Resourcing Ourselves: Which type of rest do you most need?

I’m not great at resting! Are you? Do you go, go, go till you drop (grab that holiday, or you get ill, or sometimes, disasterously both at the same time!)

I am more and more developing my connection to the Earth, the natural world, and as the natural world quietens, I have learned that I am being invited to do the same. To find time for drawing inward, and time to restore our energy. I am fully aware that in the corporate world, this is rarely the message we receive. The push to ‘finish strong’, and continually be striving towards the next deadlines can be overpowering. But as human beings, we are part of the Earth and I strongly believe that when we allow the noise of the world we have built to drown out the quieter wisdom of the Natural World, then we as humans suffer. We are cyclical beings, and sustainable leadership is also cyclical, not linear.

Do we try to bend ourselves to the world we have created? Or are we healthier, more fulfilled when we see ourselves as part of the natural world?

We are at the Celtic New Year and we are crossing the threshold into the dark half of the year. It’s a time to honour endings, to reflect on what we’ve harvested or achieved and to turn our attention toward restoration. Nature shows us that rest is not idleness. Rest is not a weakness. It is a necessary and an intellegent part of growth.

The trees don’t resist the fall of their leaves, they release what is no longer needed, conserving energy for regeneration next year.

Redefining Rest

Rest has become a misunderstood concept in modern culture, often equated with laziness or weakness. For high-achieving women, especially those in leadership roles, rest can feel indulgent, even irresponsible. But true rest is actually resourcing. It is what allows us to sustain clarity, creativity and compassion in the face of complexity.

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith’s model of “Seven Types of Rest” offers a powerful framework for understanding how to replenish ourselves beyond sleep alone. As we enter the darker months, each type offers a pathway to resilience and renewal.

1. Physical Rest

   Physical Rest isn’t just about sleep. It is about listening to the body’s quieter signals. Gentle stretching, slower mornings, naps or simply doing less and slowing down. When we align with the body’s rhythm instead of overriding it with caffine and electric light, our energy replenishes naturally.

   Try: Longer sleep - go to bed earlier, or give yourself permission to lay in. Try dimming the lights in the evening. Reduce blue light exposure. Put down your phone/screen/laptop. Let the darkness signal your body to rest.

2. Mental Rest

   The executive mind is rarely quiet. Constant decision-making, digital overload, and constant multi-tasking drain our cognitive resources. Mental rest means carving out moments where nothing is required of use. No emails, no lists, no reminders

   Try: Create small pauses into your day. Just 5 or 10 minutes, to step away from your screen. Look out of a window. Go for a walk. Allow your mind to unfurl.

3. Emotional Rest

   Leadership requires holding space for others. Teams, clients, and family all leave little room for your own emotions. Emotional rest is the permission to feel honestly, without needing to fix or perform. Allow yourself to feel

   Try: Take time to really FEEL and experience your emotions, without pushing them away. Name your emotions without judgement. Journaling or a walk in nature can help bring out those honest feelings and help you release them.

4. Social Rest

   Not all company restores us. Social rest comes from chosing who you spend your time with. Who nourishes your soul, and who drains you? This is especially important at this time of year as the diary starts to fill with commitments and engagements full of festive cheer! Focus on recalibrating the balance between social ‘obligations’ and soul nourishing relationships.

   Try: Don’t be afraid to say no if you start to feel inundated with “festive get togethers”. Limit your time, perhaps only attend the first hour. Spend time with people who feed your spirit. Step back from those who deplete it.

5. Sensory Rest

   Modern life can really assult the senses. Bright screens, bright lights, constant notifications, background noise. Our nervous systems are overloaded. Sensory rest restores calm.

   Try: Reduce sensory input wherever possible. Walk without headphones. Leave your phone at home so you can’t be distrubed. Try lighting a candle instead of turning on overhead lights. Can you turn the TV off, and see what happens if you sit in the dark.

6. Creative Rest

   Even the most visionary leaders need to refill their creative well. Creative rest isn’t the absence of ideas, it is the space from which inspiration arises. It could be found in beauty, art, music and nature.

   Try: Schedule some unstructured time. Visit an art gallery, listen to music, take a mindful walk to simple notice the colours of autumn. Create something which you just enjoy doing, and resist the desire to judge the outcome. Choose drawing or if that is too daunting, try colouring or use scissors to cut things up to make a collage!

7. Spiritual Rest

   This is the rest that connects us back to meaning. To the sense of belonging to something much larger than ourselves. It might come through prayer, meditation, time in nature, or acts of service. Spiritual rest reorients us to our deeper purpose. Our “why”.

   Try: Begin or end your day in silence. Reflect on what truly matters. Ask yourself: “What sustains me?” “What is guiding me now?”

Resourcing the Self

When we approach rest as resourcing, we can take yourself away from feeling depleted. The quieter we can become, the more we can hear. This is the wisdom of the dark season, those winter months. Like the tree that lets go of it’s leaves, you too can stop holding on to what does not serve you, that way you can replenish your resources so that your energy and light can be renewed.

For those leading in complex organisations, rest is not a luxury. It is leadership intellegence. It is what allows you to respond rather than react, to create instead of control and lead with clarity rather than fatigue.

As you enter the dark half of the year, consider what kind of rest your body, mind and spirit are asking for. The invitaiton of Samhain is simple yet profound: slow down, listen and let the stillness and let the darkness restore you.