Giving Your Brain a Rest

On Thursday, everyone was introduced (or reintroduced) to Sensei Victoria Whitfield, who is one of my wonderful co-hosts (along with Brian Rassi of Enstigate) at Momentum Live: The CEO Experience next week.

Sensei Victoria offers some incredible retreats that allow you to reconnect with your vision and your mindset – and you’ll find them all incredibly valuable as a way to bring the focus back to your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

And couldn’t we all use a little more of that?

Do you know what else we could use a little more of in our lives?

Rest.

No, I’m not talking about physical rest – although we all may need that, too.

But I’m talking about rest for our brains.

LOTS of research has been done to show what benefits come from giving our brains a rest – things like:

· Better memory

· Improved attention span

· Increased productivity

· More creativity

· Improved mood

· Less burnout

· Decreased stress

If those benefits aren’t enough to convince you – I don’t know what is.

If you’re sitting there and thinking to yourself, “This is all well and good, Nettie, but what does resting my brain look like – and when exactly am I going to do it?” – then I want to help.

Yes, resting your brain does include the sleep you get at night, but studies from the NIH have shown that “wakeful rest” is just as important. And wakeful rest happens when you slow your activity – and spend some time meditating, unitasking, or simply being in the moment.

I read a statistic from Dr. Gayatri Devi (via Healthline) where she said, “The brain is the most energy-hungry organ in our body, consuming nearly a third of our energy.”

WHOA! That’s a lot of energy – and if it’s not being replenished, you’re doing it a great disservice.

Those of you who meditate are most likely giving your brain the rest it needs. But if meditation is not your thing – what should you do?

Think about “unitasking.”

And unitask things not related to your business.

· How about pulling weeds?

· Doing some gentle stretching?

· Going outdoors and soaking up some sun – or jumping in a puddle?

· Sitting still and exploring your senses?

· Journaling?

These are all examples of small things you can do daily that will help to calm and quiet your brain – giving it time to replenish its energy so you can tackle those big goals.

Last week we talked about the importance of fun…and this week it’s the importance of rest – and they both have their place! (And maybe you can even make rest fun!? Who knows!)

But this week – say, “Yes!” to resting your brain. Your brain and your business will thank you!