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Why do we need to rest?

Resting can:

  • help the body repair
  • give us more energy
  • make it easier for us to learn and pay attention to ourselves and others

We don't always have to sleep to rest. We can rest in different ways at any time.

Resting our minds

It's one thing to rest our bodies - we can just lay down or sit on a comfy chair. But sometimes it can feel tricky to rest our minds. Maybe you have lots of different thoughts buzzing about.

You might wonder how you can rest with everything that's going on in your mind.

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Video 鈥 Advice on resting

Wellbeing professional, Lorna Walker, talks us through an exercise which can help us rest and relax.

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Activity 鈥 Muscle relaxation exercise

Try Lorna's practical wellbeing activity to help you rest.

A great way to rest the busy mind is to pay attention to the sensations in the body.

We can do this by learning to relax different muscles in the body.

If you have any physical injuries or conditions that may cause muscle pain, don鈥檛 tense the muscle in that area.

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 4, Lorna is scrunching up her eyes, Scrunch up your eyes Begin by scrunching your eyes up as you breathe in. Hold this for a moment. Then let them soften and smoothe as you breathe out.

Step 1

Scrunch your eyes up as you breathe in. Hold this for a moment. Let them soften and smoothe as you breathe out.

Step 2

Hunch your shoulders. Bring your shoulders right up to your ears as you breathe in. Keep them hunched and then, as you breathe out, let your shoulders drop gently down.

Step 3

Make your hands into tight fists. Hold it, squeezing tightly, and then let your fingers loosen slowly and open as you breathe out.

Step 4

Curl up your toes really tight. Hold for a moment. As you breathe out, slowly uncurl them and let them relax and completely soften.

Step 5

Sit with your eyes closed for a few moments. Enjoy doing nothing at all, not having to think about anything or fix any problems, not having to work hard on anything, just resting as you are for a few moments.

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More to learn 鈥 Rest

Learn more about how we can find more rest and relaxation during our very busy lives.

Moodboosters: Recharge collection

Videos and resources designed to help pupils to recharge

Moodboosters: Recharge

Try these short meditations to help you feel calm and relaxed.

Own It Meditations

Calming Sounds from CBeebies Radio. audio

Settle down, relax or fall asleep to these relaxing, calming sounds.

Calming Sounds from CBeebies Radio
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More on Mental and emotional wellbeing

Find out more by working through a topic