Doesn’t it seem puzzling to you that you can wake from 7 hours of sleep and find yourself saying, “I’m so tired! I’m just so tired!” Maybe that’s because you are! . . . because there are different types of rest.

Marcia Reynolds discovered that when she heard Saundra Dalton-Smith, author of Sacred Rest, speak at TEDxAtlanta. What she learned is that she has a “rest deficit” that impacts her happiness, health, and success.

Dalton-Smith identified seven types of rest expressed as gaps when diagnosing common ailments in her patients. These seven types of rest are needed in order to feel happy, productive, and fulfilled. Let’s take a deeper look:

1. Mental Rest – A tired mind makes more mistakes. It’s hard to focus, remember details, and ­­­­­­­­­­­be positive.
   Try This – Take a walk outside, be still, meditate in 5-minute blocks of time. And, it’s OK to watch some mindless TV and laugh a bit.
2. Spiritual Rest – This refers to your sense of connection to something bigger than yourself.
   Try This – Write your life purpose or cultivate a sense of purpose, show kindness, play music, read a daily devotional of inspiration, write in a grateful journal.
3. Emotional Rest – Emotional rest needs show up when you are feeling overwhelmed, depleted, or lost.
   Try This – Talk, rant, or cry with a trusted colleague or coach, find a safe place where you can “quack” without judgment, take breaks, hang out with people who make you smile or laugh.
4. Social Rest – You can feel lonely even around a lot of people. This kind of rest comes from being seen, loved, and enjoyed by others; something we all desire.
   Try This – Champion a cause with like-minded people, share challenges of your work with colleagues, enjoy hobbies with friends.
5. Sensory Rest – Noise is everywhere, constant, and ever present – interruptions from our devices, artificial lighting, stressful driving to name a few.
   Try This – Take electronic breaks, silence your phone during the night, intentionally rest your mind and your vision, listen to music, breathe in fresh air.
6. Creative Rest – Age, stress, and the demands of life can diminish our creative options, so this is a time to awaken our creative spirit and zest for life.
   Try This – Try a new art or hobby, dance, notice details of beauty on your morning walk, take a different route home.
7. Physical Rest – We all need time for our bodies to recover and rejuvenate.
   Try This – Intentionally stretch, breathe deeply, and release tension to calm your body.

Any “rest deficits” coming up for you?

 My list can stand a few adjustments. I’m inspired to try some new things.