allure 12062022

| LifeStyle
Rest
as a
Mental Health
Investment
May is mental health awareness month
and it’s more important now than ever
before to take care of our mental health.
This is because the world has not yet
seen all the consequences of the global
pandemic on mental health. Asides from the mental
health challenges that have come as a result of the
pandemic such as stress, fear and more, we are also
living in an age of unprecedented information
overload from social media. Furthermore, the
economic difficulties as a result of the Russia and
Ukraine war coupled with the pandemic have also
affected our mental health. Therefore, we need to be
very intentional about protecting same.
One important factor that we need to consider when
taking care of our mental health and overall wellbeing
is REST. The analogy of the butterfly explains this
effectively. Also, one of our brand elements at The
Richer Woman Inc is the butterfly.
A fascinating aspect of the metamorphosis of a
butterfly is the fact that just before it transitions into a
butterfly, it enters into the cocoon and it appears to
be dead as nothing happens for about a week.
However, the caterpillar is going through a major
transformation on the inside. It is not an easy process
and it is said to be equivalent to the process of dying
but then the butterfly emerges after this process and
it looks nothing like the caterpillar. It becomes the
most beautiful insect.
Moreso, the butterfly develops beautiful wings that will
enable it to fly high and soar to heights the caterpillar
could only dream of reaching. This is because the
caterpillar could only crawl but can now fly as a
butterfly. However, a period of inactivity was required
for the caterpillar to experience this new
transformation.
What is Rest? The dictionary defines rest as “to cease
work or movement in order to relax, sleep, or recover
strength.” Let us focus on two ways to rest:
Sleep: Even though you can rest without sleeping, a lot
happens when you sleep. When you sleep, your brain
is actually very active doing important things. When
you sleep, your brain processes and retains
information that you would have learnt during the
day. Therefore, in the case of a student, it is futile to
lose sleep by staying up all night to study or cram for
exams. According to Carl W. Bazil, Professor of
04
June 12, 2022
Neurology at Columbia University Medical Center, “The
evidence suggests that if you spend all night trying to
learn something new and miss a few hours of sleep to
do so, your brain’s not going to retain that information
the same way it would have if you’d gotten a full night
of sleep, he says. “Your brain really needs to process
that information, which you only do when you’re
asleep.”
Bazil also says that “There’s an increase in the release
of growth hormones during sleep (this is when kids get
taller, our skin cells regenerate, and our hair gets
longer), as well as the hormones that regulate
appetite. Sleep is also when our muscles repair
damages (and regular wear and tear) from
throughout the day.”
Another important benefit of sleep according to Bazil
is that “Sleep also plays an integral role in regulating
the body’s immune system, which is responsible for
fighting off all sorts of problems from the common
cold to more serious chronic problems like cancer.
(Research suggests that the body produces fewer
infection-fighting antibodies when sleep-deprived.)
Studies have shown that individuals are more likely to
catch a cold virus when they’re sleep-deprived and
that vaccines can be less effective after a poor night
of sleep.”
Lack of sleep is also linked to mood disorders and
even depression and anxiety. Please note that rest
does not necessarily mean sleep. You can also relax
without sleeping.
If you can rest physically you are one of the wealthiest
people on earth. Many people cannot rest or even
LACK OF SLEEP IS
ALSO LINKED TO
MOOD DISORDERS
AND EVEN
DEPRESSION AND
ANXIETY
sleep because of anxieties, worries, fear etc. Sleep is a
priceless asset. Ensure you make time out to sleep
daily. Ensure you get at least 8 hours of sleep as an
adult. You would become more productive this way.
Silence: Our world is so fast-paced and there is a
plethora of information passing through us on daily
basis. We have countless notifications on our phones
from different apps. Therefore, we move from one
conversation or the other physically or virtually. More
now than ever we need to go on silent retreats or
practice moments of silence. Periods of silence reveal
hidden things or issues that we may ignore or not be
aware of in our otherwise fast-paced life. Let us use
the analogy of an astronaut to explain this.
It is said that the silence in space can be
overwhelming and inadequate preparation can make
someone lose his/her mind. There is no single sound
even if there is an explosion. It is so silent that when
you are there you begin to hear things that you would
ordinarily not have been able to hear on earth such as
your heartbeat, your bones creaking as you move.
Most astronauts would not be able to cope with the
silence and so they need to practice silence through
trainings on earth before they go to space. When you
go on a silent retreat, like the astronaut things that are
in you that you would not have noticed because of
how fast-paced and busy our lives are, begin to come
up to the surface. Most people feel anxiety and then
other emotions like depression etc. The good thing is
that you can then deal with these things as opposed
to leaving them there and then it becomes a bigger
problem in the future.
The Jews are one of the wealthiest tribes in the world.
Many of the Fortune 500 companies are owned by
Jews. Even the top tech companies have Jewish
co-founders. One thing about the Jews is that they
don’t play with their rest. A new day starts in the
evening as opposed to in the morning. Therefore, they
start their day by going to bed. They also have a day
for complete rest which they call sabbath. Their
lifestyle shows that there is a correlation between rest
and productivity. Contrary to logic and popular
opinion rest is an important aspect of work. Recreation
leads you to Re-create. Therefore, we need to learn to
do the following: take social media breaks, especially
in this season where a lot is going on in the media,
take a day off every week as your sabbath/rest day
where you do nothing but relax, have quiet time daily
where you spend time yourself. You can journal, pray
etc, take periodic holidays, go on a walk, have silent
retreats and moments.