Rest can feel like a loaded word. Perhaps you don’t get enough sleep, can’t sleep, or feel like there’s no time to slow down. Maybe when your period comes and hits you like a Mac Truck, and there’s barely enough time to take a Pamprin and slap on a pain patch, let alone take a nap or soak in an Epsom salt bath. So how do you rest during your period? Let’s explore a few ways this could look for you and figure out what’s actually doable for your life. Because, let’s be honest, what feels relaxing and rejuvenating to one person can irritate another. The last thing you need is a list telling ‘how you rest best,’ so we’ve got you covered to create your own map to feeling recharged and renewed when you bleed.
To explore this topic, I invite you to grab a journal and nestle into a quiet space for 10 minutes.
Quote:
You are worth the quiet moment.
You are worth the deeper breath.
You are worth the time it takes to slow down, be still, and rest.
Journal:
What comes up for you around the quote above? What resonates, what feels hard?
The six types of rest
Recharging
At its basic level, recharging is letting your body restore or tap into ‘battery charging mode.’ Perhaps it’s sleeping, a nap, a yoga nidra, or a meditation to allow your body to recharge and heal. Your body needs downtime, and if you can’t get 6-8 hours a night, it will slowly wear on you, impacting your reaction times, moods, and more.
Examples: Sleeping, yoga nidra, meditation.
Refresh
Firstly, being able to rest during your period may mean you need more moments to stop and refresh your energy throughout the day. If you feel dazed, but like you don’t have time to chill out, it’s essential to pause and see what the impact will be on your day later if you DON’T stop and refresh. A refresh can take 2 minutes or an hour. If a pause doesn’t happen, you can become markedly more irritable, discontent, and overwhelmed later in the day. It is very possible not slowing down may also cause you to react in a way you regret with other people. As people who menstruate, it’s easy to fall into people-pleasing tendencies.
Examples: Mid-day shower, changing clothes, stopping to breathe, eating food, forest bathing, dance break.
Grounding
What helps bring you back to the center of you? What settles you and allows you to think clearly and breathe? When you feel overwhelmed, what are the first things you reach for to stay in your body and slow down?
Examples: Walking, meditation, laying in the grass, talking to a friend, eating food, drinking water.
Recovery
After running a marathon, a nap might sound good; however, a refueling snack and a banana may be more needed. Stretching, walking, taking a break outside your regular schedule, and creating grace space in your day can allow you breathing room to recover from your event or week.
Examples: Walking, canceling plans, naps, salt baths,
What fills the tank out of preparation, not desperation?
Sometimes it’s easy to look at rest as something you do after a project instead of a way of tending your body and soul beforehand. Preparedness and rest can help before a big night out, a vacation you are taking, or even to get ready for a test. For example, you need a day to go slow, or you shower the night before a hectic morning and lay out your clothes to feel ready and not rushed the next day.
Examples: Eating nourishing food, social media breaks, planning out the week ahead, morning routine, stretching.
What brings you joy?
What makes you feel alive? Is there anything that makes your heart beat faster than in anticipation of goodness and delight? These things can recharge you quickly and help you reach a flow state.
Examples: dancing, painting, dinner with friends, vacations, theme parks, etc.
Creative Activity:
Make a table with five sections across the top: 0-5 minutes, 5-20 minutes, 20 minutes-1 hour, 1-3 hours, and half day+. In each section, look above and see what ideas you have that fit these different types of rest and put them in the time slots they could fit. A nap could be in multiple sections, as could a meditation or dance break. Make it fancy, or put it somewhere you can see it often. If it is easily accessible, you can use your writing as a reference for when you feel exhaustion start creeping in. All of this leads to more choices in how you find rest during your period.
Is your period catching you by surprise lately? If you don’t already track your cycle, it can creep on you fast and leave you feeling drained. Download our App on Google Play here, or on the Apple Store here! Do you desire another way to track and plan? Download our pdf planner of The Agenda. here!