We are all social beings and in the busyness of our work it is important to remember this. Feeling tired and exhausted? Try the technique of social rest. Have lunch with someone you work with and give that person and yourself the gift of a light conversation where you share fun stories. As each person talks, the other listens to learn things about that person. As you share stories, connections grow between the two of you. This simple act might actually save your life and provide you with a greater sense of restfulness.

According to Dr. Matthew Edlund, in The Power of Rest: Why Sleep Alone Is Not Enough. A 30-Day Plan to Reset Your Body (2010) “Social rest means using the power of social connectedness to relax and rejuvenate. Social rest provides a feeling of belonging and togetherness that prevents heart disease and cancer while providing you pleasure, purpose, and love. Your walk to lunch with your colleague is a small example of social rest, which quite literally can save your life. Most research studies argue social connectedness is at least as important to health as controlling hypertension and not smoking. Recent studies of the world’s longest-lived populations show that social rest is probably far more important to overall survival than most researchers think (It even works well in the frequently workaholic United States, where some socially well connected subpopulations have a life expectancy of well over ninety years.).”

Examples of social rest also happen when individuals participant in a thoughtful coaching conversation with a trusted coach. Come and learn more about the power of coaching and experience for yourself the feeling of active rest that happens during a coaching conversation.