The Importance of Rest Days

The importance of rest days can not be understated. After going out last night, giving myself the gift of recovery the next day is crucial. Sitting in uncomfortable seats, walking more than usual- these are things that probably wouldn't wipe out a fully-abled person, but can and do wipe you out when you have a chronic illness like Fibromyalgia. The need for rest after doing even the most basic of chores or after a low-key night out is common, and therefore the need for rest and recovery frequent, and important to maintaining your health.

I try to schedule outings with rest time in mind, and like to make sure there is time for me to rest if I need to after whatever I'm doing. It took some time to let go of the guilt that can come along with that, but at this point it is what it is. Sometimes I need more time to recover than others- so there's no way to know how long you'll need which is frustrating, but I've learned to listen to my body because I know that pushing myself too hard for too long will leave me feeling worse and bring me down harder and leave me down there longer than if I had just listened to my body in the first place, so after all these years I think I've finally learned my lesson- let yourself rest if you need to. 

Of course there are times when you can't get the rest you need, but some is better than none for things like this, in my experience, but if you don't take the time to rest you're just holding off a crash and you'll need a proper rest eventually, or your body will just shut down and you won't have a choice, so just let yourself rest when you're able to.

Scheduling time to rest ensures that recovery happens on your terms as much as possible, keeping you on your schedule as much possible so you can do what you need to do, and feeling as good as possible along the way.

If you struggle with taking time to rest, please try to release some of that guilt and do what you need to do to keep your body working and you feeling as well as you can. I took the day to recover today and it was the best choice I could have made, so if you need to rest, I encourage you to let yourself.

Gentle hugs, 

​Heather, Fabulous Fibro-Fighter and FSC Founder