# 25 The 7 Types of Rest for Different Needs
REST. Everyone needs it & how relieving it can be.
BUT, did you know that rest doesn’t always involve sleeping or sitting down while doing nothing?
Have you ever experienced getting to the weekend, feeling drained and tired from the week - but also feeling like its not sleep that is going to help you replenish and get refreshed?
Have you ever felt energised from a hike, despite it feeling physically challenging or needed a yoga class in order to feel like yourself again.
If any of these sound familiar, you already may know that there are 7 different types of rest and this shall be our topic for today’s blog.
The Types
The 7 different types of rest are physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, social, sensory & creative. Let’s dig a little deeper in each type.
#1 Physical Rest
This type of rest has two parts – the active & the passive. The passive one, basically, is sleeping or napping and if you’ve read my blogs, you’d know how important sleep is. The active one, on the other hand, include activities such as yoga, stretching & even getting a massage.
If you’re feeling immense pain at your back, it may be a sign you lack this physical type of rest.
#2 Mental Rest
A lot can go through one’s mind a day & each of us NEED this type of rest. Despite the beauty & flexibility of the brain, it is still important that we give it time to rest, especially from carrying all different and sometimes negative thoughts. We simply need to let those negativities go.
#3 Spiritual Rest
This rest typically depends on whatever your belief is. You see, if you don’t feel like what you’re doing has meaning or purpose, you easily grow weary & burnout. BUT, if you are connected spiritually and find your true purpose & real meaning, you become more at peace with others & even yourself.
You can give yourself this type of rest by connecting through communities, strong support systems.
#4 Emotional Rest
Emotional rest is finding a safe space where we can be authentic & share how we really fear without the fear of judgment & rejection. Often, it’s someone who always feels the need to prove themselves or someone who’s afraid of what other people may say or think lack this type of rest.
#5 Social Rest
This rest is what we gain from uplifting, encouraging & inspiring people. Get this type of rest by surrounding yourself with people who appreciate you & believe in you, those who are not afraid to call you out when you’re wrong & comment you when you’re doing a good job, those people who genuinely care. Find your people and you’ll be socially rested.
#6 Sensory Rest
This may be something new to you. Sensory rest is basically resting your ears from the sound of phones ringing or resting your eyes from the bright lights of computer, all those sensory inputs around you.
If you’re always irritable or agitated, it may be because you need this type of rest.
#7 Creative Rest
This one just might be my favorite. Creative rest is when we get to see & appreciate beauty in any forms, whether that may be the natural beauty of nature, the sun, the moon, the mountains, the beach, the oceans or even created beauty such as art, music & dance.
These things give peace & rest, too.
We All Need Rest
There’s no perfect rest that is right for everyone, its much more something we need to figure out on a case by case basis. But we will all come to a point when our minds, our hearts, our souls & bodies will need rest. Often, all these 7 we need. Sometimes, 1 or 2. I encourage you to test out a few different solutions for different types of “tiredness” and figure out what works best for you.
So please, as a coach & friend, rest if you must. It’s okay. It’s valid, you need it.
With Love,
Coach Eik
