Sleep may not always be the answer to your needed rest

Sleep is powerful and definitely one of the major legal perfor­mance enhancing drugs of all time but even sleep answereth not all questions related to adequate rest.

“Doctor, I am so tired. I still feel drained even after a 10-hour sleep.”

“I feel lonely, unappreciated and extremely tired. Help me doctor.”

These are two of the numerous examples that clients complain of on a daily basis. We are in “an energy crisis that has nothing to do with oil and gas” and unless we learn to take the necessary breaks and make minor adjustments to our way of life we are heading for a generation that has burnt-out high achievers. I am only drawing attention to a crisis that is often overlooked.

Deep, adequate sleep is an ex­tremely powerful life-changing nat­ural phenomenon that many people trample upon. If you had to make a single change to your life to grow healthier I will suggest you sleep more if you sleep less than seven or eight hours a day. Yes, napping also has an energizing role in our health quest. Rest is such a broad and grey area and it appears sleep is only part of the whole enigma of REST. Now you will understand why an evening with family or friends out of home after a tiring week invigorates you. Also there must be some magic spending time by the seaside even if you don’t sleep. How about playing music with friends? Rest is much more than sleep and though sleep is extremely important all the other forms of rest do matter as well.

A look at the 7 types of rest

1. Physical rest

a. We all know that feeling when you just want the body to take a break. It turns out physical rest can be broken down into two

i. Passive Rest ; lying down, sleeping, napping

ii. Active Rest; yoga, mas­sage, stretching etc.

2. Mental rest

Typically one feels irritable, forgetful and unable to concentrate at work etc. May get eight hours of sleep yet feels horrible. This may be tell-tale signs that you need mental rest

How to fix this;

• Switch off your brain. Take short breaks every two hours talk about or write down your feelings so you are not carry­ing them around

3. Sensory rest

With the noise all around, bright lights, screen time and a host of oth­ers, our senses feel overwhelmed.

How to fix this;

• Simply close your eyes for a minute
• Unplug intentionally; Take a break from computers, phones, bright lights, noise and conversations

4. Creative rest

It is important to awaken the excitement deep within us. The glitter in our eyes. That is another realm of rest.

How to fix this;

• Walk in a beautiful place in nature, watch a movie, play a musical instrument, garden or do art. The good news is you do not even need to be good at it.

5. Emotional rest

Often we are unable to say NO when that is exactly what is needed. We accept additional engagements only to sit in our corner later and feel lonely and unappreciated.

How to fix this;

• Cut back on people-pleasing “adventures”
• Create time to freely express your feelings and emotions. “ME-TIME” and SELFCARE can’t be over emphasised

6. Social rest

It is rare to find someone who needs emotional rest BUT has no social rest deficit. They often come as a “couple”. We need to be able to differentiate between relationships that energise us and those that drain all we have.

How to fix this;

• supportive and positive peo­ple, rather than people that exhaust you.
• Engage in conversation and stay focused. Paying attention does wonders to our brain

7. Spiritual rest

We all need to rely on the power of a superior being and for me it is GOD! We need that sense of belong­ing (child of God), love and a PUR­POSE. That gives us the needed rest

How to fix this;

• Prayer
• Praise and worship to The Almighty
• Meditation
• Service to the community

My advice is let us put all these into practice as often as possible. Every day is possible. Do not wait till you are too tired or feel totally broken before you search for these tips. The time is now and remember SLEEP is supreme but we need the other forms of rest to be complete. Seek professional medical care if you continue to feel “unrested”.

AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, EN­SURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pres­sure, blood cholesterol, BMI)

Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel

Health Essentials Ltd/Medics Clinic

(www.healthessentialsgh.com)

Dr. Essel is a Medical Doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Med­icine, He holds an MBA and is an ISSA Specialist in Exercise Therapy, Fitness Nutrition and Corrective Exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.

Thought for the week – “Whatever you practise grows stronger, what are you practising now?”

References:

1. Saundra Dalton-Smith, MD – ideas.ted.com