Are you resting enough to perform at your best? Why sleep and rest are vital to wellbeing.

Taking some time out for peak performance

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes… including you.” – Anne Lamott

Everywhere you look these days there seems to be a new hack for fitting more into your day and a glorifying of busy.  Hustle culture would have us believe that if you want to be successful, you just need to do more with your time, to squeeze every last minute out of the day.  But what all this hustle and bustle doesn’t allow for is rest, in fact rest is seen as laziness, and the underlying implication is that you need to “push through” in order to maximise your effectiveness. 

The problem with hustle culture though is that it just isn’t backed up by evidence.  Sure, there are a couple of examples out there of high performing individuals who say they sleep 4 hours per night and are always at work, but the reality is that most high performers are in fact diligent about rest.  Nobel Prize winner Albert Einstein was known for sleeping 10-12 hours a night as well as taking naps, and believed rest was essential for creative insights and problem-solving.  LeBron James, the NBA superstar, is famous for prioritizing recovery, and his longevity and high performance are often attributed to his commitment to rest and recovery.

Prefer to listen?  You can listen to Karen speak on the importance of rest and sleep on the Real Life Happy Hour on the Real Life Meditation YouTube channel. Check out Ep 23 Are you resting enough to perform at your best?, then Ep 24 Why sleep and rest are vital to wellbeing.

“Resting is not a waste of time.  It’s an investment in well-being.” – Adam Grant

So why should we prioritise rest?  Well apart from avoiding collapsing in a heap, there is a wealth of research out there that shows just how rest can improve our lives in a whole range of areas, from cognitive performance and effectiveness to physical health and overall longevity.  Let’s break down some of the key reasons you should be getting more rest in your week to ensure you are performing at your best.

1.      Cognitive performance, memory, and creativity – adequate rest, especially enough sleep, enhances learning, attention, creativity and problem-solving.  In fact, people perform 20-40% better on cognitive tests after adequate sleep or breaks.  Memory is particularly impacted by sleep deprivation as it consolidates memory through hippocampal (the key part of the brain involved in storing memories)-neocortical replay.  Basically, the brain runs back over the events of the day and stores important information for later recall.  Rest also fosters divergent thinking and insight that lead to innovation.  Stepping away from a task can improve creative output by up to 60%!

2.      Physical recovery and repair – rest is essential for tissue repair, muscle growth and clearing out of cell waste, which is essential particularly in the brain.  Research shows that athletes recover faster and experience fewer injuries when they include rest days in their training plan.

3.      Emotional regulation and mental health – even short breaks can lower cortisol and sympathetic nervous system activity, leading to improved mood stability and resilience to stress, and lowers your risk of burnout, anxiety and depression.

4.      Cardiovascular health – rest and relaxation has been shown to help lower your heart rate and blood pressure.  Meditation and other relaxation techniques activate the parasympathetic nervous system which has a positive effect on vascular function and can lower your risk of cardiovascular disease.

5.      Immune system – The immune system is particularly sensitive to sleep loss.  One study showed that participants that slept <7 hours were nearly 3x more likely to develop cold symptoms after exposure to rhinovirus.  So getting those 7-8 hours every night can be the difference between getting sick and not getting sick.

6.      Metabolic and hormonal balance – Rest, especially sleep regulates our appetite and glucose metabolism.  Chronic sleep loss increases our risk of both obesity and diabetes through disruption of the balance between two hormones, leptin and ghrelin, which regulate our appetite and energy balance.

7.      Longevity – we all want to live longer, healthier lives, and getting enough rest can have an impact on both our mortality (death) and morbidity (disease) risk.  Getting less than 6 hours sleep per night is associated with higher all-cause mortality (risk of dying by any cause). 

As you can see by the range of areas that can be impacted, rest is not passive – it’s an active biological process essential for restoring physical systems, optimising our brain performance, supporting our emotional health and preventing chronic disease.

“Rest is essential for the body to rebuild, renew, and rewire itself.” – Matthew Edlund, MD

High performers across a range of industries and endeavours have harnessed the power of rest to improve performance.  By incorporating a combination of activity and rest, they are able to maximise their productivity when they are working.  In fact, by utilising effective rest, you can improve your effectiveness and get more done in less time as you tap into higher energy levels and more creative states.

Here are 10 quick, evidence-based ways to incorporate rest into your day – both mental and physical.  Since many of us have sedentary work lives, rest may actually involve movement or exercise as it is our brain that needs the break, not our body.  Having a toolkit of small, practical resets that you can use to reduce stress, improve focus and support overall health makes it easier to develop new habits.  You may even find it helpful when first starting out to set a series of reminders throughout the day to stop, rest and reset.

