122: The Seven Paths to Sacred Rest - with Dr. Saundra Dalton Smith

"Why am I tired all the time?"

That was the question Dr. Saundra Dalton Smith kept finding herself asking after working 15 years as a doctor while juggling her role as a mother of two toddlers. She was a burned-out working mom needing answers.

In this episode, host Wade Lightheart asks some great questions covering a wide range of subtopics surrounding the topic of rest. Real rest. Dr. Saundra delivers, presenting an in-depth look at rest in seven distinct categories that fit our modern lives. She's done the research, the polling, and the interviews over the years to bring together this vital information.

Dr. Saundra is a Board-Certified internal medicine physician, speaker, and author. She is an international wellness expert featured in numerous media outlets, including Prevention, MSNBC, Women's Day, FOX, Fast Company, Psychology Today, INC, and as a guest on Dr. Oz's show.

She is the author of numerous books, including her new book Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity, including ground-breaking insight on the seven types of rest needed to optimize your productivity, increase your overall happiness, overcome burnout, and live your best life.

In this podcast, we cover:

• The seven types of rest
• How Dr. Saundra found herself burned out, to begin with, including her signs of burnout
• A surprising aspect to burnout that fools people into thinking they're NOT burned out when they ARE
• The tests Dr. Saundra took to rule out chemical/physical causes of her fatigue
• How to quantify your levels of rest (for those who like numbers)
• Best practices for finding the rest you need
• The do's and don't to get truly restful sleep

Breaking Down the Seven Types of Rest

Dr. Saundra recalls when she began breaking down "rest" into a more granular, focused definition: she was working in internal medicine, and after fifteen years, she began to notice how patients would come in with the same complaints, year after year - symptoms like tiredness, brain fog, and mild depression. For years, the good doctor advised her patients to "get more sleep." Or "you need better quality sleep."

After a decade and a half of listening to these complaints, Dr. Saundra began noticing her own struggles with tiredness - even after getting a good night's sleep! At one point, she had the blue light blocking glasses; she knew all the latest techniques to enhance someone's sleep quality - yet she still felt tired.

This was the starting point when Dr. Saundra knew there was more to "rest" than just "better sleep." She was doing a good job getting quality sleep, but she says, "I hadn't taken into account that physical rest has multiple components to it."

Why Dr. Saundra Wrote an Entire Book on "Sacred Rest"

These discoveries on rest took several years to find. Dr. Saundra had to work through things. She conducted her research while her patients provided feedback, as Dr. Saundra began trading notes with patients. The patients would come into her office and tell her what worked for them, and Dr. Saundra would share with them what she was finding, and a couple of months later, they would come back and provide further feedback. Comparing notes enabled Dr. Saundra to adjust and change things, and over time, figuring things out.

Years of back-and-forth patient consultations, including polling and surveys of patients, combined with her research, revealed things that worked and things that didn't work.

The stunning conclusion for Dr. Saundra was that there are multiple ways to rest in seven different areas. And results are also based on the individual. A person's likes, dislikes, and personality affect outcomes. What are your tendencies? How do you restore and recover?

Dr. Saundra can help you find the balanced formula of work and rest (what she calls the "work-rest ratio.") At the core; you are who you are. And once you find your formula for rest, you can get more rest than you thought possible in this hectic world - and enjoy life at your highest ability.

Our host Wade was excited to pick Dr. Saundra's brain on the topic of rest. So many people are struggling with lack of energy, feelings of overwhelm, and poor sleep quality. What can you do if this is you? Tune into this episode, and discover the seven paths to sacred rest! Dr. Saundra has done her homework!

Episode Resources:

Dr. Saundra's website
I Choose My Best Life website
Dr. Saundra's Book: Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity
Take a Free Quiz on the Rest You Need
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