When work snowballs, most of us cut: “non-essentials” like exercise, friends, music, reading and time outside. According to Anna Katharina Schaffner, Ph.D., a burnout and executive coach at the University of Kent, that reflex often makes things worse. She calls it energy austerity: we slash the very activities that create energy, then spend what is left on work, so the deficit deepens instead of closing. Her advice is to reinvest in what restores you and to pair that with the right kind of rest for the specific kind of overload you are facing.

Schaffner’s core idea is simple. Do not only subtract. Add back sources of aliveness. She describes burnout as emptiness, and its true opposite as a feeling of: “overflowing fullness.” In practice, that means scheduling things that reliably lift you, whether that is a short walk, sunlight, a page of a novel, a phone call with a friend, or ten minutes of music. Regeneration, she stresses, is active. It is not just collapsing on the couch.

To make rest work, target it. Schaffner highlights Saundra Dalton-Smith’s seven types of rest, which show that exhaustion is multi-dimensional and that the right recovery depends on the type of strain you are under.

Here is the framework in plain language, with simple starters you can try today:

1. Physical rest
   For a body that is worn out. Sleep, short naps or a warm bath. If you sit all day, gentle stretching counts too.
2. Mental rest
   For a mind that will not switch off. Do a quick “brain dump” on paper, set a timer for two minutes of slow breathing, or try a short guided meditation.
3. Sensory rest
   For screen and noise overload. Lower the lights, step outside for silence and fresh air, or spend five minutes with your phone in another room.
4. Creative rest
   For people who solve problems all day. Look at something beautiful without trying to produce anything. Visit a gallery, notice a tree, watch clouds for two minutes.
5. Emotional rest
   For constant caretakers and people-pleasers. Tell one trusted person how you really are and set a small boundary, such as saying “I cannot take this on today.”
6. Social rest
   For overwhelm from too many interactions. Spend time with one nourishing person or choose deliberate solitude for a short window.
7. Spiritual rest
   For a lack of meaning or direction. Do a values-aligned act of service, join a supportive community, or sit quietly in nature.

A helpful way to choose the type of rest needed, is to ask one precise question: From what exactly do I need to recover right now. Is it body fatigue, mind noise, sensory bombardment, emotional overgiving, social overload, or a loss of purpose. Match the remedy to the strain instead of defaulting to generic downtime.