The Seven Types of Rest: Which One Do You Need? - The August Refresh, Archive Episode

This is the transcript of The Refreshing Leadership Podcast episode: The Seven Types of Rest: Which One Do You Need? published on 3rd August 2026.

Welcome to the Refreshing Leadership Podcast, and specifically welcome to our August Refresh series. This month I am re-sharing some of our most impactful episodes centred around the theme of rest, rejuvenation, and being a little bit more dreamy.

If you're a longtime listener, there's a chance you might be hearing one of these episodes for the second time. This is actually good news - when I listen to a podcast episode the second time, that's when I actually integrate it into my life. The first time I'm listening at a cognitive, intellectual level, getting familiar with the concept, which is of course super helpful.

If you're listening for the first time, my hope is that all of the episodes this month will help you embrace a refreshing summer, whatever that means for you. I personally am taking a much-needed creative pause, and I encourage you to join me in your own version of that. I look forward to connecting with you in the second week of September, and until then, I hope these episodes help you to really embrace your own refreshing August.

Have you ever found yourself listless when you're supposed to be relaxing and resting? Rest is often used as a catch-all term, but in reality, there are different types of rest. If we can understand these, it can help us switch off more effectively when we most need it.

Physical rest

At the foundational level is physical rest. It comprises our basic survival needs, and much has been written about the importance of sleep. Sometimes it can feel like a punch in the teeth when we hear how important sleep is, especially when we're dealing with young kids who can curtail it. I did a fairly extensive early podcast episode with Aarti where we talked about how to deal with sleep when it's not entirely in our control.

There is going to be a certain amount of things within our control when it comes to sleep, and every now and then I think we all need a bit of a check-in on our sleep hygiene. I certainly know that I'll have periods when I'm in a really great roll, getting good sleep and waking up feeling refreshed. And I have other times when I allow life to compound - going to sleep later than I should, probably eating later than I should - and I wake up feeling sluggish. It becomes a whole spiral.

We also know that for physical strength, the body needs rest to grow new muscles, and there are lots of studies exploring this from an athletic perspective. If you don't get physical rest right, the other pieces of rest are not really going to fall into place either.

Relaxation

The next type is relaxation, and I've placed this near the bottom too because it's happening on a daily basis whether we like it or not.

The way I'm defining relaxation here is: any time we take a break from work or allow ourselves not to be in focused delivery mode. This might involve chatting with colleagues, getting up from your desk if you have a desk job. This is going to happen one way or another - either we do it intentionally, or at some point our mind is going to say, "I'm tired of focusing on this task now," and drift off whether we like it or not. You'll find yourself losing productivity and drifting into less productive activities, like the all-consuming mindless scroll.

I've highlighted in the past the need to shut off from the digital world from time to time - whether that's a quick stroll outside without your phone, or having a no-phones-in-the-bedroom rule. That sounds easy enough, but I only manage it a couple of times a week, or I'll have periods where I'm doing it really well and others where I'm not. I do notice the benefits when I do it, but I acknowledge that some of these rules sound a lot easier than they are to put into practice.

If we can have powerful daily breaks that give us true moments of relaxation, we can then dive back into work with renewed focus and energy.

I encourage you to think about your current relaxation on a scale of zero to ten. Are you intentional about those daily moments to recharge your brain, or do they just sort of happen?

A really simple thing to do is rather than trying to plan out your whole day, just look ahead to the next immediate chunk of time - maybe a two to three-hour window, or even less - and say: "I'm going to do the next task for about 45 minutes, and then I'm going to allow myself a 10 to 15-minute break. I'll get up, go for a quick stroll, get a cup of tea or coffee, chat to somebody, do some stretching" - whatever makes it feel like a pleasant and rewarding moment away from your desk.

Over time you'll start to notice your own concentration patterns. Cal Newport talks a lot about how long we're actually able to be in focus and do deep work. The more intentional we can be about relaxation breaks, the more they can become a really important part of our day and help us get the things we want done in good timeframes, so work doesn't just bleed into the whole day.

So we've got these two things - physical rest and relaxation - happening on a daily basis. They're going to happen one way or another. The question is: how mindful are we about them, and how intentional can we be about improving their quality?

Reflection

The next three types of rest might not happen daily, but I hope they can be built in as rituals into the day or week. The first is reflection.

Sometimes when we hit the pillow or arrive at our holiday, our mind is still mulling over, ruminating, and processing whatever remains unprocessed from the day or from back home. This can produce spirals of thinking or just leave us restless.

If we can focus on high-quality reflection, it can help us avoid energy-zapping rumination. When processing becomes a more deliberate activity - by writing things down or talking them through with somebody - it stops us getting locked into thought spirals, and makes us much more aware of our thought processes rather than just a recipient of them.

One of my favourites is morning pages. When I wake up in the morning, I have thoughts circulating in my mind, and I find it much easier to just download them from my brain onto the page, where they get some objectivity. The other way of doing it is a few reflective lines in your journal before bed, which I often do as well. The main thing is having a journal by the bedside.

My current routine is not the 5am or 6am club - but I do get up, make a coffee, get back into bed, and get some really nice journaling done. Sometimes I do it in a notebook, sometimes on my laptop. Just depends which zone I'm in.

