10 Rituals for Restoration to Recharge This Summer

It doesn’t matter if you’ve had a busy month with work and social activities or you feel burnt out from dealing with chronic pain, fatigue and sensory overload everyday – we all crave real rest from time to time. So why not schedule some actual rituals for restoration instead of thinking that lying on a beach bed or mindlessly scrolling your phone will do the trick?

What many people overlook when they want to relax is identifying which kind of rest you need. You see, we use the word “I’m tired” to describe a wide range of sensations, from sleepiness at night and mental fatigue after a demanding day to emotional lethargy and the overall malaise you experience when you’re chronically ill. So which type(s) of tiredness are you struggling with?

That knowledge will help you to create simple physical, mental or emotional rituals for restoration that will leave you feeling more relaxed and recharged, even if you can’t cure your chronic fatigue.

Let’s take a closer look at what your body and brain need to feel rested and rejuvenated, and what you can do to make that happen. 

How Rituals for Restoration Can Recharge You

There are countless of reasons why you might be feeling tired and worn out, from being sleep deprived and having low iron levels to feeling stressed and emotionally overwhelmed. Many chronic illnesses are accompanied by an all-encompassing fatigue and sadly, there’s not one ritual for restoration that will fully take away that level of exhaustion.

But you can still give your body the rest it needs, replenish essential nutrients, let go off negative thought patterns and learn to deal better with uncontrollable stress to feel a little better. One overarching strategy to relax and recharge is to balance your nervous system.

Your autonomic nervous system connects your brain to a network of nerves running through your entire body that controls unconscious bodily processes like your heartbeat, breathing and digestion. To function well, you need a healthy balance between the two major parts of your autonomic nervous system: the sympathetic nervous system that activates your body in times when you need to be able act fast, and the parasympathetic nervous system that focuses mainly on ‘rest and digest’.

When you have a never-ending to-do list, when you worry about your health or when you’re overwhelmed with difficult emotions, your brain activates your sympathetic nervous system to deal with these perceived threats. You unconsciously get into fight-or-flight mode. That works great for preventing immediate danger like accidents, but it turns into harmful chronic stress when there’s no clear ending to what’s hurting you, like the constant demands of modern-day life.

So if you don’t want to feel wired but tired any longer, calm your nervous system with activities that trigger the natural relaxation response of the parasympathetic nervous system. It can be anything that releases tension from your muscles, slows down your breathing and heart rate, and quiets your racing mind.

To get you started, here’s a list of 10 rituals for physical, mental and emotional restoration.

This article contains some affiliate links to products you may find useful, at no extra costs to you. All opinions are my own.

Physical Restoration

Are you overworked, stressed or sleep deprived? Have you done too many activities that were taxing on your body? Then you might want to slow down and rest up over the summer, with these helpful strategies.

1. Slow down

There’s nothing more inviting than warm summer days to slow down your pace of living. Less hurry and less busyness means less stress, adrenaline and cortisol, while being in the moment (aka mindfulness) is known to lower your blood pressure, improve your sleep and reduce pain.

Now you might already be used to life in the slow lane when you’re living with chronic fatigue, reduced mobility and symptoms that require resting. How can you make slow living feel like a deliberate, almost luxurious choice instead of something a negative consequence of your illness? 

• Tap into the Italian spirit of ‘dolce far niente’ – the sweetness of doing nothing. Choose quality over quantity in your life and leave enough space to fully savor the simple pleasures in life, from watching the sunset to sipping your cappuccino.
• Practice slow movement, like tai chi, yoga or a walking meditation. Focus your attention on how each body part moves and feels.
• Do breath work to calm your nervous system. You could try the 4-7-8 breathing technique to deeply relax your body and mind, or give alternate nostril breathing a go to feel more balanced.
• Ground yourself by placing your feet on the grass, sand or forest floor. Walking barefoot (safely) will not only help you to slow down your pace, but also improves your posture, balance and foot strength.
• Sit down to eat your meals and savor the taste, texture and aromas of your food, instead of eating on the go or mindlessly snacking in front of the TV.

2. Romanticize rest

I don’t know about you, but when my illness used to force me to rest before and after everyday activities, it did not feel like a vacation, lounging by the pool, but a boring necessity keeping me from doing the things I wanted to do.

