Let's talk about rest
The type of rest you take matters.
As we move into October, many of us feel the pace of life pick up — shifting schedules, less daylight, and more demands. This week, let’s pause on a foundational theme that comes up in almost every conversation we have with patients: rest.
What We Mean by Rest
Rest is more than sleep, though sleep is part of it. We think about rest in different domains:
Physical: recovery for muscles, joints, and organs.
Mental: time away from cognitive load and constant problem-solving.
Emotional: space to process or reset after stress.
Sensory: reducing stimulation from screens, noise, and environments.
Social: recalibrating how and with whom we spend energy.
Noticing which type of rest you’re missing is often the first step toward feeling better.
Why It Matters
When rest needs aren’t met, the body adapts — often in ways that eventually work against us. Mood and reactivity shift, often in ways that make daily stressors harder to manage.
For women navigating perimenopause, postpartum recovery, or conditions like PCOS, the impact of insufficient rest can be especially pronounced.
Practical Approaches
We don’t need to wait for long vacations to reset. Small, consistent practices can build resilience:
Take a 5-minute pause between tasks to check in with your body.
Step away from screens regularly, especially in the evening.
Walk without headphones or step counters — simply to move and notice.
Build an evening wind-down routine that signals “off-duty” to your nervous system.
Be intentional about commitments; rest sometimes means leaving space unfilled.
What We’re Seeing
Across our patient work, building structured rest into daily routines often unlocks progress in other areas — whether that’s sleep quality, weight regulation, or symptom management. Rest isn’t downtime from health work; it is the work.
We’ll be sharing more this month on strategies to make rest actionable and measurable. In the meantime, we encourage you to take stock of where you’re overextended, and experiment with one small shift toward meaningful rest this week.
Until next time,
Your Coord Health Team