To push or not to push: Making rest part of the equation
At the moment, when I feel sluggish, the best I can do is to put on my running shoes and go for a short run. I always come back feeling more energised. Does it mean we should always push ourselves?
Exercise is beneficial - No doubt about it
I hope you’re already convinced of the benefits of staying active. But in case you need a little reminder, research shows that for those of us living with MS, exercising has protective effects, helps to manage symptoms and keep our brain healthy.1 London-based neurologist Professor G. Giovanni even asked in November 2021 'Why is exercise the most underrated and under-utilised DMT? And why is it not part of the standard MS care package? 2 Good question! Let’s really hope this will happen in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, let’s turn to our bodies’ natural intelligence.
Have you ever noticed that when you don’t feel like getting off the couch to exercise, if you can force yourself to do it, then it really lifts your energy level and your spirits? That’s simply because exercise is a natural serotonin and dopamine booster. So, when you’re feeling sluggish or down, take out your yoga mat and get some energy back ;-)
The National Institute on Aging goes even further noting that:
studies show that “taking it easy” is risky. Often, inactivity is more to blame than age when older people lose the ability to do things on their own.
Yes I agree….
But sometimes rest if the best option
Whether living with a chronic health condition or not, we all have to be careful when we are tired to avoid injuries. Simply because we might not be able to do movements correctly! In fact, over a third of the injuries that occurred in fitness facilities are due to overexertion (36.2% of all cases)3. Fitness instructor Cathe Friedrich even argues that exercising while sleep-deprived in particular 'can be so bad for your body that it can actually derail your immune system defences, hurt your body's ability to repair your muscles, and interfere with your cognitive function '4.
“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.” —Ovid
Please don’t get me wrong. I am not encouraging you to do nothing, far from it! Personally, I like to follow these three steps:
1. Being honest with myself (and it’s not always easy). Sometimes a little voice is telling me ‘Oh come on, you’re poor little thing, you’re tired. Have a rest. Skip the training. Stay in Bed.’ But I remind myself not to always believe my every thoughts5!
2. If I’m really tired - that is obviously the case for MS fatigue!-, then rest is the best option.
3. Deciding which type of rest I need. Resting doesn’t necessarily mean lying down on the couch, watching Netflix, or going through endless social media posts. Rest can be constructive.
Resting better vs resting more
We probably all need to rest more, but even more important than that, we need to rest better, to experience true rest. What does that mean?
“Rest is not merely the outward act of slowing down or flopping on the couch. True Rest comes from a chemistry that is activated from the inside out, through changes in thought, posture and breath.”6
When we rest deeply, cortisol and norepinephrine levels decrease. Serotonin is released. Our body goes into parasympathetic state. It improves our cognition and allows physiological healing to occur.
Recently, I’ve started to explore various forms of constructive rest. It is so simple, yet so powerful! For those who have never tried it, I recorded a video that you can watch (link below). It helps to release tension and calm the nervous system, and if done regularly it can also improves posture. All you need is a quiet place to lie down and some time for yourself. Let me know if it works for you. I’ve also recorded a Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR)7 sequence. I hope they help you to switch off our brain and achieve a state of calm, in other word to deeply rest. If rest isn’t part of your routine yet, I highly recommend you give it a try simply because at the end of the day …
…we should swing back and forth between activity and rest, taking the latter as seriously as the former.8
Time for me to put in practice what I’ve just written.
Have a wonderful deep constructive rest.
See you on the mat
Both videos are available for free on YouTube or on TTW video collection.
The HOLISM study identified the following benefits of regular exercise:
• Reduced risk of depression by 50%
• 39% increase in energy level
• Decreased rate of relapses and disability
• Improved quality of life– at all levels of disability
• Large benefits if you increase to moderate exercise
Tweet 23.11.2021
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5005555/
https://cathe.com/should-you-exercise-when-youre-tired-or-sleep-deprived/
Björn Natthiko Lindeblad, the author of I may be wrong, spent 17 years as a forrest monk. When asked what he had learned, he replied ‘I no longer believe my every thought. That’s my super power!’
Ros Broome, Rest: A Science and An Art
Neuroscientist and researcher Dr Andrew Huberman, coined the phrase NSDR: Non Sleep Deep Rest. He uses the term as an umbrella for various practises including Yoga Nidra, self-hypnosis...
Claudia Hammond, The Art of Rest