Rest. It is critical to our health, survival, pleasure and performance. Yet, countless leaders might say that rest is more of a luxury than a reality, since they are burning the candle at both ends – particularly as the school year comes to a close. They find it hard or impossible to get the recommended seven or eight hours of sleep each night. And, even if they do get the sleep, many leaders say they still don’t feel rested.

What about you? How rested do you feel right now? In what ways do you intentionally include time for rest and revitalization in order to have an overall sense of well-being and productivity?

Dr. Matthew Edlund, Director of the Center for Circadian Medicine in Sarasota, Florida, former professor at Brown and the University of Texas Medical Schools, and author of The Power of Rest: Why Sleep Alone Is Not Enough. A 30-Day Plan to Reset Your Body (2010) says that people need to learn how to rest. He says that rest includes more than sleep, understanding that sleep is a necessity for brain renewal and reenergizing. “Many millions sleep well and still feel tired, exhausted, and frustrated all day long— for much of their lives. They don’t know what it is to feel fully alert, awake, and alive, excited at what will happen the next moment. In order to fully know the peak experiences people describe as their best memories, indeed just to heal and survive illness, people need to learn how to rest.”

Learn how to rest and rest while you are active? How does one do that? Dr. Edlund offers four different avenues for active rest – rest that actually happens when you are awake. They are – physical, mental, social and spiritual rest.

Let’s take a quick look at mental rest – something you can do in a matter of minutes – regardless of your busy day. Mental rest happens when you focus intentionally on your environment in a way that is rejuvenating. You turn your attention and level of consciousness to things that bring you pleasure and this in turn offers the opportunity for calmness and relaxation regardless of where you are. How helpful would a mental rest activity be prior to a stressful meeting or before you write that important report? There may be a picture in your office, that when you give it your undivided attention, provides an opportunity for you to increase your overall sense of well-being. Or, perhaps it is thinking back and bringing forward a visual of a time when you and your family were totally engaged in a delightful experience. Only you know what offers the opportunity for mental rejuvenation. One strategy that worked for me, as a principal, was to walk over to where the pre-k children were and to just watch them playing, learning or interacting with each other. It was a thing of beauty that brought me energy.

What about you? What are some easy ways that you can practice the technique of mental rest? After all, you owe it to yourself and to those you lead.