There are no substitutes for deep, restful sleep, but there are short-term ways to keep going without burning out.
What is ‘Quiet Wakefulness’? It is when you are intentionally trying to rest by lying or in a relaxed position with your eyes closed and your mind clear without disruption. It may sound somewhat like meditation and in fact, they are not unrelated.
Quiet wakefulness and sleeping are not the same. You cannot substitute sleep with quiet wakefulness; however, there are benefits to quiet wakefulness worth discovering.
By allowing your body to rest and your mind to be free of focusing on a task, you are in a state of quiet wakefulness. It’s like rest and relaxation magnified.
Quiet wakefulness can help improve your mood and better manage stress, as well as increase productivity. Somewhat like the benefits of taking a power nap, quiet wakefulness results in increased alertness, motivation and clarity of thought.
Quiet Wakefulness is Different from Sleep
Quiet wakefulness give you the benefits of a short daytime nap. You feel better physically, but it cannot regenerate you like sleep can. Sleep provides the all-out repair and regeneration your brain and body needs on a regular basis. Sleep gives you a cognitive boost that you can’t get with quiet wakefulness. During sleep your brain is processing memories and recharging, increasing your capacity to remember and learn new information while awake.
Cell repair occurs during sleep, as well as the release of important hormones that regulate appetite and stimulate growth.
The bottom line is this. Sleep is essential and cannot be replaced with anything else. Quiet wakefulness is good when you need an in-between, but not good at night when you are actually trying to get some real sleep.
Both deep, restorative sleep and short periods of rest have a place in a normal and healthy lifestyle. If you find yourself running out of steam—be it from too much work, too many errands back to back, cramming for last minute exams in one day, or simply the monotony of your daily task—it’s better to take a short break than to push yourself to a breaking point.
Quiet wakefulness or meditation are good ways to relax and then bounce back and finish what you’re doing. But if your lifestyle permits, a daytime nap (even 15 or 20 minutes) is probably an even better idea.
Your naps or moments of quiet wakefulness can be even further enhanced by using an Island Slumber 3D Blackout Sleep Mask to completely block out the light. Without it, the light will prevent you from having your nap or moment of quiet wakefulness. When it is light, your brain thinks it is daytime and time to wake up, so our sleep mask is a great help in letting you capture that momentary rest you need.
And, as you know, if you’re an Island Slumber customer (which we hope you are), every purchase you make will result in one new tree getting planted by American Forests. We believe in ‘living green’ and encourage everyone to help care for our planet Earth.
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