What Kind of Rest Actually Helps Parents Feel Human Again? 

Parenting Perspective 

Many parents reach moments of stillness only to realise they do not know how to utilise that time. You may finally get a few minutes of silence, but instead of feeling rested, you feel flat or detached. This is because emotional rest is not about the absence of noise; it is about the presence of safety, permission, and release. 

Notice How You Use Your Alone Time 

Start by noticing how you are using your alone time. Are you scrolling? Multi-tasking? Mentally rehearsing what still needs to be done? These activities may offer a surface-level pause, but they do not allow your nervous system to reset. Emotional rest, in contrast, involves letting your inner self soften without expectation. That can look like deep breathing, gentle dhikr, sitting in silence, or even journaling a single sentence of truth. What matters is that your inner state is allowed to simply be, without performance, productivity, or pretending. 

Does Rest Feel Earned? 

Also notice whether your alone time feels like something you must earn. If so, your body might still be holding stress, even in solitude. Speak to yourself the way you would to your child: with permission. ‘It is safe for me to rest. It is not selfish to breathe.’ 

The Point is Ease, Not Silence 

Finally, reflect on what actually nourishes your sense of selfhood. Emotional rest is not always about being alone; sometimes, it is about being with those who do not demand a version of you. If your soul feels more seen in connection than in isolation, honour that. The point is not silence, but ease. 

Spiritual Insight 

Emotional rest is deeply spiritual. It invites you to release your burdens and root yourself back in divine reliance, not through striving, but through surrender. 

A Reminder That Ease is Divinely Paired with Struggle 

Allah Almighty states in the noble Quran at Surah Al Inshirah (94), verses 5–6: 

‘Thus with (every) hardship there is facilitation (from Allah Almighty). Indeed, with (every) hardship there is facilitation (from Allah Almighty).’ 

This repetition reminds us that hardship is never meant to last in isolation. Ease is divinely paired with struggle, but it must be received, not resisted. 

The Prophetic Model: Striving Without Compassion Leads to Collapse 

It is recorded in Sunan an-Nasai that the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: 

‘Verily, this religion is easy, and no one overburdens himself in religion but that it overcomes him.‘

[Sunan an-Nasai, 47:50] 

This hadith is a gentle reminder that striving without compassion leads to collapse. Emotional rest is not a luxury. It is part of maintaining your trust in Allah’s mercy, by accepting that your worth is not dependent on how much you do, but on who you are in His sight. 

When you allow emotional rest to soften you, you model a faith-centred resilience that your children will one day need too. Rest, then, becomes not a break from parenting, but a deeply spiritual part of it.