If you've been feeling exhausted lately despite getting a reasonable amount of sleep, this might be why.

Rest isn't just about sleep. According to Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith, there are seven distinct types of rest and most of us are depleted in at least a few of them without even realising it.

For women navigating demanding careers, leadership roles, and everything else that comes with a full and busy life, this depletion can run really deep. It shows up as brain fog, irritability, a lack of motivation, difficulty making decisions, or that persistent feeling of running on empty no matter what you do.

The good news is that once you understand which type of rest you're missing, you can start to do something about it. It doesn't have to mean a two-week holiday or a complete life overhaul. Often, one small boundary, practised consistently, is enough to start making a real difference.

Here's a look at each type of rest, how it tends to show up for the women I work with, and one practical boundary you can put in place to start addressing it.

What it is: Physical rest is the most obvious type and the one most of us default to when we think about rest at all. It includes sleep, but also the gentler, more restorative side of physical care: stretching, slow movement, giving your body permission to slow down.

How it shows up at work: Physical depletion often looks like tension headaches, a stiff neck and shoulders, low energy by mid-afternoon, or relying heavily on caffeine to get through the day. Many of the women I work with sit at a desk for hours without moving, push through tiredness rather than listening to it, and treat their physical needs as the last thing on the list.

One boundary to try: Set a reminder to move for five minutes every ninety minutes during your working day. Not a workout, just a walk to make a drink, a stretch at your desk, or a few minutes outside. Your body needs movement to function well, and building it into your day is the difference between it actually happening or not.

What it is: Mental rest is about giving your brain a genuine break from constant thinking, planning, analysing, and problem solving. It's the type of rest that's hardest for driven, ambitious women and the one I see depleted most often.

How it shows up at work: Mental depletion looks like an inability to switch off, even when you're technically not working. You're lying awake running through tomorrow's to-do list. You're half-present in conversations because your mind is elsewhere. You finish the working day and immediately start mentally preparing for the next one. Decision fatigue sets in earlier and earlier, and even simple choices start to feel overwhelming.

One boundary to try: Create a clear end to your working day and mean it. A specific time when you close your laptop, put your phone down, and do something that has nothing to do with work for at least thirty minutes. It sounds simple, but for many women this is genuinely one of the hardest boundaries to keep. Start small and build from there.

What it is: Sensory rest is about stepping back from the relentless stimulation of modern life - screens, notifications, background noise, open plan offices, the constant ping of messages demanding your attention.

How it shows up at work: Sensory depletion often presents as irritability, difficulty concentrating, a feeling of being constantly overstimulated, or craving quiet in a way that feels almost desperate. Many women I work with move from one screen to another all day long - laptop to phone to TV - without ever giving their senses a genuine break.

One boundary to try: Introduce one screen-free period into your day. This could be eating lunch away from your desk without your phone, having your first thirty minutes of the morning before you check anything, or switching off all screens an hour before bed. The difference this makes to your ability to concentrate and feel calm is often surprising.

What it is: Creative rest is about allowing yourself to be inspired rather than always being the one generating ideas. It's the replenishment that comes from nature, art, music, beauty, anything that fills you back up rather than drawing from your reserves.

How it shows up at work: Creative depletion tends to show up as a feeling of being stuck, uninspired, or like you're going through the motions. The ideas that used to flow feel harder to access. Problem solving feels laboured. You're producing work but it doesn't feel like your best. For women in roles that require constant creativity, strategy, or innovation, this can be particularly draining.

One boundary to try: Protect time each week for something that has no output. A walk in nature, a visit to a gallery, listening to music you love, reading something purely for pleasure. It doesn't need to be long, even thirty minutes of genuinely unproductive, replenishing time can start to restore your creative energy.

What it is: Emotional rest is the ability to be honest about how you're actually feeling, rather than constantly managing, containing, or performing emotions for the benefit of everyone around you.

How it shows up at work: Emotional depletion is incredibly common among women in leadership. It looks like always being the one who holds everything together. Absorbing other people's stress and anxiety without acknowledging your own. Saying "I'm fine" when you're not, because there isn't space to be anything else. Carrying the emotional weight of your team, your family, and everyone else, while quietly ignoring your own needs.

One boundary to try: Find one person, a trusted friend, a coach, a therapist, with whom you can be completely honest about how you're feeling. Not someone you need to manage or perform for, but someone who can hold space for the real answer when they ask how you are. Having even one relationship where you don't have to hold it together is more restorative than most people realise.

What it is: Social rest is about spending time with people who genuinely energise you and giving yourself permission to step back, where possible, from the ones who consistently drain you.

How it shows up at work: Social depletion often looks like dreading certain meetings or interactions, feeling exhausted after social situations that should be neutral or positive, or saying yes to social commitments out of obligation and then resenting them. For introverts especially, the social demands of a leadership role can be genuinely depleting without the right balance of restorative time alone or with people who feel easy and safe.

One boundary to try: Before you commit to something social, a networking event, an after-work drink, a meeting that could be an email, ask yourself honestly whether it will energise or drain you. You are allowed to be intentional about where your social energy goes, and to protect time with the people who genuinely restore you.

What it is: Spiritual rest is about connecting with something bigger than your to-do list. It's the sense of purpose, meaning, and contribution that reminds you why your work matters and that you matter beyond your job title and your output.

How it shows up at work: Spiritual depletion often looks like going through the motions. Doing the work but feeling disconnected from why it matters. A creeping sense of meaninglessness, even when things look successful on paper. For women at a career crossroads especially, this can be one of the most disorienting types of depletion because when you've lost connection with your sense of purpose, everything feels harder.

One boundary to try: Carve out time each week to reconnect with what matters to you. This might look like volunteering, journaling about what you value, spending time in nature, or simply having a conversation with someone whose work you find genuinely inspiring. It doesn't have to be grand or spiritual in a traditional sense, it just has to reconnect you with something beyond the immediate demands of the week.

You don't have to address all seven at once. In fact, trying to overhaul everything at the same time is one of the surest ways to make none of it stick.

Instead, read back through the seven types and notice which one you felt most in. Which description made you think ‘yes, that's me!’ Start there. Pick the one boundary suggested and practise it for the next two weeks.

Rest isn't a luxury. It isn't something you earn once everything on the list is done. It's what makes everything on the list possible and sustainable.

If you'd like support working out what rest, boundaries, or your next career move looks like for you specifically, I'd love to have a conversation.

Book your free clarity call here