Psychological Rest

Did you feel fresh in your workout today or did it feel like a struggle? There are many factors that dictate how your workout will go including your physical preparation, environmental elements, level of fatigue, etc., but your psychological state is also of critical importance. Adequate and appropriate rest scheduled into your training is key to maintaining health, feeling good and making long-term gains. However, simply taking a day off physical training won’t guarantee recovery if that time is replaced with other demanding loads, psychological ones included.

A review recently published in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology described a paucity of research in the psychological aspects of rest in particular. The authors found not just high sleep quality, but also ‘wakeful rest’, i.e., time spent engaged in little cognitive and physical activity while awake promoted better recovery (Eccles, Balk, Gretton & Harris, 2022). 

So, in your meticulous planning, don’t forget to schedule in some fun off the playing field.