A good night’s sleep is terrifically underrated. The health aspects of sleep and rest are monumental. Studies have shown that sleep can help decrease heart disease, stroke and even control obesity. Moreover, mental acuity. You feel sharper, smarter – ready to ‘take on the world’ when you are rested and restored. But how many of us really get the sleep we need? Have you even sometimes felt a little bit guilty about getting a bit of extra sleep? Heard others sounding virtuous boasting about how little sleep they claim to need or get. Well, we’re here to tell you – ‘abandon the guilt!’ A good night’s sleep is a wonderful thing.
With the holidays around, there are so many activities, parties, and errands to get done, by the end of it all, you might experience what I like to call holiday burnout. It can be a lot, especially when we’re always expected to be “on”, whether it’s the holidays or another part of the year. The truth is, taking time to rest sometimes has the misfortune of carrying a negative connotation with it. We often think of working, ‘grinding’, or ‘hustling’ as some might put as absolute positives, whereas rest can be seen as the absence of work, equated to laziness, or even lacking ambition. Putting in long hours and maybe going the extra mile most definitely has its virtues in certain scenarios, yet often times, it can be at the expense of our own well-being. The key is finding a balance.
I’m sure there’s been a scenario where you’ve put in extra hours or stayed up late working on something because you felt that it would be ‘more productive’ than going to sleep, only to feel underwhelmed with what you’ve come up with. Or perhaps you’ve had a busy day and are weary to take even the slightest of breaks because it feels ‘unproductive.’ The truth is, and there is a great body of science that supports this, rest in any capacity from a 5 minute water break to a good night’s sleep is essential to our overall success, health, and happiness. Study after study demonstrate that when we take time for ourselves to rest, we not only do our minds a favor, but also our bodies, helping us regulate stress, heal, and reset in some ways. I’m reminded of a story I was once told about the investor Warren Buffet who adamantly ensures he gets at least 7-8 hours of sleep a night, and even takes a quick nap during the day if he feels the need.
Things can often feel like they are non-stop in today’s culture. We feel that we have to be on the move all the time, to keep up with the latest and the greatest. But when it comes down to it, we also need to recognize our limits and acknowledge that rest is in some ways the great equalizer. In short, it allows us to be the best version of ourselves. When we look at it not as a negative but as something that has true value for our well-being, we give ourselves yet another resource to be the best version of ourselves. Rest isn’t some sort of adversary we should look at with disdain, but instead something to cherish and embrace in order to live a better life!
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