Why Deep Rest Might Be the Most Productive Thing You Do All Week
I confess: I love feeling productive. There’s something so satisfying about moving through a day with focus and seeing progress. Many of my clients admit the same thing. (How many of you have added a task to your list just so you can get the dopamine hit from checking it off? Own up!)
But when does healthy drive tip into chronic overdoing?
In a culture that rewards hustle, it’s easy to slip into that mode without even realizing it. Neuropsychologist Julia DiGangi calls it “the overs”: overworking, overachieving, overthinking, overexplaining, overgiving, overcommitting, overaccommodating. (Sound familiar?)
Each of these behaviors, she says, creates a false sense of safety. They’re coping strategies disguised as competence—ways we try to control uncertainty and earn belonging in systems that reward burnout over balance.
One of the biggest game changers for me? Realizing that deep rest isn’t a luxury—it’s necessary medicine.
Practices like Yoga Nidra, sound healing, or simply carving out unstructured time with nothing on the agenda can reset the nervous system, restore clarity, and reconnect you to your creativity and inner compass. These intentional pauses activate the parasympathetic nervous system—your body’s built-in repair mode and the antidote to chronic stress.
Other powerful ways to support deep rest:
Restorative yin yoga – slow, supported poses that calm the nervous system
Guided meditation – especially body scans or NSDR (Non-Sleep Deep Rest)
Float therapy / sensory deprivation tanks – to quiet external input
Slow, rhythmic breathwork – like box breathing or 4-7-8
Forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku) – simply being present in nature
Digital detox – intentional breaks from screens and stimulation
Creative stillness – daydreaming, window-gazing, doodling or journaling with no agenda
Walking meditation – moving slowly and mindfully through your environment
As Karen Brody says in Daring to Rest, most modern self-care is just another form of “doing”—exercise, busy travel, social plans. Deep rest is different. It invites us to get quiet. That’s where insight lives and where real healing begins.
Deep rest isn’t zoning out. It’s tuning in.
If your intuition has been whispering that it’s time to slow down . . . listen!
Rest isn’t lazy. It’s wise.
