By: Camila Almeida
“I'm tired!” How often do you feel this way, even if you don't say it? As a Service Member, you probably have a physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding job. However, taking the time to get enough rest can have a positive impact on your health, wellness, and performance.
I'm not a Service Member, but the busyness of modern life gets me physically, mentally, and emotionally tired too. I've learned to recognize when I reach my limit for stress load—that point when pushing harder no longer improves my performance. At that point, I know I need rest.Fatigue can impact Total Force Fitness (TFF). But you can learn strategies to recharge in ways that can improve your Human Performance Optimization.
Being rested is good for performance
Stress can be good for you. When you face challenging situations, the stress response kicks in to give you the energy to take action. Both physical and mental performance improve in response to stress. However, if your stress-response system remains active at a high capacity for a long time, it will deplete your physical, mental, and emotional resources. Imagine you’re driving your car at 50 mph. The road takes you uphill, and if you want to keep the 50 mph speed, you need to step on the gas. In this example, going uphill is like facing stress in life, a circumstance that requires more energy to keep you going. A car going uphill uses more gas to maintain the same speed as when driving on a flat road. Under stress, your body adapts to give you the extra energy you need to take action or solve a problem. So to continue the journey, you have to refuel your car and yourself more often.
Getting adequate rest isn't about eliminating stress from your life. It's about recognizing the need to refuel more often to keep up with a period of high demand. And being rested improves many aspects of your TFF. It’s easy to identify the impact of rest and recovery on physical strength and endurance: Soreness goes away and muscles get ready to perform again. But adequate rest also improves aspects of mental fitness like creativity, learning, memory, and the ability to take in and process new information. Being rested also helps you maintain healthy relationships, because feeling stressed and depleted makes it harder to manage your emotions. Finally, refueling can improve your spiritual fitness—that is, your ability to transcend, connect with someone or something beyond yourself, and feel a deep sense of oneness and belonging.
Rest can improve your performance, and how you get it varies.
Different types of rest for different refueling needs
The type of rest you need depends on the type of fuel being depleted. For example, going through basic training can leave you feeling physically tired. But making life-and-death decisions under pressure can drain your mental energy. When you’re physically tired, reading and listening to music in a comfortable reclining chair might be an excellent way to rest. But walking in nature or sitting still in awe of a beautiful landscape might be a better option if you’re mentally tired.
Physical fatigue
Intense physical activity, such as while training for your fitness test, can cause physical exhaustion. But sitting for long periods, especially with bad posture, can also leave you feeling physically tired. Both scenarios can contribute to pain, increased risk of injury, and reduced wellness.
How to get physical rest.
Physical rest can be active or passive. Passive rest includes sleeping or taking a nap. Active rest includes relaxing activities such as stretching, yoga, getting a massage, or soaking in a hot tub. If you tend to sit for long hours, active rest can even include standing up, resetting your posture, or going for a quick walk.
Mental fatigue
The constant engagement of mental processes such as decision-making, logical thinking, problem-solving, and dealing with massive amounts of data and information can make you tired mentally. And it can worsen with multitasking, internal and external distractions, constant flow of information, and never disconnecting from devices. When it's time to sleep, your mind races, and you can't disconnect. Eventually, you get in a state of brain fog and feel like your brain can't take any more information.
How to get mental rest.
Mindfulness and other types of meditation can help you replenish your mental resources. By definition, mindfulness is the practice of focusing on the present and disconnecting from the constant flow of information. This can help your brain rest. You can also get mental rest by spending time in nature—just sitting or going for a walk outside. In addition, some habits can help you prevent mental fatigue: regular breaks, monotasking, eliminating distractions, and writing down your thoughts instead of hanging onto them.
Emotional fatigue
It's normal to feel overwhelmed when you experience life events that trigger and sustain emotions like fear, guilt, shame, and dread. A single experience with those emotions can feel exhausting. But wrestling with them over time is even more depleting. For example, being a care provider can contribute to emotional depletion. Many Service Members are parents or work as healthcare providers—or both! They might also provide care for their friends, family members, and community. Constantly giving to others, and feeling that you never receive or have time for yourself, can also lead to emotional tiredness.
How to get emotional rest.
You can start by recognizing your feelings and talking to a mental health professional or trusted friend about them. It's also good to surround yourself with positive people who offer support, not only those who need your care. People can be draining, but they can also help replenish your emotional tank. Another option is to spend time alone and invest in self-care.
Take a moment and reflect: How would you rate your current fatigue level? After reading this blog, can you identify the possible causes of your exhaustion? Remember, pushing hard on an empty tank won't take you further. Consider the best strategies to refuel your physical, mental, and emotional resources, and make a plan to go get them!
Disclosure: The opinions and assertions expressed herein are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of USU or DoD. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the author and do not reflect the views, opinions, or policies of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. Mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. The author has no financial interests or relationships to disclose.
