8 Benefits of a Day of Rest {for You & Your Marriage}

Oh, how I love my weekly day of rest. I need it like a swan needs water. It’s not required to live, I can excel without it, but why would I want to?

Years of experience have taught me I’m so much better with it (and as my hubby would say, “A hot mess” without it).

For the past seventeen years, I’ve made a day of rest a part of my regular routine.

As a hotel GM, it proved most difficult because there was an expectation that I would be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

I drew a line in the sand and made it clear my day of rest was nonnegotiable.

After some time, I realized it would be nearly impossible to hold fast to this boundary I’d set for myself, so I left the hotel business. It was that important.

I realized without it, I’m just not as kind of a person. I’m less patient. My tolerance for folks who don’t use common sense is…well…nil.

We, as women, give and give and give. It’s just how we’re wired. If we do not take the time to refuel, to renew, to refill our coffers, we will run on empty.

And a woman running on fumes is not a sight to behold, for sure.

Early in my marriage, my husband realized the many benefits of a day of rest for me, as well as for him. He joined me in making this a part of our family tradition and we’ve never looked back.

No matter how hectic times get for us (and believe you me, they get so hectic at times it’s borderline unbearable), our day of rest is not negotiable.

If you and your husband don’t already take a day each week to slow down, turn off your phones, flip down the laptop and just enjoy each other, allow me to be the one to encourage you. This is one of the absolute best things you can do for your marriage. And here’s why.

1. Your available “balance” will increase. Like a bank account, if you are constantly withdrawing and giving to others, you will be left without anything to give to yourself. This day of rest gives you time to replenish your account so it is, once again, available for withdrawals without running the risk overdraft fees.

2. Unplugging is good. We are on information overload every day. We can barely calm our hearts and minds for an entire 10 seconds (go ahead, try it). We are not machines, we were not meant to process information nonstop all day. Taking a day to ourselves, where we keep the world at bay, is one of the smartest things we’ll do every week.

3. Your level of patience and tolerance will increase to your highest levels in years, and you will have the energy to create the life -and marriage- you most desire. Have you ever responded to someone in a way that caused you to later cringe? What are the chances you would never have responded that way if you were well rested and full of life?

4. Your energy will be renewed. Rest for a day and you will undoubtedly feel the difference. It’s as simple and as difficult as that.

5. You will lose weight. Okay, I admit, I threw this one in here because I know that’s on the agenda of most women. But it’s true. Even if you don’t have time to work out all week long or are so stressed you can’t even think about eating right, you will have at least one day each week to do it right. One day out of seven isn’t bad.

6. Your marriage will be strengthened. Setting aside a day each week for ‘me’ time, ‘us’ time and ‘anything that floats your boat’ time will allow you to reconnect. And which of us couldn’t use a little more one-on-one connecting time with the hubs?

7. You will love better and with a fuller heart. When you’re exhausted, it’s difficult to love with your whole heart. You just want to rest. This solves that problem and allows you to be the beautiful, loving, graceful person you were created to be.

8. You will be happier. Happiness is a natural byproduct of gratitude. When you slow your world down for an entire day to live intentionally, gratitude will find its way in and that complaining gene will find its way out.

No matter how hectic our week gets, the one thing my husband and I know is we can make it -together- to our next day of rest. And when we feel overwhelmed, we look at each other and say, “We can make it. Just ___ more days to our day of rest.”

Until tomorrow…make it a great week!

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Fawn Weaver

Founder at Happy Wives Club

Fawn Weaver is the USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of Happy Wives Club: One Woman's Worldwide Search for the Secrets of a Great Marriage, adopting the same name as the Club she founded in 2010. The Happy Wives Club community has grown to include more than 1 million women in over 110 countries around the world. She’s an investor in real estate, tech sector and lifestyle brands. When she’s not writing or working, she's happily doting over her husband of twelve years, Keith (and sometimes manages to do all three simultaneously).