Rest is Resilience: Why Recovery is Essential for Mental and Physical Strength

Resilience is a skill that helps you navigate life’s ups and downs. One of the strategies that helps build resilience and manage stress is learning to rest to recover from stress. Instead of pushing through, it’s important that we learn how to rest so we can rebalance and recharge.

Understanding the Stress Response

Our bodies are constantly responding to stress. Our fight-or-flight response—also known as the stress response—activates whenever we perceive a threat, danger, or overwhelming demand.

When we sense fear, our brain automatically reacts to protect us. Our brain reacts immediately and releases hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline, which trigger physical changes throughout our body that help us prepare for the threat. While it’s designed to help you survive, repeated activation can keep you in a prolonged state of stress, making it harder to recover and maintain resilience.

The Impact of Chronic Stress

In times of high demand, adversity, or uncertainty, the stress response is triggered more easily. Many people are living in today’s world with elevated stress levels:

• In resilience and stress response trainings, most people rate their daily stress at 7 or 8 out of 10.

• This suggests over 80%—often 85-90%—report their stress level at 5 or above.

• that many are living in a near-constant state of stress activation.

Why This Matters

Your body isn’t built to sustain chronic stress. The stress response is meant to be temporary—a reaction to immediate threats before returning to balance. But in today’s world, stress often lingers, leading to burnout, exhaustion, and decreased resilience.

Without intentional rest, recovery, and stress regulation, resilience becomes harder to maintain.

Why Rest Matters: The Nervous System’s Role

Your sympathetic nervous system—which drives the fight-or-flight response—prepares your body for action when you perceive a threat:

• Heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing increase

• Muscles tense up

• Digestion and immune function slow down

• Higher-level thinking is hijacked by the reactive emotional brain

This response is critical in real emergencies—if a lion were in front of you, your body would react automatically. But modern stressors, like financial worries, work pressure, relationship troubles, or uncertainty, trigger the same response, even when there’s no physical danger.

The Problem: Chronic Stress Without Recovery

Your stress response was never meant to stay on indefinitely. Ideally, your body cycles through stress, deals with it, and then returns to a relaxed state (the parasympathetic nervous system, also called “rest and digest” mode).

This shift allows your body to:

• Recover and replenish energy

• Restore immune function

• Regulate emotions and process experiences

However, in high-stress times, many people never fully return to rest mode. Instead of a natural rhythm of stress and recovery, they remain in a constant state of heightened alertness—like an alarm bell ringing nonstop with no real downtime.

This is why recuperation isn’t optional—it’s essential for resilience.

A New Understanding of Resilience

Traditional views of resilience focus on grit, strength, and pushing through adversity. But research now shows that true resilience isn’t about pushing past your limits—it’s about building the capacity to handle challenges effectively.

Resilience is the process of building inner strength, external support, but also about knowing when we need to recover, recharge and prepare for what comes next.

Rest: The Most Overlooked Resilience Tool

Rest is a productive activity. Especially in times of stress or uncertainty, rest isn’t just helpful—it’s essential. Building resilience means learning how to pace your energy rather than burning out. Imagine you’re caught in a storm, with no idea how long it will last. What would you do?

• Would you use up all your energy at once, trying to push through?

• Or would you pace yourself, pausing to recover, assess your needs, and gather resources before taking the next step?

Most people instinctively know that in unpredictable situations, pacing is key. Yet in daily life, we often ignore this principle—running on empty instead of intentionally resting and restoring energy.

How Well Are You Resting?

Think about how you prioritize rest. On a scale from, how much do you allow yourself to rest and recover in different areas of life:

• 1 = I rarely make time for rest

• 5 = I regularly prioritize recovery

Reflect on how you’re supporting yourself in these areas:

• Physical rest – Sleep, relaxation, movement, and restoration for the body.

• Mental & emotional rest – Taking space from stressors and processing emotions.

• Social rest – Connecting with others in ways that recharge you.

• Intellectual rest – Taking breaks from constant problem-solving and decision-making.

Small, Consistent Habits Make a Difference

Recovery and rest doesn’t require drastic changes—small, consistent actions matter most. The goal isn’t to overhaul your life but to recognize what you’re already doing well and make small adjustments that can have a big impact.

The Seven Types of Rest

Rest isn’t just about sleep. To fully restore energy, you need different types of rest that support different aspects of your well-being. The seven types of rest are:

1. Physical Rest – Sleep, deep breathing, stretching, and movement.

2. Mental Rest – Breaks from problem-solving, decision-making, and constant focus.

3. Emotional Rest – Stepping back from emotional demands and processing feelings.

4. Social Rest – Connecting with others in a way that recharges you (or, for introverts, spending time alone).

5. Creative Rest – Recharging inspiration by stepping away from work and engaging in unstructured, enjoyable activities.

6. Spiritual Rest – Engaging in practices that bring meaning, purpose, or inner peace.

7. Sensory Rest – Reducing sensory input from screens, noise, bright lights, or overstimulation.

What Type of Rest Do You Need Most?

Your rest needs will change over time—checking in regularly can help you prioritize the recuperation you need most. Take a moment to reflect: Which type of rest do you need more of right now?

• Physically drained? Prioritize sleep, stretching, or mindful movement.

• Mentally exhausted? Take a break from decision-making and problem-solving.

• Emotionally overwhelmed? Process your emotions or set boundaries.

• Overstimulated? Reduce screen time, seek quiet spaces, or close your eyes for a moment of stillness.

Practical Ways to Incorporate Rest

Now that we’ve explored different types of rest, let’s look at how to build recovery into daily life. The goal isn’t a complete lifestyle overhaul—it’s about finding small, realistic ways to prioritize recovery.

Sleep is one of the most fundamental yet often overlooked components of resilience. It plays a vital role in recuperation, cognitive function, and emotional regulation. Experts recommend that adults get 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. Ask yourself how much sleep you are getting, especially during stressful times.

Psychological & Emotional Rest

Resilience isn’t just about physical recovery—your mind and emotions also need intentional rest and reset. One of the first steps in building psychological resilience is becoming aware of your thoughts and mental patterns.

The Importance of Taking Breaks

One of the simplest yet most effective ways to support resilience is by taking regular breaks throughout the day.

Do You Take Breaks?

Be honest with yourself:

• Yes, regularly – You intentionally step away to reset.

• Sometimes – You take breaks, but not consistently.

• No, not really – You push through, even when you need rest.

• Breaks? What are those?

If you fall into the last two categories, you’re not alone. Many people skip breaks—especially when they feel overwhelmed. Ironically, this is when breaks are needed most.

Why Breaks Matter

Breaks aren’t a luxury—they’re essential for resilience. Short moments of rest activate the parasympathetic nervous system, allowing your body and mind to:

• Reduce stress and tension

• Improve focus and clarity

• Replenish energy levels

Even a one-minute micro-break can help reset your nervous system. Simply closing your eyes, stretching, or taking a few deep breaths can make a difference.

Incorporating rest and recovery helps build resilience, helping to prevent burnout and leads improving overall well-being. By adopting various forms of rest we can reduce chronic stress, recharge and maintain our inner strength.