Tip 6: Rest and Relax

Life is busy and it seems each year it just gets busier. Work, family, school, and other commitments just eat the day away and leave you with no time to sit back and relax. However, rest and relaxation is very important. In fact, getting enough rest is imperative to living a healthy lifestyle and when you do not relax and get enough sleep you are putting yourself at risk for illness as well as other side effects.

Side Effects of Not Getting Enough Rest

Believe it or not but the body needs enough rest each night to function properly. The amount of rest each individual needs every night differs, however the average adult needs approximately 7-8 hours of sleep each night to restore their body with the energy it needs to handle all of the demands of living each day. However, most individuals cut back on their sleep to pack more activities into their day. Unfortunately, this runs the body down allowing more viruses and diseases to attack the body because the immune system is not functioning as well as it should. Then, the individual gets sick and misses days or even weeks of all of those important activities. When you get enough rest your body runs as it should and your immune system is stronger and able to fight off infections more easily.

Also, when you don't get enough rest you have difficulty concentrating, thinking clearly, and even remembering things. You might not notice this at first or blame it on your busy schedule, but the more sleep you miss and rest you miss out on the more pronounced these symptoms will become.

In addition, a lack of rest and relaxation can really work a number on your mood. It is a scientific fact that when individuals miss out on good nightly rest their personality is affected and they are generally grumpier, less patient, and snap easier. As a result, missing out on rest to fit in all those activities might make you a bear to be around, which is not much fun at all.

So, the next time you think it is a good idea to stay up late to complete a task or hang out with friends, think again. Of course, one night is not going to hurt you, but night after night of not getting enough rest really will.

When many people are faced by a stressful situation at work, they respond with complete commitment, by working intensely hard at resolving it. To do this, they may work all hours, cancel vacations and cut back on sleep, all to make more time to tackle the problem.

If this is short-lived, then negative effects will be minimal and success will often be spectacular. However, if this level of hard work is sustained for a long time without relief, people increasingly risk ill-health and burnout. We rest and sleep because we need to.

Rest is what we do to let stress subside. Rest at the end of a day, and at the end of a week, helps us to calm down.

Doing fun things that we enjoy in our leisure time compensates us for the stress we experience at work, bringing some balance back into life. This is particularly important if we routinely experience unpleasant levels of stress.

A good way of getting rest and reducing long-term stress is to take up an enjoyable, non-rushed sport or hobby. Slow physical activities such as sailing or walking are good for this, as are others where there is little or no pressure for performance. Reading novels, watching television or socializing can also be very restful.

Vacations are particularly important, and you really do need to take these. Where possible, take two weeks off rather than just one week: A common observation that people make is that they really do not start to relax properly until the end of their first week of vacation.

Make sure that you take your vacations and that you use them to relax. Also, make sure that you get enough good quality rest during the week, so that you can keep on enjoying life to its fullest.

Tip: When we are stressed and anxious, we can often find it difficult to get to sleep as thoughts keep on whizzing through our heads, stopping us from relaxing enough to fall asleep. If you find this is the case: Make sure that you stop doing mentally demanding work several hours before coming to bed – give your brain time to calm down before you try to sleep. Try reading a calming, undemanding book for a few minutes, again to relax your body, tire your eyes and help you forget about the things that are worrying you. Write persistent thoughts and worries down in a notebook and then put them out of your mind. Review the notebook in the morning and take action if appropriate. Keep the same bedtime. Let your body and mind get used to a predictable routine. Cut back on caffeine and alcohol. Some people find that they sleep badly if they drink coffee or cola after 4pm. Others find that if they drink alcohol to excess, they wake up in the middle of the night and cannot get back to sleep.