Tips for a Restless Mind
(Old Post- 2022)
Restlessness is a plague that can be cured. If it is ailing you, it only takes a couple steps to feel refreshed and inspired. At the very least, you should feel like you got some energy out. These tips are for those times you can’t seem to sleep or rest. Even if you are tired, it is best to use the energy of restlessness with productivity than toss and turn on the bed.
Do some chores
There is always a task to get done around the house. There is always laundry to do or fold, food to meal prep or cook, organizing and cleaning. A nook or cranny that has to be wiped. Plumbing that needs to get fixed. That lightbulb you never replaced. There is always something to do! When you feel tired and restless, go do it. There is nothing better than mindless tasks for a tired mind.
2. Get creative
Go paint, buy a coloring book for adults and some markers, crochet, write, or make a really nice meal for tomorrow. Get creative. Use the juice you have flowing through your body. Restlessness comes from an overactive mind. Nothing puts the mind at ease like doing things with your hands. There are plenty of studies that show arts and crafts release dopamine in your brain, which is one of the happy chemicals. Release that pent up energy.
3. Exercise
I had to put in here, sorry. If you are feeling tired but your brain is not. Go overexert yourself some. This is the only time I will advice to push your body to certain limits. Running is always nice because it is impossible to not sweat. Yoga is my preferred method of exercise. If you have never done it, Youtube has some really nice beginner sequences. Go outside or to the gym and sweat until your brain cannot think anymore. Remember, sweating releases serotonin and yummy endorphins, the other happy chemicals.
4. Meditation
The goal is to get your brain to stop thinking. Restlessness is your brain playing tricks on you. Not your body. Meditation is my medicine for everything, which is why I am putting it here. If you dominate your mind, the rest will ensue. It feels amazing to find the switch in which you can shut off the little voice in your head. It becomes a lot calmer. If you find yourself restless and finally want to try meditation, download Headspace, it is a great beginner app for meditating.
DO NOT: go on your phone.
If you are restless, avoid screens at all costs. They do not help your brain. If it is nighttime, they will hinder your sleep and even the quality of your rest. Keep your phone away and go do something productive. Your brain and body will thank you.
If you did all of the tips from above and you are still restless, you feel like there is something you can’t shake that you must do. That can seem like a bad thing, but really it is the start of something amazing. The way to action and purpose when one has been inactive for long usually starts with an itch that won’t go away. Restlessness can give way to actively going after meaning and purpose.
I stress the importance of meaning and purpose because it is researched to be a metric for people that are happier and find life to be fulfilling. It isn’t too important if you already feel that way. But, since we are talking about restlessness, the feeling is not too nice. We must breathe through our feelings, but we also must learn to understand them so we can use them to our advantage in life.
In this case, the answer is amazing.
GO DO SOMETHING NEW
This tip is very close to ‘get creative’ in the list above. It differs in that this one includes commitment. You must stick to something for a series of days. Do a challenge of 30 days of yoga on YouTube, paint every day for a month. If you can afford it, go on a retreat of some kind. Silent retreats are known to be crazy insightful. Pick something to do, maybe it is a different job because the one that you have now is no longer fulfilling you.
Feeling a deep unsettling restlessness just means something has got to change. It means there is something out there calling you to find it, but you won’t unless you bring in some new air currents to your life. Doing something new just invites opportunities to your door. New people to be around, new hobbies, new music, new sights. It will take away the restlessness. You have to be bold and go change your life. It doesn’t matter what you pick to do, as long as you change something of your routine, big or small.