How To 5 easy ways to rest during your busy day

Do you think rest during the day means indulgent cat naps or sitting in quiet meditation for two hours? Are you someone who waits to rest until your head hits the pillow at night?  If so, this post is for you.

Also, I’ve been there. I used to think I had to be constantly productive and always “doing.” Add kids to the mix and that feeling went into overdrive. So much to do, so little time.

Until I realized that I was actually making it way harder on myself. All that “doing” was making me feel resentful, stressed out, and overwhelmed. I was both physically and mentally burnt to a crisp.

Through trial and error, I found out that even 5 minutes a day of rest during the day can make a huge difference in mental and physical health.

All you need is:

• the intention to care for yourself  
• the permission from yourself to take a break from "doing" 
• a willingness to say “no” to social norms that make us believe that busyness is a badge of honor

Rest (verb): to cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, and recover strength.

Here are 5 easy ways to incorporate rest into your busy day in 5 mins.

1) GO OUTSIDE

Time: 1 minute 

Step away from your computer. Open the door. Go outside. When we take the time to reconnect to nature, our stress hormones automatically decrease.

Smell the fresh air, take in the natural colors, listen to the wind, feel the sun. We weren’t meant to sit inside all day staring at a screen.

Give yourself a minute to unplug from technology and plug into mother nature.

Have you heard of nature bathing? This is it. It’s not a hike in the wilderness, it’s literally just appreciating the beauty of your natural surroundings.

Benefits of nature:

• More energy
• Lower stress and anxiety
• Boost immune system
• Improve mood
• Better focus

2) CONNECT WITH A LOVED ONE
 
Time: 1 minute
 
Ideally this is in person, but if that’s not possible, you can look at photos or send a text.
 
For me, connecting with a loved one must include physical touch which most often occurs in the form of a hug. I personally never feel like I can get enough hugs from my kids and am dreading the day when they no longer think hugging your mom is “cool.”  

 
Whenever there is tension in our house, the hugs seem to go up exponentially. Hugs give us the ability to reconnect, resettle, and tell our nervous systems that we are OK and we are safe.
 
Benefits of hugs:

• Reduce stress for both the giver and the recipient
• Boost immune system
• Reduce blood pressure
• Increase happiness
• Increase self esteem
• Reduce pain

Family therapist, Virginia Satir says “we need four hugs a day for survival.”

But we all know, the more hugs, the better.

3) CONNECT TO YOUR SENSES 

Time: 1 minute
 
This is simply the act of being aware of your surroundings.   
 
And guess what? I made it super easy for you when I developed Moment CBD mints which are formulated specifically to awaken your senses.

Sight:

The color green has been proven to calm the mind and lower cortisol. Green is the color of Moment CBD mints packaging.

Smell:
Smell enriches your experience with the world. Different scents can change your mood, bring up a memory, and even impact your health. Bulgarian rose essential oil is known to increase feelings of calm and relaxation. Bulgarian rose is the primary scent you’ll encounter upon opening a package of Moment CBD mints.

Taste:
In my opinion, one of the joys of living is experiencing food. Mindful eating means being aware and conscious of each and every bite. Mindful eating increases gratitude, creates a sense of calm, and reduces stress.

I added szechuan flower to Moment CBD mints specifically to increase mindfulness. Szechuan flower creates tingling, numbing, and cooling in the mouth. You can't take a Moment CBD mint without being reminded to be mindful.

Use your senses to come back to your senses.

4) PRACTICE BREATHWORK
 
Time: 1 minute
 
It’s hard to talk about rest without breathwork. I'm not the biggest fan of breathwork that involve counting and holding my breath. Can you relate?
 
So I do things a little differently. There is something called the physiological sigh that I like from Dr. Huberman. Super easy. It’s basically two rapid consecutive inhales through nose, followed by a long extended sigh through the mouth. Here's a vid:

 
The other one which might not be considered breathwork per se, is lip fluttering. 

Like a horse. I take a big inhale and then flutter it all out through my lips.

Maybe not as PC to perform in public, but I find myself doing it a lot. It’s my go-to when I’m feeling tension and stress in my body. I find it immediately effective.

5) MOVE YOUR BODY 

Time: 1 minute

I wrote a whole blog on how movement is magical for relieving stress. Moving your body can be as simple as taking a walk around the block. However, what I personally find more effective is shaking my body.  I jump around, shake my head yes, shake my head no, shrug my shoulders, twist my hips…basically doing whatever movement I feel helps relieve tension in that moment.
 
My husband makes fun of me but I remind him that animals do it every day. The first thing a zebra does after being chased by a lion? It shakes it body. The first thing my dog does after meeting a strange dog. He shakes his body.
 
Shaking is a natural way to release tension and return the body to homeostasis.

Shaking is a primal impulse to a stressful situation.  

I shake before a big presentation, after a stressful conversation, or whenever I feel stagnant from “doing” all day.
 
So there you have it. 5 ways to rest in 5 minutes, all while the sun is still up. No excuses. Do what works for you and I guarantee you’ll reap the benefits of daytime rest including more energy, better focus, improved mood, and overall wellbeing.