Many of us are working from home, taking care of kids or elders, running businesses among other things during quarantine and it seems like our responsibilities have increased. All of our responsibilities have meshed together and in that, we can easily forget to get our proper rest. We have to purpose to get the necessary rest our mind and bodies need.
Rest is so important and comes with so many benefits. When we rest, we allow our bodies to heal themselves. We protect our mental and emotional health and become more creative due to proper rest. The Center for Disease Control recommends 7 hours or more of sleep per night for adults 18 and up. However, in the culture, there is a glorification of no sleep or limited sleep. There’s almost an expected badge of honor for not properly taking care of ourselves due to being productive or busy.
Believe me, I’m all for working and productivity, but the truth be told, there is a time for it. There is a time for work and a time for rest. God modeled this by creating the world in 6 days and on the 7th day resting. This is part of the importance of obeying the Sabbath day, which is a day of rest. It allows us to rest from our work, have the necessary quiet time, and to remember the Lord.
Prioritizing rest consistently within our schedules allows us to be more creative, impactful, and purposeful when we do work. We don’t have to work so long when we are rested because we don’t make as many careless mistakes. Our bodies also become more resistant to diseases that thrive in restless bodies like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and more.
As a creative, I’ve experienced being overwhelmed by being over-committed to more than I could handle at one time. During those times, I can remember getting sick more. I remember one time I could not shake what I thought was a cold. I’d lost my voice and everything. When I visited the doctor, I found out I had an upper respiratory infection. I had to go on antibiotics to finally shake it. That was years ago. I’ve never become sick like that again since my schedule has been re-adjusted and I’ve prioritized rest.
I’ve personally seen members in my family who’ve struggled with mental illness become triggered in their mental illness when the proper rest was lacking, and I’ve also watched the same family heal when proper rest was restored with a safe and consistent routine that allows for stability and rest. Rest is just as important as work. Without the two, we will become sick, less sharp mentally, emotionally, and it will be harder to hear the Lord due to a lack of quietness in our spirits.
When we lack rest and constantly run, run, and run some more, we experience a lack of peace, quietness, reflection, and stillness that awakens us to creativity, ideas, and a unique passion to tackle life in the most committed, engaging, and joyful way. Commit to rest today. Commit to being the best you. Choose one day out of the week where you will not do any work except for a relaxing passion project.
Our phones can help us to prioritize rest. There are helpful apps that can remind us to go to bed at the same time each night and to turn off our electronics at a certain time. I use the Rally Health app. There are so many others out there. Once we develop a routine of rest, we will, in turn, develop a routine of success in every area of our lives.
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