Add an hour to your day by resting before you’re tired

We treat rest like a reward, but the body treats it like maintenance. Your heart rests between beats, your muscles recover between reps, and your brain clears waste products during sleep. The surprising twist is that you don’t have to wait for exhaustion to get the benefit. In fact, you’ll gain more by resting before you’re tired.

Think about the slump that hits around 2:30 p.m. Most people push through with sugar and screens. Try moving a ten‑minute break to 2:10 instead. Close your eyes, breathe slower than usual, and drop your shoulders. If you can, lie down. No scrolling. When the timer ends, your mind will feel brighter, and your eyes won’t sting as much at 4 p.m.

At home, a short nap before dinner can change the entire evening. Set a 15‑minute alarm, lie down, and let your mind drift. Even if you don’t fall fully asleep, you’ll soften your nervous system enough to show up with patience later. It’s not laziness; it’s strategy.

This works because short, regular rests lower accumulated tension and prevent the adrenaline spikes that follow long strain. In physiology terms, you’re toggling out of sympathetic (fight‑or‑flight) and into parasympathetic (rest‑and‑digest), which improves focus and mood afterward. Treat these micro‑rests like meetings with your best self. The people around you will feel the difference too.

Block two ten‑minute rests before your typical slumps, then actually rest—eyes closed, slow breaths, maybe lying down—to let your system reset. Relax your jaw and shoulders, soften your eyes, and if you can, add a short pre‑dinner nap with an alarm. Skip scrolling so the break restores you rather than adds more input. You’ll get back more focus and a steadier mood than if you had pushed through. Put the first break on your calendar now.