In a time where the hustle and bustle of the Holiday Season is ramping up to full gear, let’s take a moment’s pause to discuss the benefits of rest in regards to our overall health and wellbeing.
While resistance training, yoga, and aerobic conditioning (among others!) all impact our strength and mobility, it is rest that optimizes the way in which our body responds to these loading strategies. Without proper rest, hitting the pavement or the barbell again and again will not provide the payoffs you are ideally seeking. Additionally, if you are healing from an injury or major life event (like childbirth!) your body needs rest to heal faster and more completely.
If you read no further, I want you to remember these four things:
- Rest promotes healing
- Rest leads to strength
- Rest optimizes immunity
- Rest improves mental clarity
So let’s break these down, shall we?
Rest Promotes Healing + Leads to Strength
When we sleep, it’s the brain’s time for housekeeping. To clear toxins, repair damaged cells and produce restorative hormones.
Those restorative hormones are involved in repairing your cells. Muscle fibers are broken down with micro-tears during strengthening exercises and daily life stressors. The natural cycle of break-down and repair only results in the desired outcome of stronger muscles if we have adequate rest to allow the body to repair itself following stressors. When the body is allowed time to rest and restore, the muscle fibers, and cellular components in general, are able to repair and become stronger as a result. A similar process is true for your tendons, fascia and post-surgery tissue healing.
Simply put, without rest we do not get the increased strength we desire following exercise. Without rest, we do not get the optimal surge of restorative hormones to promote the healing process.
Rest promotes healing and increases strength when healing occurs, thus rest is a necessary component of any wellness program.
Rest Optimizes Immunity
According to the Mayo Clinic, “During sleep, your immune system releases proteins called cytokines, some of which help promote sleep. Certain cytokines need to increase when you have an infection or inflammation, or when you’re under stress. Sleep deprivation may decrease production of these protective cytokines. In addition, infection-fighting antibodies and cells are reduced during periods when you don’t get enough sleep.”
So in a time of year where respiratory illnesses are running rampant, take advantage of the increased darkness and go to bed earlier. When our immune system is functioning at its best, we are going to be more likely to show up for physical therapy appointments or group fitness classes. You have more energy to make healthier food choices. You feel less fatigued. All of this spirals together; rest is a central component of feeling our best and showing up for the life we want to live.
Rest Improves Mental Health
The physical effects of sleep aren’t the only reason sleep and rest are beneficial to your body. Sleep improves mental clarity, reduces negative emotions, improves reaction times, promotes creativity and cognitive alertness. When we prioritize rest, our mental and emotional health receives exponential benefit. We are less likely to feel anxious or depressed, we are more creative, and our cognitive abilities are stronger.
If the physical benefits of rest weren’t enough to prioritize it, then the mental benefits should be!
So here’s to finding time for rest, relaxation and restoration in your life during this season and always
Needs some stress reduction to help with rest and recovery?
Download my FREE 3 step breath guide to move out of the Sympathetic “Fight or Flight” mode and into the Parasympathetic “Rest and Digest” mode.
