Take some time to let your brain go into “wakeful rest.”

Hustle culture. Rise and grind. “Everyone has the same 24 hours, you know.”

We’re inundated with messages that tell us to push ourselves to the limit – at work, with our families, in our exercise routines, in every aspect of our lives. We’re told that taking time to rest is lazy or wasteful and we should be like the Energizer Bunny: going and going and going.

But the reality is, rest is vital for our mental and physical wellbeing – right down to the cellular level, according to a recent study. There are a lot of ways to slow down that can be deeply restorative, like reading, doing a crossword, or spending time with a friend. But this week, I want to encourage you to take some real downtime if you can. That means letting your mind truly unplug (without guilt) and activate what scientists call the “default mode network.”

This mode can actually be seen on MRI scans and it’s when your brain is in a sort of wakeful rest. In it, you’re focused less on processing information from the outside world and more on meandering your internal world. You’ve probably experienced it while daydreaming, going on a walk, or imagining the past or future.

So this week, take some time to let your brain go into that wakeful rest. There’s a lot going on in our country today and it will take all of us, in one way or another, to look out for one another and protect the most vulnerable. Prioritize rest when you can so you can show up in the ways that matter to you.

I’m taking my own advice and keeping this message short so I can spend some time resting. Maybe I’ll go on a walk and let my mind wander, too.

With love,
Caylin

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