1.      Practice “micro-breaks” – short pauses from work like stretching, standing up, going for a quick walk to improve concentration.  You can use a pomodoro timer or app like focus keeper to remind you to take regular breaks.

2.      Use a breath practice – simple practices like slowing the breath, extended exhale, box breathing etc. activate the parasympathetic nervous system and help reduce stress. Check out this quick Box Breathing practice.

3.      Do a mini body scan or senses scan – move the awareness around the body, to reduce tension and return to the present moment.  Or scan through the five senses, noting what you can see, hear, smell, taste and touch. Here's a short Three-part body, mind and emotion scan.

4.      Get outside – spending even 5-10 minutes outside can boost your alertness and mood and help regulate your circadian rhythm (especially if it’s in the morning).

5.      Use the 20-20-20 rule if you spend a lot of time on screens – every 20 minutes look at something 20 feet away (6m) for 20 seconds.  This can help reduce digital eye strain and mental fatigue.

6.      Practice mindful eating or drinking – This can be as simple as stepping away from your desk to sit down and eat your lunch or drink your coffee.  Take the time to really notice the smell, the taste, and savour every sip or bite with full awareness.

7.      Practice progressive muscle relaxation – similar to a body scan but you tense and then relax each muscle group.  This can help reduce anxiety and improve relaxation.

8.      Listen to music – Preferably something calming but if death metal is your jam, then go for it!

9.      Schedule some daydreaming – allowing the mind to wander or drift (daydreaming or doodling) can improve creativity and problem-solving.  Some of the biggest ideas and inventions came out of some unstructured daydreaming.

10.  Meditate – this was always going to be on the list!  There’s a pile of research that shows that meditation can be even more effective than sleep at boosting energy, reducing stress, clearing the mind, and helping you to recover during the day. You can use a guided meditation app like insight timer, listen to one of the guided meditations on the Real Life Happy Hour, or learn to meditate on your own.

“There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.” – Alan Cohen

The key here is that rest doesn’t always have to mean sleep (although getting enough sleep every night is vital for peak performance).  It’s about giving your brain and body a reset.  Even 2-5 minute blocks across the day can add up and keep you in peak condition.

If you do struggle with sleep here are a few simple sleep hygiene strategies that can help you develop good sleep habits:

1.      Get consistent – try and go to sleep and wake up at about the same time every day.  Our bodies have an innate body clock (circadian rhythm) that thrives on consistency.

2.      Turn off your devices – the blue light from electronic devices plays havoc with your natural rhythms.  Aim to switch off at least 30 minutes before bed for best effect.  If you can, use an old school alarm clock and keep the phone in another room to avoid the temptation to look.

3.      Create a relaxing bedtime routine or ritual – this helps you unwind and gives your body and mind subtle reminders that it’s time to go to sleep.  Do whatever suits you but start at least 30 minutes before bed.  Ideas include a warm bath or shower, gentle stretches, meditation, reading, herbal tea.

4.      Create a relaxing environment – comfortable mattress, pillows etc., slightly cool temperature with cosy blankets, dark curtains or an eye mask, and ear plugs if it’s noisy.  Also, only use your bed for sleep and sex, this creates a subconscious link between your bed and sleep.

5.      Cultivate a healthy daytime routine – things like getting natural sunlight in the morning, eating a healthy diet and avoiding big meals late at night, and exercising regularly can help sleep quality at night.  In addition, avoiding caffeine, nicotine and alcohol, which all interfere with sleep, for 4-6 hours before bed can also help you get a better night sleep.

If you would like more ideas for how to improve your sleep, the Centre for Clinical Interventions has great website with information on sleep, insomnia and sleep hygiene.  You can check it out HERE Sleep & Insomnia Self-Help Resources - Information Sheets. 

My challenge to you is pick 1-3 ideas for improving your rest or sleep, or choose some of your own strategies, and make a plan to implement them into your day for the next two weeks.  Schedule it in your calendar if you need, but commit to giving yourself the rest you need, and then at the end of the two weeks check in and see how your brain and body have responded.  Notice the impact some simple rest can have on your life.

If you’d like support building your own self-care management strategies, including effective meditation practices that are just right for you, get in touch.  There are group training programs and 1:1 personalised coaching options to help you create the perfect practice for you. Get in touch via email or on the website and let's get you meditating.

Let me know your favourite way to rest and recharge in the comments below!