The science and importance behind REST

By Aubrey Turner, certified Functional Nutritionist

Hello friend, welcome! I’m so glad to be back with you!

Let us pick up precisely where we left off-

You are armed and ready with your why- the reason you want to take me time and rest. You keep your why close and come back to it whenever you most need it. Your why keeps you steady, on course, and grounded.

But, although your why may be your guiding light to resting and taking me time, it is only the first step!

Let’s get into the next steps now!

It’s time to figure out your how…how you’re going to rest and how you’re going to incorporate it into your day!

The good news? The good news is that your how (the where, when, and what you do to rest) has limitless options and can be as unique as you… and I so highly encourage this time to speak to your most unique self!

And the better news? You can easily begin to see and feel effects from resting and taking me time with as little as 10 minutes a day!

In fact, I recommend beginning with just 10 minutes a day!

Ten minutes a day is actionable and accessible- it is not daunting and it does not have negative ripple effects on the timeliness of your morning or day.

Ten minutes is jussst long enough to get your powerful mind & body, and nervous system, into rest-or-digest… the place we want to be to improve our digestion, deepen our sleep, and strengthen our immune system!

To begin, I suggest knowing when- when you’re going to carve out your time, when you’re planning for rest. Resting can be a big thing when you’re not used to it, so one of the easiest ways to approach it is to plan it! Are you going to be the first one up and take early morning time? Or maybe during nap time? Do you have time while cooking dinner and the little ones are playing/watching TV?** Or maybe you’ll choose to rest at the end of your day, just before bed when the house is quiet.

There are benefits to all these options and downsides to none- remember, this is your time…the first of the only two rules here is that you feel comfortable and relaxed with this time, your time!

Now, the second and final rule- no technology! With this said, I completely support listening to music or a podcast (if you’d like) and setting the timer on your phone for your 10 minutes!

The first week of the new year, I hosted a challenge- A Create Your Own Toolbox Challenge- for healthy and functional stress management. I’m an avid believer that resting in and of itself is a highly functional and essential aspect of learning to manage stress; so even though resting was only 1 aspect of the challenge, it is a highly crucial aspect of stress management that makes a huge impact.

I’d like to share with you some of the ways the amazing women of the challenge incorporated rest and me time into their days during the challenge:

-Heading to the car 10 minutes early to sit in silence and enjoy hot coffee before driving to work

-Lying in bed for an extra 10 minutes creating a mental gratitude journal

-Instead of turning on the TV to zone out, listening to music for 10 minutes

-Drinking chamomile tea and reading in bed just before sleep

-Walking the dog around the block, every morning

-Standing by a window, reflecting, stretching and getting mentally ready for the day

Resting and me time create a beautiful opportunity for you to reset and recharge. There are studies on studies that discuss and prove the effects of rest:

-More effective

-Higher efficiency on tasks

-Greater mental clarity and focus

-Enhanced sleep

-Digestive benefits- bloating, acid reflux, constipation, excess gas

-Improved adaptability to the unexpected

Allow yourself to get creative with your time- face masks, cucumbers on your eyes, romance novels, murder mystery podcasts, soak your feet, adult coloring books, put stickers all over your planner, hold a photo shoot for yourself, or have a one women dance party…clothes optional ;)

Any of the above, or any ideas that feel good to you, can be done in 10 minutes…but by all means, take more time if you have more.

Make your time yours, what feels good? What do you keep coming back to? What calls to you? Where can you go and what can you do that allows you to simply be?

You deserve rest. You deserve rest. You deserve rest.

**I would only recommend allowing cooking to be part of rest time IF 1) you really love cooking 2) you are only cooking, not cooking and 3) you are alone in the kitchen for at least 10 minutes

Written by Aubrey Turner of @wholly.wellness

Read Aubrey's last blog post here