And yet, we all know how important it is to get enough physical rest and sleep, even if you are healthy or high-functioning. So let’s see if we can romanticize rest this summer!

• Have a siesta. No, we’re not calling it a nap, but a soothing 30-minute break to close our eyes, snooze a little or just daydream. Even if it’s not hot where you live, build in some quiet time after lunch to recharge.
• Take your resting outside if possible. Chill in a hammock, relax on a daybed in the shade or lay down in the grass on a cute beach towel.
• Make your required rest time a little special. You could set a relaxing mood with a lavender pillow mist, some easy pampering and a Sleepy Girl Mocktail on your night stand. Try to see resting as ‘me time’ to listen to fun audio books, soothing music or interesting podcasts. If you can sit up in bed, do something you look forward to like puzzles, easy crafting or re-reading your childhood favorite books.
• Consider getting cool fabrics like satin sheets, bamboo bedding or silk pajamas to sleep well on hot nights. You could also use a soft eye mask when the light’s bright outside.

3. Relax with wellness rituals 

What better way to release tension from your body than pampering yourself?

All throughout history, water immersion has been used to support your overall wellbeing. So have a lavender foot soak to relax or unwind by adding some summer garden bath tea to your tub.

You could also moisturize and refresh your skin with a DIY face masks or homemade face mist. When applying sun screen lotion, give yourself a gentle massage to support your lymph flow. Another way to boost your circulation and stretch your limbs is practicing some gentle yoga or using a foam roller to ease sore muscles.

Wellness rituals don’t just support your wellbeing, they also help you to slow down, de-stress and become aware of how you really feel physically and emotionally.

4. Eat the rainbow to replenish

We often look at sleeping problems and stress when we’re feeling tired, but a lack of energy is also commonly caused by deficiencies in iron, vitamin B12, vitamin D and magnesium.

Thankfully, there’s no better time than the summer months to replenish yourself with vibrant, nutrient-rich foods. With an abundance of colorful produce, it’s easy to get a wide range of nutrients in – in the tastiest ways. To eat the rainbow, simply add berries or stone fruits to your cereal bowl at breakfast, enjoy a (side) salad for lunch, snack on watermelon and level up your barbecue with the best grilled vegetables.

And let’s not forget about all the health-boosting herbs available this season! Of course you can sprinkle parsley, basil, dill or thyme over your regular meals, but you could also turn them into a pesto, make a herb salad, add mint to your homemade iced tea and even enjoy some herb-infused ice cream.

Also make sure you stay hydrated, especially in warm weather, because every cell in your body needs fluids to function well. For example, this Chamomile Iced Latte will quench your thirst, give you summer vibes and leave you feeling cool and calm.

Mental Restoration

Do you feel like you’re “on” 24/7? In our modern world, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the notifications, noise and our never-ending to-do lists. Even when you’re seemingly chilling on the couch, you’re still replying to messages, scheduling therapy appointments, refilling prescriptions online and ordering groceries while trying to plan and pace your week.

If you’re dealing with mental overstimulation and/or sensory overload, give these rituals for restoration a try to recharge mentally.

5. Go analogue 

Limiting your access to screens can be a welcome break for your brain from all the information coming at you all day long. Taking a digital detox could ease mental fatigue, restore your attention span and breaking unhelpful habits like gaming, social media or online shopping.

No matter if you want to go an evening, (half) a day, a weekend or a full holiday without (much) screen time, make a (fun!) plan to avoid mindlessly picking up your phone or tablet:

• Think ahead what you might need: an old-fashioned alarm clock or watch, your wallet, a printed map or route, your favorite online recipes or offline songs. Set some rules for yourself too, like having no-tech zones, cut-off times before bed or which apps you can still use to keep life running smoothly.
• Want to limit your screen usage? Delete ‘addictive’-to-you apps from your phone to stop turning to them on autopilot. You can also mute notifications, set app time limits or change your settings to a grey screen to make your screen less interesting.
• Focus on analogue activities you enjoy! Pick up old hobbies with these illness-proof tips. You could make imperfect art, move your body gently, bake cookies or slowly rebuild your focus by getting back into reading. Spend quality time with the people in your life if possible. And don’t forget to add a little excitement to your days with mini adventures and fun summer activities at home!

