Estimated Reading Time 8 Minutes
Hey You! It’s time for another Vibrant Life Podcast. I’m Emily Romrell and I’m so happy to be here with you as we take a few minutes to examine part of what it means to live your best life. I hope you’ve had a great week, I have. It was my birthday last Sunday and I had a blast spending some time with family and friends. I’m officially 37 now, and I’m excited about all the adventures ahead.
If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love a quick review on apple podcasts or whatever platform you listen on. And don’t forget to subscribe so you won’t miss future episodes. Thanks for your support. It means a lot.
This week we’re talking about the importance of rest, which is great because I just woke up from a nap before preparing this episode. But truly, rest is something that the modern world seems to have left in the dust as we rush to live our lives, and I’m here to provide the idea that being well-rested offers you a much happier and more productive life experience.
There’s a great quote by Thich Nhat Hanh (I hope I’m saying that correctly) who is a very famous Buddhist monk and spiritual leader. He said, “It’s very important that we re-learn the art of resting and relaxing. Not only does it help prevent the onset of many illnesses that develop through chronic tension and worrying; it allows us to clear our minds, focus, and find creative solutions to problems.” Also, Thich Nhat Hanh has some really great books on mindfulness, and he’s worth researching deeper if you’re interested.
And there’s another fabulous quote attributed to the street artist Banksy that says, “If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit.”
These two quotes sort of encapsulate my message today, that rest is vital to your health and the way you operate in the world and that when we feel like giving up, we just need a good rest and then we can tackle our problems as refreshed individuals with renewed perspective.
First of all, let’s get into sleep. Sleep is something your body needs to function. It’s a vital bodily process that affects every system in the body. It is absolutely necessary for a healthy immune system, metabolism, memory, and brain function. We reset, recoup, and reenergize ourselves with enough sleep. In fact, no matter what you are doing, your body will force you to fall asleep if you are too depleted. However, many of us push ourselves past the recommended limits with caffeine, mental stimulation through electronics and screens, and just pure force of will. That’s not great, my friends.
Sleep is something I really struggle with so please don’t think I’m coming from a place of authority here. My sleep schedule is all over the place and one of the reasons I’m focusing on this topic is as a personal motivator to try and be better. I can tell you from experience that if you don’t get enough sleep it will affect every area of your life.
I’m not the only one. Doctors recommend that adults get between 7-9 hours of sleep per night. However, The CDC reports that over one-third of Americans are not getting enough sleep on a regular basis. Sleeping less than seven hours per day is associated with an increased risk of developing chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and frequent mental distress. Obviously, there are a lot of factors that go into to this and we all have different situations, but maybe we can be a little more proactive in setting ourselves up for success.
Here are some pointers for getting enough sleep:
- Maintain a regular sleep routine, even on weekends.
- Stay away from caffeine in the afternoon and evening
- Exercise is crucial, but avoid working out in the evening if possible.
- Avoid screen time at least an hour before bed.
- Try calming activities before bedtime like reading, or taking a relaxing bath
- At night, set your thermostat to a temperature between 60 and 70.
- Try a few deep breathing exercises.
It can also be helpful to take naps during the day. It’s not just for little kids, folks. I’m all about a midday siesta. According to studies. There’s no reason to feel sluggish about sleeping during the day. A quick nap in the middle of the day can help with memory, job performance, mood, alertness, and stress reduction. Typically, a 20 to 30-minute power nap is excellent. It lasts long enough for you to gain the advantages of sleep without waking up feeling groggy. Just channel your dad taking those classic naps on the couch.
Sleep is important, peeps. Let’s all do our best to get what we need so we can give our best selves to the world.
Now let’s switch gears and talk about rest. Rest can be challenging to define because it can mean different things to different people. Rest could be any action taken to improve one’s physical or mental health. It might be active, like taking a stroll outside, or passive, like spending ten minutes sitting still and breathing deeply. Regular habits of rest can aid in recovery and recharge your batteries after exerting yourself physically and mentally.
