Why Rest Isn’t Lazy: The Mental Health Benefits of Slowing Down
In a world that constantly glorifies the "hustle," it's easy to internalize the dangerous belief that productivity is our worth. We are taught to move faster, work harder, and always be doing, planning, or overthinking. When we finally pause, guilt often creeps in, whispering that rest is a sign of weakness or, worse, laziness.
But for those of us walking the winding path of recovery, this relentless pressure to perform is a direct threat to our healing. If you feel defined by hopelessness, addiction, or the pain of past choices, you know the exhaustion that comes from perpetually struggling to climb out of "rock bottom". When we push ourselves past our limits, we are inviting burnout and risking setbacks.
The truth, which often feels revolutionary in our modern culture, is this: Rest is not laziness. It is the foundational work of mental and emotional restoration. It is a necessary practice for transforming struggle into strength. When we allow ourselves to pause and recharge, we create the essential balance required for both physical and mental health.
The True Meaning of Rest
What does it truly mean to rest? It is simply the opposite of being active. Rest is the intentional choice to stop doing, planning, or overthinking, allowing our minds and bodies a necessary reprieve from the activities of life.
While we often associate rest solely with sleep, which is certainly an important daily practice, rest encompasses much more. We need periods of rest every single day to keep ourselves in balance, not just during times of illness or exhaustion.
In fact, seeking out continuous rest throughout the day provides the most substantial benefits. While getting up and going to bed around the same time each day is crucial for good nighttime sleep, even short daytime breaks are powerful. For example, research indicates that a fifteen- or twenty-minute nap can effectively refresh the brain. Conversely, taking a long, three-hour nap during the day may actually interfere with necessary nighttime sleep, leaving us feeling less rested overall.
Rest as Fuel for Emotional Endurance
When you are deep in the messy, miraculous middle of healing, you are confronting trauma, rewiring old patterns, and learning to manage fluctuating chemistry. This process requires immense energy and focus. Trying to navigate this journey with a depleted mind is like driving a car with a stuttering, stalled engine.
Quality rest acts as high-octane fuel for your brain and heart. When you are rested:
Handling Emotions Becomes Easier: Rest makes it simpler to manage your emotions and think clearly. You are less likely to experience big swings in how you feel, and less likely to lash out during difficult moments.
Cognitive Function Improves: A rested brain is significantly more likely to function better and more efficiently.
Self-Control is Restored: A key warning sign of lacking rest is a reduced ability to control emotions. By resting, you maintain the capacity to navigate challenging feelings without being consumed by them.
Rest, fundamentally, builds emotional endurance. Endurance is far more valuable than intensity in long-term recovery, allowing you to sustain your progress through inevitable dips and setbacks.
The Physical Restoration that Supports Mental Health
Our bodies and minds are intertwined; if one is run down, the other suffers. Rest allows our internal "machines" to run well, much like a car needs to stop for maintenance and refueling.
Rest is the essential time when our bodies are carrying out critical functions that we often take for granted:
Repair and Rebuilding: When we exercise, we cause temporary damage to our muscles. Rest allows our muscles to repair themselves, making them stronger over time. Similarly, rest uses building blocks from food to repair cells and restock energy supplies throughout the body.
System Maintenance: Rest enables key processes like breaking down food through digestion and getting rid of the waste products that naturally build up during activity.
Memory Storage: During sleep, the mind is actively working to store memories from the day.
When we are physically rested, we generally feel better. This improved physical state regulates our appetite, leading to better eating habits. Feeling better provides us with more endurance, meaning we can complete necessary tasks and are less likely to avoid things simply because we lack the energy to do them.
The Warning Signs of the Hustle Habit
If you’ve been caught in the "Hustle to Healing" cycle, pushing yourself past necessary limits, you may not realize how drastically the lack of rest is impacting your mental state. For some, the biggest obstacle to rest is being constantly distracted by electronic devices. For others, the challenge is struggling to put personal needs first or feeling unable to say no to others. Whatever the reason, working long hours, caring for others, or doing too many activities, lack of rest directly impacts mental health.
It is vital to recognize these signs that your mind and body are signaling a need for a pause:
Increased feelings of anxiety or depression.
Difficulty thinking or experiencing "brain fog".
Impaired memory.
Feeling run down or achy.
A reduced ability to keep emotions under control.