Replenishment

We all have fundamental needs. There are psychological needs such as autonomy - a sense of control over our lives - connection to others, and a sense of competence in what we do. These are fundamental psychological needs that tend to recur across different theories.

Others depend on individual preferences. Depending on where we are on an introversion and extroversion scale, we're going to have different needs for social activity and different needs for time alone. It's really important to recognise these in ourselves, but also in our loved ones and those around us, because everyone is going to have different needs.

It's also important to identify what energises you and then check in on when you last actually met those needs. For me, one of them is being creative. I really feel my cup is filled when I'm engaging in creative activities - it could be as simple as coming up with an innovative or left-field solution to a problem. I know I really light up when I get to do that. I enjoy doing it with my kids, and I enjoy doing it in my role as a coach.

What I've learned is that it doesn't need to be a big art project. It can be an innovative conversation where we come up with a cool new solution, and that will light me up. I'm also hugely energised by having great conversations with friends.

I encourage you to think about what those things are for you. Sometimes we've been so focused on getting through life that we almost don't know what they are anymore. This is a small reminder to stop and ask yourself: what are the things that really energise me and can replenish me when I'm feeling depleted?

Rejuvenation

Another of these types of rest - which doesn't necessarily happen on a daily basis unless we create conditions for it - is rejuvenation.

This can be a great way to start a switch-off period. The way I'm defining it is by engaging in flow activities or hobbies - anything that creates a period of real detachment from our normal world and thoughts.

Sport can be a great way of doing this. From talking to clients, I know I'm not the only one who gets that switch-off on the ski slopes. You're completely engaged, your mind has to be totally focused and basically in a state of flow. Once you return back to your own head, you have perspective and detachment, because you've been able to create that real shift from your normal thinking and your normal world.

I've noticed that my daughter has developed a lovely crochet habit, and I think that gives her a really lovely switch-off that isn't screen-based. It's nice to see her cultivating an activity that requires absorption, concentration, and provides a change from whatever else is going on.

Do you have any obvious rejuvenation practices or habits? Skiing is the one that springs to mind for me, but that only happens once a year if I'm lucky, so I need other things that do that. I don't put my daily walks into that category because I don't necessarily switch off so completely. I sometimes find running a workshop or certain coaching sessions a complete switch-off because I'm so absorbed - but that's work.

I know that sketching was definitely that for me. When I engaged in drawing, I literally noticed changes in my skin - I could see my skin look different because I'd been in a period of real focus. What are the physical changes for you that tell you you're completely switching off, completely absorbed in something you really love doing?

Refresh

On the subject of detachment, a change of scene can often offer new perspectives, and this alone can give us rest, energy, and inspiration. We might get this on a daily walk in nature. It's certainly one reason people love going on holiday - they get complete detachment and a different perspective.

When we were on a mountain last year and sat down for a coffee break, my husband said: "How is this for a perspective change?" You just feel like your normal world is both small and far away. It's a really lovely zoom out.

Unlike rejuvenation, which is about flow activities that really energise us, this is about being in a different environment - seeing different things, almost an assault on the senses that changes the way we look at our normal lives.

What I notice is that this type of rest - simply going somewhere different - is sometimes what people rely on alone to feel rested. But then it can stop working, because we need to add rejuvenating hobbies in, and reflection, to really reap the benefits of that change of scene. If you just transport yourself somewhere and you haven't bothered to do any reflection, and you're not going to engage in any activities that give you that real sense of flow, you might find yourself not getting the full benefits.

Reset

The final type of rest is definitely not something that would automatically feature in our day or even our week - but sometimes it's actually what we need.

If we're really struggling to relax and switch off and there's a lot of clutter around us - whether that's mental clutter, where we've got too many different things we can't make sense of, or physical clutter - then we may need a proper reset. A reset of our physical environment, or a mental reset.

Morning pages really help with mental clutter, for me personally. But sometimes you may just need to do a physical declutter of your space. On the mental side, therapy, spiritual practices, meditation, and mindfulness can all help too.

This one stands a bit separate from the others, because it's something you could do on a big scale, reap the benefits for a period of time afterwards, and then return to as needed. But it probably requires some planning and clearing of time to do it properly.

Finding your missing R

Have you found your missing R? As I've gone through all of these, have you thought: I probably do that one, but actually I don't do any rejuvenation - or I'm not doing enough replenishment, which is why I'm not feeling great? It might not be that you're working too hard. It might be that you're not doing any of the things that make you feel alive.

Let me know if you've found your missing R, or if there are areas you could definitely dial up. I'm really curious to hear how this works for you.

Over the course of the coming week, you might just notice the different types of rest you're experiencing, and perhaps be a little more mindful of them and enjoy them a little bit more.

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About Maya

Maya Gudka is an executive coach specialising in C-suite career progression and leadership development. She works with senior leaders in major organisations on strategic career planning, executive presence, and building sustainable influence. Maya hosts The Refreshing Leadership Podcast, which ranks in the top 2% of podcasts globally and has nearly 300 episodes exploring the challenges faced by ambitious professionals.