IT’S OK TO ASK FOR HELP
When you are exhausted, everything starts to feel urgent. Even the most minor tasks feel heavy, and decisions that should be simple suddenly take more from you than they should. These are signs that your nervous system is overwhelmed.
Burnout can quietly distort your perspective, which is why high-quality rest matters far more than another push, another plan or another late night.
This is your reminder that asking for help isn't a weakness. It is a form of clarity that you are carrying too much, and you give yourself permission to share the weight. Proper rest will recalibrate your thinking, bring your perspective back into focus, and remind you that not everything deserves immediate attention.
Let yourself lean on others when you need to. Your future self will thank you for it.
6 Steps to Understanding What High-Quality Rest actually Looks Like
Most people think rest means stopping, collapsing on the sofa or scrolling until your brain switches off. That kind of rest will numb you, but this passive distraction does not allow the nervous system to down-regulate, which means it definitely won't help recharge you.
A 2021 study published in Computers in Human Behaviour found that passive scrolling increases mental fatigue and disrupts emotional regulation (van der Schuur et al., 2021). So you are increasing your cognitive load rather than reducing it, leaving you more drained!
High-quality rest is active, intentional and centred around emotional regulation. It's the kind of rest that brings your clarity back, strengthens your boundaries and helps you return to your life and workplace with a steadier mind.
1. Nervous System Downshifting
This is the rest your body needs when it's stuck in a stress response like fight-or-flight.
It looks like:
Deeper breathing
Quiet environments
Slower mornings
Gentle routines
Reducing caffeine
Fewer demands
Reducing sensory load
Time away from overstimulation
Give yourself space to settle! These things will help your body calm down, stabilise your heartbeat and allow your brain to think clearly again, restoring cognitive function.
2. Think Mental Rest, Not Mental Avoidance!
Stopping overstimulation allows the brain’s “default mode network” to process thoughts, emotions and experiences, which is essential for clarity and creativity. So think about rest that will unclutter your mind, rather than giving it more noise.
It looks like:
spacious time with no agenda
time without screens
walking without headphones
journalling
time to daydream and think - when was the last time you had a good think?
doing one thing at a time
Mental rest helps you hear what your body and mind are trying to tell you, free from distractions and the splitting of your attention into 10 different directions.
3. Emotional Rest
Psychological research shows that suppressing emotions increases stress, while emotional authenticity improves well-being. This is the space where you don't have to perform, mask, accommodate or absorb anyone else's expectations.
It looks like:
being honest about how you feel
not forcing a mood like cheerfulness
acknowledging feelings honestly
saying "I don't have capacity for this right now"
being witnessed without needing to be fixed
This is the rest people from marginalised groups are often denied at work, but you'll find it reduces internal stress and improves emotional stability.
4. Social Rest
Humans rely on co-regulation, but excessive social demands, especially emotional labour, can increase fatigue and affect mental health. It looks like:
time with people who don't drain you
boundaries around high-demand relationships
Reducing December social pressure
choosing depth of relationships over quantity
5. Rest Through Support
This is where asking for help becomes a form of rest.
It looks like:
delegating
sharing the load
naming your limits
not pretending you're fine
letting someone else hold space for you
High-quality rest is not something you do alone.
6. Creative or Sensory Rest
Sensory grounding and creative expression activate reward pathways, reduce stress hormones, and help you reconnect with yourself.
It looks like:
warm showers
light movement
music
art
reading
cooking slowly
tactile grounding (noticing things like your warm mug, soft textures, things you see and hear in nature)
This restores emotional presence and nervous system balance.
Why This Matters in the Workplace
When people experience high-quality rest, they return to work with:
better decision-making
stronger boundaries
clearer communication
more emotional stability
less resentment
more capacity for inclusion and connection
This is how rest becomes a DEI tool and is intrinsically linked to workplace wellness and culture change. It's how we can reduce workplace burnout without resorting to empty wellness gestures - and something Other Box can help you with!
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As we head into 2026, workplaces are being called to do more than ever. Not just chase productivity or growth, but to build systems that honour human dignity, emotional well-being and inclusion. So we must stop treating rest as optional. When teams are allowed to recover, when leaders respect boundaries, when people have the space to recharge, organisations become healthier, more creative, resilient and equitable.
That’s how you create culture change. Other Box partners with organisations to design work environments rooted in emotional well-being, psychological safety, and values-aligned practices. If you want to step into the future of work with care and integrity, without leaving people behind, let's talk.
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We're doing December differently at OTHER BOX. Our anti-productivity advent calendar is our stand against productivity pressure, unwanted resolutions, and the relentless grind that drains your energy every winter. Over 12 days, we're sharing reminders grounded in emotional intelligence, discernment, self-regulation, and self-care to help you move through the festive season with clarity and ease and step into January without pressure or performance
