I haven’t generally been feeling well since late August, as I am unwillingly travelling into the middle of my thirties I am often reminded that the bounce back is slowly becoming a thing of the past. From hangovers lasting a minimum of 24 hours and back pain not instantaneously disappearing after a good night’s sleep, it is becoming more and more apparent that I really am getting old and some unwelcome physical changes are a part of the process.
These experiences have started to make me more conscious and mindful of what I am doing on a daily basis. This includes being careful not to overload myself when carrying objects, wrapping up when going out on a cold day and most of all getting enough rest in. The dictionary’s definition of rest reads; To cease work or movement to relax, sleep or recover strength. I am a descendant of extremely hard workers. And when I think back, I realise that my understanding of rest was equivalent to a cat nap on the sofa on a Sunday after a heavy week. While I have never really been an all-nighter way of working, even when I was studying, I would take a nap before going to the 24-hour computer room to finish that essay. However, on my journey into my career I have undoubtedly picked up some unhealthy working habits and patterns over the years.
Contrary to popular belief rest is a necessity, not an option. When we are run down not only are we physically affected but our mental well-being is strained and we all know how precious our minds are. The inability to rest can be linked to being uncomfortable with our thoughts and feelings as we all know what happens to an idle mind. Societies overly perpetuated hypothesis of consistently being busy equating to productivity has forced us into lifestyles with no work-to-play balance meaning when we become stressed we overindulge in one of those areas to compensate, however, this has an adverse effect on our well-being that can lead to some very detrimental circumstances. Bupa the international health insurance and healthcare group reports that “just like regular exercise and a healthy diet getting enough sleep is essential to your physical and mental health”. Being rested overall supports reducing stress levels, stabilising mental health, improving concentration, keeping our hearts healthy and strengthening immune systems.
By resting, I used to think I was wasting time. My to-do list has always been longer than the River Nile so the thought of sitting down and doing nothing when my body was not in a zombie like state was futile. If I still had the capacity to move and didn’t physically pass out I believed I was in a good enough state to put the time into something productive. If I wasn’t jet-setting to a paradise island my annual leave consisted of some sort of home DIY project or making headway on a lifelong plan that I had severely procrastinated over. Basically, I was never truly at ease, and although this way of living has always been temporarily cured by spending over quarterly periods of time a weekend in bed as a long-term fix it just doesn’t fit the bill anymore. During lockdown with so much downtime to spare I started to take my health seriously, I began my journey towards veganism. Now that I’m deeper into this way of living, I’ve noticed that it has transcended my physical and mental health. Furthermore, others have commented on how well and healthy I appear. Saying this, lately, I have found myself thinking more holistically about my health and instead of focusing on the major adjustments that involve a complete life overhaul but the smaller everyday matters that might be easier to work on.
Our health and wellness should be our first priority. We can’t keep letting major incidents such as being diagnosed with an illness or a deep bout of depression be the indicator that we need to take a break. Despite our dearly departed beloved sis Aaliyah coining one of the greatest RnB songs age really is more than a number. As as we get older our body becomes less tolerant of being dragged in the various directions that the world leads us in. As much as we are not clairvoyants and have no real predictions of when our time here is up, we can facilitate having a longer and healthier life by being more intentional about how we move. We have to stop taking simple things such as waking up for granted as it is not guaranteed. The whole point of life is for us to live free and enjoy it. How can you do that if you have a debilitating illness or worse case scenario are no longer here? Take this advice from me, put down your schedule and take that break because whatever you leave behind will be waiting for you when you return trust me you deserve it.
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