By going analogue, the automatic reflex to grab your phone and mindlessly scroll will weaken, while your ability to focus on analogue activities like reading, doing sudoku and playing board games grows.

Obviously, when you need your apps, phone or laptop to manage your health, get things done with chronic illness or combat summertime loneliness, you should definitely use you devices. Not every tips works for everybody and that’s ok!

6. Get your nature therapy

Going outside is a proven ritual for restoration. No matter if you go for a short walk around the block to clear your head or you sit in the garden for some quiet time, being outdoors helps you to feel better physically, mentally and emotionally.

What’s more, science shows that spending time in green surroundings lowers your stress levels, relieves mental fatigue and improves your mood and cognitive functioning. More so, safe natural spaces help restore your brain capacities after mental depletion.

Pretty good reasons to add more outdoor time to your days, right? Here are some ideas to get your nature therapy in too:

• Embrace open-air living this summer. Take your breakfast outside if you have an outdoor area, sip iced coffee by the open window or cook dinner on the grill. Do crossword puzzles in a hammock, meet up with friends in the park or just really take in the view – whatever is possible in your situation. Check out these tips to make outdoor time accessible for chronic illness.
• Get your vitamin Sea if you can! Studies suggest that regularly visiting blue spaces like the ocean or lakes is linked to better mental health, reduced stress levels and mental restoration after cognitive demanding tasks. That’s because the rhythmic sound and motion of the waves seems to activate our parasympathetic nervous system, while the color blue also has a calming effect us.
• Connect with nature. Maybe it’s a remainder from our hunter-gatherer ancestors, but there’s something so soothing about letting your mind wander while you keep your hands busy with gentle activities. So if you’re on a walk or in the garden, try picking (wild)flowers, collecting seashells and pebbles, or foraging edible plants for mental restoration.
• Create a ‘sit spot’ – any accessible place that you can quietly sit to enjoy your surroundings, time and time again. Engage all your senses (see point #8) and notice how the sky, the colors of the flowers, and the nature sounds around you change from day to day, from week to week.

7. Embrace the Dutch art of “niksen” 

“Niksen” literally means “doing nothing” in Dutch. Ever since we’ve all gotten on-demand entertainment in our pockets, just one swipe away, we’ve lost the practice of simply being. But sitting down without doing anything special gives our brain a short break, as well as space to process information.

But “niksen” can feel uncomfortable or make you restless. And yet a little boredom is actually good for you: it eases mental fatigue, boosts your creativity and fuels your motivation.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about the mind-numbing , soul-crushing boredom of being housebound with chronic illness – that can hurt your mental health. No, just those normal transition times when we’re waiting in line, at the bus stop or before our doctor’s appointment, when we used to stare out the window and let our minds wander, instead of grabbing our phones.

So this summer, make time for looking up at the sky to watch the clouds. To potter around the garden without doing actual chores. To doodle while you’re daydreaming, to be in silence, to eat food without reading a blog post or watching a show. After some initial resistance, your brain will thank you for it.

Emotional Restoration

Living with a chronic illness like POTS, arthritis or heart disease doesn’t just put a strain on your body, but it also takes many of us on an emotional rollercoaster ride. From feeling sad and frustrated over all the things you can no longer do to being hopeful about new treatments options, it’s normal to experience a wide range of emotions when you have serious health problems.

But even if you’re healthy, having arguments with your family, worries about your finances, caregiving responsibilities and parental burnout can leave you feeling worn-out. What can you do to recharge emotionally?

8. Engage your senses for mindfulness

Being in the moment in a non-judgmental way is a proven practice to regulate your emotions, especially if you focus on the sensory elements of your experience. Engaging your five senses – sight, sound, smell, taste and touch – helps you to turn your attention to your bodily sensations instead of ruminating about the past or worrying about the future.

Let’s take a look how you can put embodied mindfulness into practice to serve as a ritual for restoration:

• Make a list with seasonal sensations that you enjoy. Simple things like the smell of sunscreen lotion and freshly cut grass, walking barefoot, eating a juicy peach and tart cherries, or waking up to the sounds of birds chirping can let you be present and make it feel like summer no matter your health. So explore ways to add more of these sensory and tactile pleasures into your day.
• Engage your senses with art in all shapes and forms. Create a summer playlist and really listen to the lyrics and melodies. Get creative and dip into water coloring, make potpourri or tie-dye and old white shirt. You could also play tourist in your own town to admire your local architecture and street art, and zoom in on the details you’ve always missed passing them by.
• Practice ‘forest’ bathing – in the woods, at the beach or anywhere outdoors. Immerse yourself into nature by focusing on what you see, hear, smell, taste and feel. Notice how the sun feels on your skin and the grass tickles your feet. Hear the rustling of the trees and all the kids playing in the park, look at the different shades of green around you, smell the thick summer air. Paying attention to the input of your five senses is what makes nature time so restorative, emotionally and mentally.

