the knees

Close the eyes and start breathing air into your lungs

Try to stop thinking about anything else apart from breathing.

Focus solely on breathing. If the mind wanders away from breathing, bring the focus back to breathing.

Continue this procedure for a few minutes. After a while, open your eyes and observe the surrounding.

You will view the objects outside and the thoughts inside with a new perspective. That’s the power of meditation!

Psychological rest

In our daily life, where a lot of interpersonal communication is involved, we witness a lot of emotions and thoughts.

Many times, people think about the reaction of their actions and modulate their behavior to achieve the desired outcome. At other times, they create circumstances to manipulate the thinking and actions of their targeted people. Often, they feel about situations based on information available at that instant, experiences, and their present mindset. All these comprise the psychological aspect of life.

In my eyes, psychological rest is a state of mind where the mind is devoid of any emotion or feeling arising from the presence of a living being or from their memories.

I witness this rest by spending time in solitude for a few days. During this period, some of my activities include cooking food, learning new recipes, reading about technologies, spending time in the woods, etc.

This is a very different rest because I try my best in avoiding being psychological. It’s hard to switch off human psychology, but solitude helps me in doing so.

At the end of this rest, I feel impassive towards unpleasant things, develop a humorous attitude toward most circumstances, and hence become less vulnerable to adverse situations.

So, these were some of the wonderful experiences of rest that I have witnessed in my life.

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