GB06. Midlife Energy Tip: Why Rest Is a Power Move, Not a Setback

In this quick Glow Bite, we’re flipping the script on rest. If you've ever felt guilty for slowing down or believed rest was only something you “earned,” this episode is your permission slip to rethink that. Alicia and Nicole break down why rest isn't a weakness—it's a power move, especially in midlife when your energy, hormones, and nervous system are demanding more intentional care. This one’s short, sweet, and restorative in all the best ways.

🎧 Tune in for a mindset shift that’ll have you seeing rest as one of your most productive tools.

00:00 Intro: What this Glow Bite is all about
00:38 The cultural narrative that rest = laziness
01:14 Why rest is crucial in midlife, not optional
02:04 The biology of burnout and how stress stacks up
03:08 The difference between true rest and numbing out
03:54 A reframe: Rest as a resilience tool, not a setback
04:36 How to incorporate real rest into your week
05:10 The takeaway: You don’t need to earn your rest

💫 Glow Reflection Prompt:
What would it look like to honor your body’s need for rest this week without guilt?

✨ Want more support?
Check out our Radiant Rest Yoga Nidra sessions to experience restorative rest that works with your nervous system—not against it. https://stan.store/thedailyglowlife/p/radiant-rest-yoga-nidra-sessions

Transcript

Alicia: 0:00

Hey there. Welcome. We're Alicia

Nicole Maholy: 0:02

and Nicole, and today we're giving you a full permission slip to rest because if you've been feeling guilty about needing more downtime lately, you're not alone. And it's important for you to understand how essential rest is to feeling like your best self in perimenopause. Midlife brings some pretty big shifts into your life, from hormonal to emotional, to your nervous system being all over the place and society tells us to push through to hustle harder to do more, but your body's needs are changing, so we have to recognize that needing more rest isn't weakness, it's actually wisdom, it's truth. It's necessary. It's essential. Mm-hmm. For feeling like your best self in perimenopause. If you remember in some of our last episodes where we talked about what hormone changes happen during perimenopause, you have lower progesterone. So progesterone is that chill hormone, if you will. It helps you feel calm and relaxed, and you have less of that now. So naturally you might have more anxiety, you might feel more fatigued in this stage of your life, cortisol sensitivity is higher. You know, you've probably been burning the candle at both ends for a good part of your life, and at some point it catches up with you. So rest and recovery really becomes even more critical for hormone balance, emotional resilience, physical strength, and it allows our body to have that healing capacity. Rest is how you recharge your nervous system, support more stable hormones, detox your body and your brain build stronger muscles. Rest is when actual growth and recovery happens that allows you to feel better,

Alicia: 1:44

Right, like I think about when I'm sick. Yeah. And when you go to bed, you're still feeling crummy. Mm-hmm. And oftentimes you wake up feeling a lot better. Yeah. So it's kind of crazy how powerful sleep really is.

Nicole Maholy: 1:57

Yeah. That makes a big difference and it, it really does impact just about every body system and it is important for our hormones, and instead of viewing it as a nuisance or annoying, or you know, being weak because you need to give your body a minute to rest and recharge. We need to be viewing it as our opportunity to become more powerful and more productive. Right? Because that's when we develop the capacity to be more powerful in our sleep. When our body is able to rebuild muscle tissue and our brain is able to detox and restore. It allows us to feel more energized and think more clearly. So we need to be thinking about rest as a power move instead of looking at it as a weakness. So today we wanna share a few examples of real rest that matters. Of course, sleep is an obvious one, but sleep is not the only thing that will help your body rest, recuperate and recover. So there are other ways that you can incorporate rest to support your body's healing capacity. 10 minute breath breaks. Is something simple and easy that you can do. You can do it anywhere, and it makes a really big difference in how your nervous system is functioning.

Alicia: 3:11

Going for walks,

Nicole Maholy: 3:13

Saying No, when your plate is full, this is a big one. Society conditions us to think that it's a power move to have a full plate and be super busy, like we're all trying to out busy each other. Mm-hmm. But the actual power move is to have a balanced schedule, to feel good about your life and feel like you're able to handle the things that you have on your plate.

Alicia: 3:32

Mm-hmm. Sitting outside in silence for five minutes listening to calming music for a few minutes.

Nicole Maholy: 3:40

Yoga Nidra is another wonderful example of a way that we can bring rest to the body without actually sleeping. It's also referred to as yogic sleep or non-sleep deep rest. So it really puts the body in a restful state, allowing you to shift into that relaxation response and parasympathetic activity that we're looking for.

Alicia: 4:00

These small pockets of intentional rest are better than burning out and having a full collapse.

Nicole Maholy: 4:06

Definitely. Our hope is that this conversation brings awareness to how you are pushing yourself in your life and showing you ways that you can easily incorporate more rest into your day so that you can feel more energized and healthy. Our glow reflection for today is a journal prompt. Where in my life am I overriding my need for rest? And what would it feel like to honor it instead? Where are you overriding your need for rest, and what would it feel like to honor it instead?

Alicia: 4:35

Thanks for spending a few minutes with us today.

Nicole Maholy: 4:38

If you want to incorporate a deeply restful practice like Yoga nidra into your life, check out our Radiant Rest Yoga Nidra series. It's designed to help you rest, restore, and recharge during this season of change. It's a great way to support your nervous system and help your body shift into the relaxation response.

Alicia: 4:56

And if you know someone who's been pushing herself too hard lately, send her this glow bite. See you next time.