Throughout the ages, human society has always seemed to allocate one day per week as a rest day. For Jews, it’s Saturday; for Moslems, Friday; and for Christians, Sunday. Even those who do not adhere to any specific religion seem to take it as a given that they work six days a week, and one of those days will be a “day off” from work. Is it a mere cultural belief, or is there truly wisdom behind this routine?
What does this have to do with the one-day rest per week? Perhaps we can look at the different aspects of our lives:
1. Physical
It is interesting to note some things about the human body. Science tells us that everyday, millions of cells die and are replaced by new ones. Since that is the case, we would be tempted to think that there is no need for a day’s rest of any sort, as the body is fully capable of rebuilding itself.
But do you know that muscles rebuild themselves during rest period? Take the example of people who undergo strength training. Whether they desire to build up bulk or simply to tone down their bodies, trainers would always tell their clients to do strength training every other day. The minimum rest period is 48 hours between training sessions. Why? This is because when you work out, muscles break down. The process of bulking up and toning down happen during the rest period, as the muscles repair themselves.
2. Mental
The human brain is only capable of so much. Perhaps you have experienced what experts call sensory overload: when you cannot seem to retain any more information after a full day’s work. This is best exemplified in infants, who are only capable of staying awake a few hours each time. When a baby is over-stimulated, he has trouble falling asleep, although he seriously needs that rest. Although adults definitely have greater brain capacities than babies, pushing it to its limits will still give you the same trouble. Have you ever experienced being so exhausted that all you want to do is fall on your pillow and doze the day away, but sleep won’t come? You’ve just experienced what a baby goes through when he’s over stimulated!
3. Emotional
As human beings, our emotional health is one of the most important aspects that affect our lives. An old proverb goes, “Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” A different translation of the same proverb describes the heart as influencing everything we do. Truly, when you are tired, you tend to be cranky and emotional, and you wind up longing for rest, but more so, you wind up longing for the affirmation of being loved. This means that working everyday with no rest makes you very vulnerable and more prone to frustration and disappointment should your emotional needs not be met, resulting in a very sad emotional state. This is also largely why psychiatrists pinpoint physical fatigue as one factor that contributes to the possibility of depression.
4. Social
Whether you are an introvert or not, as a human being, you will normally thrive on social interactions. This may be the reason why many professionals, despite going off work in overtime, would still spend time till the wee morning hours just to catch up with friends. Of course, this does not mean they do not get exhausted. The point is, working throughout the week with no break means that even one’s social life tends to suffer, which also contribute to the person’s emotional health.
5. Spiritual
If you believe that a person has a spiritual side to him, you will likely understand how the spiritual life can be affected by setting aside one day to rest. For those who go to church or participate in spiritual activities one day per week, they report feeling refreshed and re-energized to face the coming week. This is especially true for those who believe that they get to interact with a personal God during worship services on their rest day.
As you can see, the one-day rest day per week has its merits. Even though you might think it sacrifices productivity, once you understand how it affects these different aspects of life, you will likely be more willing to opt for a day off!
No comments:
Post a Comment