“Never be afraid to sit awhile and think.”
~ Lorraine Hansberry

American Playwright, A Raisin in the Sun

“Making time for rest is an investment in your future,

in your brain, in your creativity, in your stamina,

and in your success.

~ Hank Phillippi Ryan

in The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Novelists by Andrew McAleer

Happy Monday!

Today, I’m continuing my “Just B.R.E.A.T.H.E” series…

A quick review: We are creating a strong physical foundation for our participation in the all-uphill marathon of writing. (Isn’t that what being an author sometimes feels like?) Our chosen event is full of obstacles (less then stellar contest results, editor and agent rejections, characters who simply refuse to talk to us, hours sitting in front of the computer) and fierce competition.

Would you jump into a marathon without any training? Heck no! You’d do everything possible to prepare, to be the best you could be and to triumph over obstacles and the competition. So, slap on those sweats, tennis shoes and headband…here we go!

Today it’s all about the “R”: Rest and Relaxation…

For our purposes, the term rest refers to times when we are taking it easy or “not doing” and times when we are actually sleeping. And they’re both important for successful completion of our writing marathon!

SLEEP

We’ve all done it – pulled an extra late night or early morning to get some writing done amidst mountains of laundry, deadlines at our “day job”, carpooling, kids’ events, grocery shopping, housecleaning, cooking dinner, cracking the whip during homework time…

But before you nix your time in the Land of Nod, think about this: sleep provides physical and mental support for your writing. Shakespeare called sleep “nature’s soft nurse” in reference to its restorative functions. While you’re snoozing your body is busy recovering from the day by fixing microscopic injuries to muscles, skin and bones as well as boosting your immune system so that you can fight off illness (keeping you at the computer where you belong instead of sick in bed). Mentally, sleep facilitates much needed time away, allowing your ideas to “marinate”. According to Mark Jung-Beeman, a psychologist at Northwestern University, “Sleep makes a unique contribution” to our ability to incubate and form ideas. “When you think you’re not thinking about something, you probably are,” he says. (To read more click here.)

Snagging a short nap during the day can also be good for your writing. Dr. Sara Mednick, author of Take A Nap! Change Your Life, says that the right nap at the right time “increases alertness, boosts creativity, reduces stress, improves perception, stamina, motor skills, and accuracy…”

An interesting tidbit: Google installed futuristic loooking recliners with noise and light blocking hoods called EnergyPods so their employees can nap then return to work refreshed and more productive.

So, the next time you want to skip out on some zzz’s, think about how sleep might be contributing to your written masterpiece!

REST & RELAXATION

In his book Healthy Aging, Dr. Andrew Weil says, “The essence of rest is not doing – that is, being passive on both the physical and mental levels.” Rest makes us better writers in much the same way as sleeping. It refreshes our bodies and recharges our minds.

Rest is simple but it’s, by no means, easy. We are so programmed to use every spare moment, multi-tasking and mentally checking off our never-ending to-do’s as we race through the day.

Try to find fifteen or twenty minutes today for rest, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine, swinging in a hammock, soaking in a bubblebath…whatever facilitates being passive, doing nothing for you.

Or use that twenty minutes for relaxation. When we consciously relax, we are purposely acting on our nervous system, engaging the “rest and digest” branch (also called the parasympathetic nervous system). When this part of our nervous system is in charge, our heart rate and breathing slow and our blood pressure drops as do the amount of stress inducing hormones and neurotransmitters in our brain and blood stream. The tension in our muscles melts away and our blood flow improves. Like when we are sleeping, our body and mind restores itself. After a relaxation recess, our concentration increases and we have more energy.

Deep breathing is one effective relaxation technique. You can read more here.

You can also try progressive relaxation: start at your feet (or your head, whichever you prefer), tense then relax that part of your body. I like to visualize each part of my body detaching and floating away after I tense it. But you can also imagine it heavy and leaden too. Now move on to the next part of your body and the next and the next, until you’re one limp noodle. Stay there for a few minutes and yes, you guessed it, breathe.

Another relaxation technique is visualization. Mentally transport yourself to a warm and sunny beach or a hidden, verdant oasis – any destination that conjures up sighs of blissful repose will get the job done. You can enhance the experience by playing a nature sounds CD.

Yoga, Tai Chi, listening to relaxing music, and, my personal favorite, getting a massage are other effective techniques for relaxation.

I hope you can find a few minutes today to strengthen your writing’s physical foundation by resting or relaxing! Hey, you might surprise yourself and get more done than usual.

What’s your favorite way to rest and/or relax? Does it improve your writing? Life in general?