Are you on vacation?  If not, picture yourself there.  If it helps, picture some vacation advertisements – a family walking on the beach hand in hand.  A hammock and cold drink.  A mountain, or a city, or whatever means rest to you!

It feels good, doesn’t it?  It’s proven: in a study published in Journal of Occupational Medicine.  Three days after vacation participants reported fewer physical complaints, a more positive mood, and better sleep.

But vacation can’t solve everything.  The study found the big picture of life unchanged from vacation.  There was no change to general life-satisfaction.  Five weeks after the end of vacation only the extent of physical complaints was still significantly smaller as compared to the pre-vacation level.   Everything else was back to normal.      http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/3/167.full.pdf

So how do we really rest, if hopping on a plane, renting a cottage or vegetating at home just aren’t enough?

It means clearing our heads and hearts, but not by zoning out, bur rather by focusing them on something else….God!

We asked some people: what helps you clear your head on vacation?

Question: What helps you clear your head on vacation?  How long does it take to distance yourself from work?

Ryan Sim - August 17, 2015

Monday - A New Idea - We Need Rest

Years ago, I started my own business in web hosting, when that was a newish industry. I was studying in university at the same time, and had always been able to do both, until a server crashed during midterms. I didn't let either midterms or my clients drop, I simply gave up sleep. It finally caught up with me, and I had to get out of my room and went for a late night walk. I eventually stumbled into a church, exhausted and scared that my business might not recover. I remember the minister listening, then suggesting, "get some rest…then consider, maybe God is trying to tell you something." I returned ready to solve my problems. I moved all the customers I could to one server. I ordered new server, then there was nothing I could do but wait. I could only rest. I felt completely different when I woke up. I could study, I could write papers, I could think, I could fix the problems that caused the crash. Rest is important! An estimated 3.3 million Canadians age 15 or older have problems getting enough sleep, which may be affecting their health and quality of life. A magazine of internal medicine summarized their research. The bottom line is: “sleep serves as an indicator of health and quality of life" Lack of rest leads to more tension, depression, fatigue and marital strain, at least for women, according to one study of 1,500 women in rural Wisconsin. And one medical publication found Middle-aged men who were at high risk of heart disease 50% less likely to die of a heart attack over nine years if they took frequent vacations. We need rest, and we’re not just going to look at physiological reasons, but theological. That our need for rest comes from God himself. Question: When was your longest stretch of sustained work with no day off? How did it impact you?

Related Topics: Rest, Rhythm, Sleep, Work | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio

From Series: "Work and Rest"

Just in time for summer's blend of work and rest, Redeem the Commute is starting a new series of daily challenges to help busy people restore life to the commuting lifestyle. This seven week series will look at the meaning and purpose of work, rest, and ancient practices that have helped followers of Jesus to keep the two in perspective and balance for centuries.

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