I can think of seven different areas of rest, though there might be more:
Physical rest, which is typically associated with sleeping, or at least relaxing the physical body.
Mental rest that enables your mind to slow down and take a break.
Sensory, which relieves the overload brought on by electronics and loud noises, etc.
Creative rest is more about refueling your imaginative side by connecting with things or places that inspire you rather than taking a break from creative pursuits.
Emotional, which enables the expression of feelings without needing to control them.
Social, which gets you away from settings that drain or tire you.
and
Spiritual, which happens when you connect with your spiritual side through practices like prayer or meditation.
If you are depleted in one of these areas, life can be very wearisome and it will be difficult to move forward as your best self. I can vouch for that personally. So I’d encourage you to find ways to rest in each of these categories in ways that are meaningful to you.
If you are aware of the tech news these days, you’ve probably heard of ChatGPT. It’s gone viral and taken the internet world by storm. Basically, ChatGPT is a text-based AI that can do anything from answer questions, to write code, and even create original stories. I thought I’d rest by brain cells and have some fun on this podcast episode by asking it to write a fable for me. It turned out pretty great. And it is an example of how we can use technology to rest and use our time in different ways.
Here was the input I gave:
Write me a modern fable about the power of resting rather than quitting. Use language that is easy to understand but on an adult reading level. Don’t be too obvious and make the story both interesting and impactful. Use examples from modern-day life but use animals as the main characters of the story. Contrast the stress and overwhelm of a hurried life to the health benefits of taking a rest.
And here is the story:
Once upon a time, in a bustling city, there lived a hardworking ant named Antoinette. Antoinette was always busy, bustling from one task to another, never taking a break. She was known for her impressive work ethic and was highly respected by her colony.
One day, Antoinette was assigned the task of collecting food for the winter. She worked tirelessly, gathering as much food as she could carry. But as she was returning to the colony, she stumbled and all the food she had gathered spilled onto the ground. Antoinette was so exhausted that she felt like giving up.
Just then, a wise old beetle approached her. “Antoinette, why don’t you take a break? You have been working so hard and it seems like you could use a rest.” Antoinette was taken aback, she had never thought of resting before.
But the beetle’s words made sense, so Antoinette decided to take a break. She sat down under a tree and closed her eyes, breathing deeply and letting all her worries and exhaustion melt away. When she opened her eyes again, she felt refreshed and invigorated.
With renewed energy, Antoinette gathered the spilled food and continued her journey back to the colony. When she arrived, she found that the other ants had been working just as hard as she had, but they were all exhausted and on the verge of quitting.
Antoinette shared her story with her fellow ants and encouraged them to take a break. And so, they all sat down under a tree, closed their eyes, and took a deep breath. When they opened their eyes again, they were amazed at how much more energized they felt.
With their renewed energy, the ants were able to collect twice as much food as they had before. The colony was well-fed and happy all through the winter, and Antoinette became known as the ant who taught her colony the power of resting rather than quitting.
From that day on, Antoinette made sure to take a break whenever she felt overwhelmed, and she encouraged her colony to do the same. The colony thrived and Antoinette’s wisdom was passed down from generation to generation.
And so, the moral of the story is: Taking a break can be just what we need to recharge and come back stronger. Taking a rest is not quitting. It is a powerful way to recharge, refresh, and restore one’s mind, body, and soul. Just like Antoinette, we all need to take a break from the hustle and bustle of modern-day life and embrace the power of resting.
And because I’m feeling quite literary at the moment, I think I’ll end with a popular poem by Edgar A. Guest:
Don’t Quit
When Things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and debts are high,
And you want to Smile but have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won if he’d stuck it out,
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,
You might succeed with another blow.
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might captured the victor’s cup.
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown,
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.
So here’s the challenge this week my friends. Try to fit a little more rest into your wonderful yet busy life. If you’re like me and need to get your sleep schedule under control, you could focus on that. Or you can simply try to fit in more rest in those different areas we discussed earlier. I know you will be happier, healthier, and even more productive if you do. Take care, and life the vibrant life!