You can find more ideas to mindfully engage your senses in Gretchen Rubin’s latest book Life in Five Senses: How Exploring The Senses Got Me Out of My Head and Into the World.

9. Curate your mental diet carefully

You may not even realize it, but the information you consume all day long through (social) media, TV, music and books influences your thoughts, feelings and actions. For example, reading the comments under a polarizing post can leave you mentally debating in your head, feeling frustrated at all the ignorant people in this world. At the same time, hearing your favorite song on the radio instantly brightens your mood.

That’s why curating your mental diet works as a ritual for restoration. Here are some questions to ask yourself to get started:

• How does your current mental input make you feel? Do you get inspired by Instagram or TikTok, or do certain accounts leave you feeling FOMO and not good enough? Or maybe your brain fog lets you spend too much time watching ‘guilty pleasure’ TV show, while you wish you could see longer movies and documentaries too. Take stock: which channels, people or stories recharge you and what drains your emotional energy?
• How do you like to consume your mental input, and when and where? For example, watching the news can be more upsetting than skimming headlines, because you have less control over what and how much you see. And scrolling social media may be fine during the day, but leaves you too agitated to sleep shortly before bedtime.
• What’s the optimal amount of mental input for you? Everyone’s nervous system is wired a little differently, so a comfortable level of stimulation varies from person to person. Also don’t forget to make time for silence and solitude. Spending some time on your own in quietude can be one of the most effective ways to feel restored emotionally and mentally.
• With all this in mind, what should your mental diet look like this season? For example, when you need to recharge, you might be more in the mood for light summer reading instead of serious literature or you prefer watching comedies over your usual Nordic noir thrillers. Either way, be mindful of what you consume mentally, because what you watch, listen to, read impacts your thoughts and feelings more than you know.

Curating your mental diet indirectly helps you to calm down your inner dialogue and regulate your emotions too.

10. Bring back playfulness

Once you’ve had time to relax and recharge, the final ritual for restoration is to bring some playfulness back into your life.

You see, when you’re exhausted and overwhelmed, there’s little room for fun, spontaneity and feelings of excitement. You were probably just trying to make it through the day, and get things done as efficiently as possible.

It’s rarely mentioned in any healthy lifestyle advice, but in my book, having a zest for life matters just as much to your overall wellbeing as eating well and moving your body does. These ideas below will help you cultivate a sense of playfulness again:

• Invite laughter into your life. Being sick is serous business, so balance that by watching comedy shows, following accounts with funny videos and memes, and get silly with the kids and animals in your life.
• Have backyard adventures. Combine fresh air and sunlight with accessible fun: enjoy lawn games like giant Jenga or Twister, have a water balloon fight, play flashlight tag at night or build your own fairy garden for some magic at home.
• Make art, music and new recipes without caring too much about the result. Splash paint on a canvas as if you’re the new Jackson Pollock, dance like nobody’s watching or mix weird food combinations – just have fun! If you struggle with perfectionism, get yourself a Wreck This Journal to practice this mindset.
• Tap into your imagination and turn boring tasks into a game. Give yourself points for doing chores – with fitting rewards when you’ve reached your target. Finish doing the dishes before the 3 songs you’ve selected are done. Pretend you’re on an epic quest while walking to the grocery store, or if you’re fit enough, have fun with a ‘Zombie run’.

With a playful attitude, every daily experience will feel just a little lighter and brighter.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are lots of different rituals of restoration that you can adopt, depending on the type of tiredness you’re experiencing. Don’t just think of getting enough sleep – although that is vital for your wellbeing! – but try to a holistic approach to relaxing, with room for mental and emotional rest too.

Tell me, which ritual for restoration will you be trying first to recharge this summer? Let me know on Facebook or Instagram!