3533: 7 Restful Practices to Help You Stress Less by Courtney Carver of Be More With Less on Healthy Habits

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[00:01:00] This is Optimal Health Daily. Seven restful practices to help you stress less. By Courtney Carver of bemorewithless.com. And I'm Dr. Neal Malik. Hey there, happy Saturday. Thank you so much for being here and welcome back to Optimal Health Daily, where I act as your narrator of the best health and fitness blogs, all for free. Alright, with that, let's get right to today's post and start optimizing your life.

[00:01:29] Seven restful practices to help you stress less. By Courtney Carver of bemorewithless.com. These restful practices will help you slow down and take care of yourself. Take a break from the busy life that may be stressing you out and rest instead. If you think you don't have time to rest, it's likely even more important that you take time to rest.

[00:01:52] Busyness is like an addiction for many of us. I was a busy addict. The more I did, the more I felt like I had to do to keep up and to prove my worth to myself and others. The problem was that measuring myself by how much I got done meant I had to do more and more and more. Until my body said, no more. After weeks of extreme fatigue and vertigo and finally a multiple sclerosis diagnosis, I had to slow down.

[00:02:21] At first, because I felt so bad. And eventually, because I wanted to do whatever I could to live well with MS. With a combination of slowing down, radically reducing stress by simplifying my life, and working with a brilliant medical team and treatment, I do live well with MS. It's been 20 years since my diagnosis. My blood work is good. I have energy to consistently play tennis and go to the gym.

[00:02:46] And my routine MRI scans continue to show no new lesions or disease progression. This is why I prioritize restful practices. I want to feel well and be well. 7 Restful Practices to Help You Stress Less Whether you struggle with a chronic condition or simply want to feel well and be well, these restful practices will serve you too.

[00:03:11] Rest looks different for everyone, but if we don't define it and intentionally practice it, we are often too busy to do it. 1. Create the habit of being unavailable This restful practice is a great reminder that you do have agency over your life. You get to decide what you are available for or not, and when you are available. Create the habit of being unavailable for a little while each day by creating me time on your calendar.

[00:03:40] Turn your phone off or move it to a different room. By creating some protected time for yourself, you can better engage with your people when it's time. We need both time for ourselves and time to be connected with others. 2. Get in bed even earlier In a recent edition of Weekend Favorites, I mentioned that my sleep was off. This is highly unusual for me, and I didn't like it at all. Someone suggested I get in bed at 8pm.

[00:04:07] That's even earlier than my usual early bedtime, but I thought I'd give it a try. It's been a couple of weeks, and the pattern interrupt seems to have helped. I have to be more mindful of wrapping up the day earlier, but it's worth it. I recommend getting in bed at least an hour before you'd like to fall asleep. Skip the scrolling and choose a good book instead. And if you're tired and fall asleep right away, even better. 3. Make dinner slowly

[00:04:34] This might sound like an unusual restful practice, but turn your next meal into a restful, relaxing activity. Instead of rushing to get dinner on the table, slow everything down. Make something that requires chopping, simmering, and slow cooking. This might not happen every night, but what about a weekend afternoon? Turn on some enjoyable music and take your time creating a beautiful meal. 4. Watch a movie in the middle of the day

[00:05:02] I know, I know. The daytime is for getting things done. The goal of restful practices, though, is not getting things done. It's stressing less, feeling well, and being well. And spoiler alert, you can't get things done effectively when you aren't well. I recommend becoming unavailable, like I mentioned in tip number one, and watching one of your favorite feel-good movies at home, or going to a matinee at a local theater, preferably one with recliners.

[00:05:29] Movie theaters are pretty quiet on a weekday, and with your phone off, you'll be tucked away in a cozy, dark room with nothing to do but rest and enjoy the show. 5. Help your body relax According to MindBodyWise therapist Rachel Shankin, Tension in your body sends a false alarm signal to your sympathetic nervous system, alerting it to perceive danger, which actually isn't danger at all.

[00:05:54] When this alarm bell sounds, your flight, fight, freeze, fawn response gets turned on. You have the power to begin to stop this false alarm cycle. End quote. Create a restful practice of relaxing your body. Stretch, lay down, and try the feet up the wall pose, or roll out your muscles with a tennis ball or massage ball. Easing your physical stress will help your mental stress melt away too. 6. Write down your heart

[00:06:25] Journaling is a surprisingly restful practice. It's why I usually do it more than once a day. Holding all of our thoughts can get heavy and feel stressful. We spin them around and try to outthink them, only to end up exactly where we were to begin with. Instead, write them all down. The restful part is keeping it easy. Don't judge your writing or correct your typos. Consider shredding your journals after you write down your heart. I've discovered that I'm much more free in what I share on the page when I know it's just for me.

[00:06:55] 7. Try a little Saturday Little Saturday is a restful practice available to everyone. I wrote a whole chapter about it in my book, Gentle. Rest more, stress less, and live the life you actually want. I also named my substack newsletter, Little Saturday Simplicity, because I adore the simple ritual. In the Nordic tradition, Wednesdays are called Lillardag, which means Little Saturday. They're regarded as opportunities for many weekend-like activities.

[00:07:25] While celebrating Lillardag isn't an exact science, it helps to break up the work week and is a reminder that we don't have to wait for the weekend or a vacation to enjoy ourselves. For instance, order in a nutritious dinner on Wednesday nights instead of cooking, or try another activity that you usually save for the weekend. Notice how you feel experimenting with these restful practices. If guilt pops up because you don't think you're doing enough, reframe. Consider that what you're feeling isn't guilt,

[00:07:54] but discomfort. You're doing something different. A little discomfort is okay. Be gentle with yourself as you find the restful practices that work best for you. You just listened to the post titled 7 Restful Practices to Help You Stress Less by Courtney Carver of BeMoreWithLess.com And I'll be right back with my commentary. Now, it's just me and a small team behind this show, so I get how much the right hire matters.

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[00:09:55] I loved all of Courtney's suggestions, and I hope she doesn't mind if I add one more to this list. Getting in a nap. Now, napping doesn't make up for getting poor sleep the night before. But for healthy adults, a short nap lasting anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes in the early afternoon, like between noon and 3 p.m., can be helpful. Specifically, a quick nap can improve feelings of alertness, help us think more clearly, and help improve memory.

[00:10:24] We don't need to take a nap every day. Instead, if your body is telling you that you need to close your eyes for a bit, and it's safe and appropriate to do so, then take a quick nap. As the sometimes wise Kramer from the show Seinfeld once said, I don't argue with the body, Jerry. That's an argument you can't win. So if your body is telling you you need a little shut eye, set a timer for 30 minutes, take a quick nap, if it's safe and appropriate to do so,

[00:10:52] and then notice how great your body feels. All right, that'll do it for today. I hope you're having a great weekend if you're listening in real time. And of course, I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.