Micro‑Rest: Recharging Body, Brain, and Being
Originally sent to subscribers on 2 November 2025
What Exhaustion Really Means
Happy November! October’s been quite the whirlwind… which is why I’ve been thinking about rest this week. Not the kind that happens when you collapse at night, but micro‑rest—the recovery moments woven through your day.
Most people treat exhaustion like achievement, yet it’s recovery that determines resilience. Healthspan expands not by doing more but by restoring more deeply.
DATA
Where insight becomes impact
We often talk about sleep as if it’s the only form of rest. Research shows that rest is multi‑dimensional. It’s not just a break from doing—it’s a biological process that restores the three core systems of life: Body, Brain, and Being.
Micro‑rest is the art of recovery in real time—short recovery moments lasting seven seconds to two minutes that regulate your rhythm and recharge resilience.
1. Body Rest – Your Cellular Reset
Your body never truly stops. Even at rest, 37 trillion cells are repairing and regenerating. Micro‑rest allows mitochondria to restore ATP, the molecule that fuels all activity. Pushing without pause creates cellular debt: excess oxidative stress, higher cortisol, lower nitric oxide, and accelerates telomere shortening. A study from UCSF found chronic stress and poor recovery can shorten telomeres by up to 10 years—a decade lost not from disease but depletion. Micro‑rest reduces sympathetic drive, lowers inflammation, and preserves cellular youth.
2. Brain Rest – Your Cognitive Cleanse
Your brain burns about 20 % of your body’s energy. When overworked, metabolic waste like beta‑amyloid builds up. The brain’s glymphatic system drains this waste most during deep sleep, but it remains active during quiet, low‑arousal states such as meditation, breathflow, and micro‑rest. Short mental pauses detox your brain—moments where neurons literally rinse and reset.
3. Being Rest – Your Emotional Equilibrium
Rest for your identity, emotions, and nervous system. Being rest restores heart–brain coherence. Research shows even 60 seconds of slow breathing or gratitude increases HRV and stabilises cortisol. Rest here isn’t about sleep or stillness; it’s about safety. When your nervous system feels safe, your body can heal.
DEVICES
Track it to hack it
Technology is often blamed for fatigue, but the right kind of tech can teach you how to rest. When you can measure it, you can modify it.
Body Rest: Devices like Oura and Whoop translate your recovery into data—HRV trends, resting heart rate, temperature. A drop in HRV or rise in temperature signals sympathetic dominance. Even a 60‑second breathing break can steady HRV and raise parasympathetic tone.
Brain Rest: The Muse EEG headband shows your brain’s electrical language. Shifting from beta (analytical) to alpha and theta (creative, relaxed) produces audible feedback. One minute of micro‑rest can lower beta activity and raise alpha.
Being Rest: Devices like Sensate and Apollo Neuro use infrasonic or vibrational frequencies to stimulate the vagus nerve, increasing HRV and lowering heart rate within 90 seconds. Micro‑rest becomes visible—and what’s visible becomes actionable.
DECISIONS
From knowing to doing
When you micro‑rest, you don’t stop—you R.E.C.H.A.R.G.E.. Turn micro‑rest into momentum:
For the Body
R – Release: Let go of physical tension. Stretch, yawn, or unclench. Do the 5‑50: five stretches a day lasting 50 seconds.
E – Exhale: Long, slow breaths activate your parasympathetic system. Do the 6‑60: slow your breathing to six breaths a minute every 60 minutes.
For the Brain
C – Clear: Reduce visual and auditory clutter. Silence notifications. Gaze out of a window for 20 seconds every 20 minutes.
H – Hibernate: Protect pure micro‑rest windows. Do the 7‑70: seven seconds of silence every 70 minutes.
A – Align: Reconnect actions to purpose. Do the 1‑10: step outside for one minute and take ten seconds to state your intention for the day.
For the Being
R – Reconnect: With gratitude. Micro‑moments of appreciation raise oxytocin and restore trust.
G – Ground: Step away from problem‑solving and step into nature.
E – Evolve: Use micro‑rest as reflection. When you pause, you create the space your next level needs to emerge.
Case in point
A CEO client tracked his HRV for a month. His lowest recovery scores came on days he “powered through.” After adding 60‑second breathflow breaks and 10‑minute silent walks, his HRV rose 15 points. He didn’t work fewer hours—just fewer unrecovered ones.
DIARY
Last week: From speaking to an arena of 4,000 in Lisbon to attending a beautiful wedding in Bahrain.
This week: Looking forward to an online talk for The City Women Network about the six stress signals you can control that most doctors don't tell you, and to my live “3 in 30” in The Million Hour Club—three questions answered in 30 minutes.
Next week: Lots of one‑to‑one consultations booked for my 10 Years Younger clients—one has reversed her bio‑age by 18 years.
DISTINCTION
“Micro‑Rest isn’t retreat, it’s readiness.” When you micro‑rest, you don’t stop—you R.E.C.H.A.R.G.E.
Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!
Dr Alka