These are not failures; they are valuable, honest signals about your limits and your needs.
Reclaiming Your Space: Five Ways to Build Rest and slowing down into Your Routine
When you are hitting rock bottom, the journey up requires creating light in the darkness through intentional practice. Making time for rest is a critical part of building a recovery routine that honors your journey.
Here are five powerful practices to help you create space for rest and recovery every day:
1. Start the Day with a Hurkle-Durkle
Many of us wake up, hit the alarm, hop in the shower, and are instantly plunged into exhaustion before the day has even properly begun. We rush from the first moment, treating our mornings like a race.
Instead, consider adopting the concept of the hurkle-durkle. This is a Scottish word from the 1800s that describes the choice to spend extra time in bed after waking, resting your mind and body before the day's demands begin. This isn't about sleeping in; it’s about starting the day by investing energy into your own well-being.
A hurkle-durkle can involve wrapping yourself in a cozy blanket, allowing yourself time just to daydream, or reading a favorite book. Starting the day with this self-care practice creates a positive mindset because your mind and body begin the day in balance.
2. Take a Mid-Day Break, Mindfully
It sounds obvious, but far too many people work a full day without stopping to breathe. The mid-day break is not just for eating; it’s for nourishing your entire system.
During this time, put technology aside. You can nourish yourself by mindfully enjoying a meal, using your five senses to fully experience the food, or by eating in the company of friends. If social interaction feels draining, be alone in a quiet space without noise or interruption. Even stepping outside for a few minutes to take a breath of fresh air, or going for a short walk in nature to change your scenery, can be restorative. Other options include listening to music or a podcast or engaging in meditation.
3. Create and Defend Healthy Boundaries
Setting boundaries is crucial for weaving rest into your daily routine. When you struggle with self-compassion, you often struggle to say no, believing you must always accommodate others. However, radical love begins with you.
To protect your well-being, you must set your limits and stick to them, even if it means saying no to requests. This could look like turning down an invitation to meet over lunch, or simply ending your workday at a specific, predetermined time. Boundaries are not selfish; they protect the time you need to heal and recharge.
4. Design a Calming Space for Peace
Your environment profoundly affects your mood. By intentionally using sights, smells, and sounds, you can create a relaxing environment within your home.
Scents have a powerful effect on how we feel. Consider using a diffuser, candle, or incense to fill your home with scents like chamomile, lavender, or sandalwood, which may increase feelings of relaxation. You can also improve your mood and reduce stress by adding plants to your home, making your space feel like a tropical paradise. Finally, set the atmosphere with sound: slow music is known to boost relaxation.
5. Slow Down During Transitions
Often, people rush frantically from one task to the next without pausing to consider the moments in between. These transitions, driving home, moving from the living room to the kitchen, or preparing for bed, offer a natural space to pause and check in with yourself.
Choose silence on your commute home and focus on your breath at each stop. When walking, pay attention to the feeling of your feet on the ground. Even just a momentary check-in with yourself between activities creates space for peace and prevents the mind from running ahead relentlessly. Flexibility is key here; let your routines shift with your needs, as rigidity often backfires in recovery.
Rest: A Practice for Nonlinear Healing
When you accept that healing isn’t a smooth, linear ascent but rather a messy, complex spiral, you understand why rest is so vital. You might revisit similar challenges, but when you do, you are approaching them from a higher perspective. You might still struggle, but the struggle no longer consumes you the way it once did.
Rest is the vital mechanism that allows your brain to process change and integrate new awareness. When a difficult day or week makes you feel like you are "regressing," remember that this unpredictability is not failure; it is growth unfolding in real-time. When you feel a dip in your energy or mood, this is the time to prioritize rest, not push harder.
By allowing yourself to rest without guilt, you are:
Becoming more resilient during tough times.
Getting better at noticing what you truly need.
Allowing yourself to take care of yourself without shame.
Rest is a conscious choice to honor the complexities of your recovery. It is not an indulgence; it is the foundation for sustainable healing. It enables you to rise again, stronger, wiser, and more fully yourself.
If you are reading this and feeling the pull of anxiety or the heaviness of depression, take a deep breath. You are not behind, and you are not failing. You are in the process of transformation. Permit yourself to be human, messy, and wonderfully in progress.
Breathe. Rest. Reach out.