7 Types of Recreation and Ways to Get the One You Need
For a long time, our default answer to the question “How are you?” was “okay” or some variation of it. But in the past few years – and especially during the pandemic – a different answer has become more common: tell the person who asked that you are “tired” or even “worn out.”
There’s a lot to unpack there, but it’s safe to assume that for various reasons, many of us are really tired all or most of the time. Can you even remember the last time you felt completely refreshed? Yes, I can’t either.
Well, according to Dr. Soundra Dalton Smith , physician, researcher and author of Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Humanity , this may be because we are not getting certain types of rest that we really need. … Here’s what you need to know about the seven types of relaxation and why proper relaxation can be a game-changer.
Rest is more than sleep
Chances are, if you’ve been telling someone you’re tired all the time, they’ve probably commented on how you need to get more sleep or improve your sleep hygiene. It certainly doesn’t hurt, but as Dalton Smith explained in an interview with Stylist , relaxation is more than just a dream.
“We love that it’s simple – if we fall asleep, it should address all of our recovery needs – but unfortunately there are recreational activities that cannot be addressed during sleep,” she told the magazine.
What are the 7 types of recreation?
In her own research, Dalton Smith identified seven different types of rest that the human body and mind need. So, even if you got what you thought was a good night’s sleep, you can still wake up feeling tired due to the lack of another type of rest. These types are:
- Mental rest : relaxation for the brain
- Sensory Rest : It Takes Time to Unplug and Reduce Our External Stimuli
- Creative Holidays : Do something that inspires you to take a break from embodying new ideas.
- Emotional Relaxation : Processing your emotions so you don’t have to hold them back and you can be yourself.
- Social relaxation : spending time alone when other people drain you.
- Spiritual relaxation : connecting with something other than the physical and mental (even if it’s not religious).
- Physical Rest : Sleep allowing your body to slow down or pause to relax.
How to get the rest you need
According to Dalton Smith, the key to the rest you need is to first identify what type you are missing and act on. The process starts with some self-reflection, she said, because you typically use each of the seven areas throughout the day and need to figure out where you are spending the most energy.
“What does your daily life look like?” Dalton Smith asks. “Is your day spent brainstorming and coming up with new ideas? Or do you spend the day face to face with people discussing difficult emotional topics, such as a psychologist or therapist? “
Once you figure out where you are spending the most energy, she says, “It will have a huge impact on the area in which you are most likely to have a deficit, especially if you have not yet thought about what kind of recovery is like this job or work “.