Rest Takeaway: Rest and sleep are different but equally important. Rest is the bridge that gets us to better sleep. Rest and quality sleep help our system integrate past and daily life.

Action: Learn about 7 types of rest and determine your needs (physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, sensory, social, and creative). Incorporate restorative activities like gentle movement, time in nature, reading, journaling, crafting, and meditation into daily life.

Tip: Restorative activities that incorporate rhythm are particular helpful in regulating our systems. Walking, dance, sewing, swinging, and even the sound of ocean waves offer a sense of rhythm. Try using a restorative activity as a transition activity, for example, when you end work, arrive home, or before bed.

Practice (1:14): Comforting Place Meditation, use sensory memory to deepen the experience.

Journal & Thought Prompts: Explore and describe favorite restorative activities or places. Where can you incorporative these into your daily life? Are there certain days in your week where rest is hard or extra needed? What thoughts, feelings, or situations prevent you from getting rest?

“Remember there are passive and active forms of rest. We ‘rest’ through engaging with restorative activities.”

Additional Readings

Resource: Sacred Rest, Saundra Dalton-Smith, MD