A healthy life includes a healthy amount of down-time to let your body recharge and repair. Sleep is certainly a big part of this, but rest encompasses more than that. It’s a way for us to recover from exercise or training, and to prevent (or come back from) injuries and illness.

In terms of sleep, most healthy adults need seven hours of sleep per night. According to Dr. Olson from the Mayo Clinic, “For adults, getting less than seven hours of sleep on a regular basis has been linked with poor health, including weight gain, having a body mass index of 30 or higher, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and depression.” If you have a sleep tracker on your watch, review it to see if you are getting at least the recommended seven hours. If you don’t have a sleep tracker, make a note of how much sleep you get each night this week and over the weekend. Use the information to see if you might need to make some adjustments.

If you’re active or training for an event, it’s important to take periodic rest days during your training. When you exercise intensely, you create small tears in your muscles (this is the soreness you feel after hard physical effort). When you rest, you allow those tears to heal, which strengthens your muscles. Rest is essential to allow your body to recover from the hard work it’s been doing and repair your muscles from the stress they’ve been under. Good training programs take this into account and have rest days built into the series. Periodic rest also prevents overuse which can lead to injury. Experts recommend taking at least one day off each week, to help your body recuperate.

An active man in his mid-forties asked “if there was “Is there something I can take to have more energy later in the day, to combat fatigue?” The answer isn’t a taking a supplement, or a shot of caffeine, but… TAKE A NAP! Short naps are a great way to recharge your body, and if you keep them under half an hour, they are unlikely to interfere with getting the recommended seven hours of sleep per night.

Obviously, none of us want to be sidelined due to injury or illness, but sometimes these things happen, and when they do, rest and sleep are extremely important for healing. It is very important to follow any instructions from a doctor or your physical therapist as you recover. Forced downtime from injury or illness is temporary, and trying to push or “accelerate” your recovery by doing more than prescribed will only prolong the time it takes for you to get back to 100%. As hard as it may be, don’t exert more energy than absolutely necessary if you are sick or injured, as doing so will only impede your recovery.

As we come into fall it’s important to keep our bodies as resistant to illness and injury as possible, and getting adequate rest is one of the best steps we can take to help ourselves. Aim to get the recommended seven hours of sleep per night. If you’re feeling extra sluggish as the afternoon goes on, try working in a nap or some time on the couch or recliner with your feet up. If you’re not feeling well, increase your rest. Rest is part of your wellness, so rest up and allow those energy stores to build!

If you don’t make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness.