Lean Out Podcast: Rest with Saundra Dalton-Smith

What kind of tired are you?

This is the question Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith asked herself while lying on the bathroom floor, exhausted, many years ago. She was in the throes of burnout, working herself ragged as an internal medicine physician with young children.

So she started researching. Because more sleep wasn’t helping.

And what she came up with was a framework for rest that would resonate with so many people, she started an entire education company around it.

Saundra is my guest on the most recent Lean Out Podcast, where she talked about her journey to identifying the Seven Types of Rest: Physical, Social, Creative, Sensory, Spiritual, Emotional, and Mental. Her work has now been featured internationally on numerous media outlets including Prevention, MSNBC, Women’s Day, FOX, Fast Company, Psychology Today, INC, CNN Health, and TED.com.

Saundra wrote the bestseller Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity, which gives insight on the seven types of rest needed to optimize your productivity, increase your overall happiness, overcome burnout, and live your best life. Her newest book is Being Fully Known: The Joyful Satisfaction of Beholding, Becoming, and Belonging.  We also touch on the concepts in her newest work, exploring how her faith informs her work and message.

Just about everyone, but especially high-octane professionals, needs to learn more about rest. Even if you don’t listen to the podcast, go take Saundra’s Rest Quiz to find out what type of rest you’re most deficient in. I’ll bet the results will be eye-opening!

What type of rest do you need most? Share it by leaving a comment below!