“Come,
Rest on my shoulder,
Forget your strife.
We’ve done navigating the map of life.
Close your eyes
This is where our dreams
Obliterate our weary sighs.”
– Kalpesh Desai, Jasmines in Her Hair
As a child, I remember always skipping out on naptime. The energy of a five-year-old me seemed limitless, and childhood whimsy called out to play outside in the afternoons instead of sleeping. However, now that I’m older, having afternoon naps sounds a lot more fun than going out on adventures.
Among the many ways our body processes nutrition, sleep is one of the most important. At the end of long days, when our energy has all but burned out, sleep calls us to heal our bodies and refill the energy we’ve lost.
Taking care of our bodies may begin with ensuring we eat food with balanced sources of nutrients, but taking care to preserve our health ultimately involves letting our minds rest and allowing our bodies to heal.
A full day of working hard deserves to be followed by activities that give our minds and bodies rest. Having a quiet, filling dinner with loved ones is a good way to replenish not just your social battery but also the energy you lost throughout the day. Calming your senses down with an hour of “me-time” can also help soothe your mind and help it forget about whatever may have stressed you beforehand. Give yourself a long, calming bath, put on a face mask, and watch your comfort show. Better yet, immerse yourself in art that resonates with you. Put on some music or read a book. A quiet and relaxing hour is the best way to recuperate from the hustle and bustle of daily life. And at the end of it all, a good eight hours of sleep will help you get ready to take on the day ahead.
Desai’s poem is the perfect representation of rest. It speaks of comfort, like the quiet you take in once you’ve safely arrived home after a long commute, the warm sensation of water on your skin that soothes aching muscles, and the instant comfort we feel when our head hits the pillow. This poem reminds us that long after we have seized the day, we must always reserve time to let ourselves heal. Time may keep going forward, but even for just an hour, we must let ourselves pause in the here and now.
This Nutrition Month, let us acknowledge that nourishing the body does not only include eating right but also resting right. So when the sun comes down, close your eyes and allow yourselves to breathe.
By Keanah Angeli R. Andres