Rest Days and Racing Thoughts: When Stillness Feels Unsafe

It’s supposed to be the easy day.

No alarm. No watch beeping at you. No pain cave, no elevation gain. Just... rest. But instead of feeling relief, your brain is loud. Restless. Crawling with what-ifs and should-haves.

If that sounds familiar, you’re not broken. You’re just an athlete with a very human brain, one that’s learned to equate movement with worth, control, and stability.

And sometimes, stillness doesn’t feel like peace. It feels like danger.

I see it all the time as therapist, as a coach, and I experience it as an athlete. In fact, this Monday was a planned easy rest day… I almost went for a ride.

The Problem with the “Do More” Brain

Athletes are told to push limits. Stay consistent. Show up no matter what. But what happens when the most consistent, most committed thing you can do… is take a break?

That’s where the overthinking kicks in:

“I don’t feel like an athlete.”
“I’m not doing enough.

”This is lazy.”
“Everyone else is working harder.”
“I’ll lose fitness.”

These aren’t just thoughts. They’re survival strategies. They’re mental reflexes built over years of linking performance to identity.

It makes sense. Training is measurable. Tangible. You can track it. But rest? Rest feels like nothing. And for the anxious, perfectionistic parts of our minds, nothing feels terrifying.

What’s Actually Happening on Rest Days

Underneath the stillness is a nervous system that’s trained to find safety in motion.

Physical activity helps regulate stress, process emotion, and give our thoughts a place to land. When that outlet disappears, even for one day, unprocessed anxiety surfaces. It’s not a flaw. It’s just the volume getting turned up now that there’s less noise.

Rest forces us to face the parts of ourselves we outrun: fear, doubt, comparison, not-enoughness.

It’s not restful when it doesn’t feel safe.

How to Make Rest Days Less Mentally Brutal

You don’t need to like rest right away. You just need a way to meet it with a little more compassion, and a little less war.

Here’s how:

1. Name the Pattern, Not the Problem

Instead of arguing with your brain, try naming what’s happening:

“Ah, this is the ‘rest is weakness’ story again.”
Naming gives you space. It helps you simply notice the thought without having to buy into thought.

2. Talk to Yourself Like a Teammate

Would you call your friend lazy for taking a scheduled recovery day? Or say their whole training block is pointless because they’re honoring their plan?

Probably not. So why say it to yourself?

3. Anchor to Values, Not Urges

Ask: Why do I train in the first place?
Chances are your answer includes things like freedom, joy, challenge, purpose, not “never missing a Tuesday.” Rest supports that bigger picture, even if your anxious brain can’t feel it yet.

4. Build a Ritual Around Rest

Give your rest day a structure. Not a rigid schedule, but something nourishing:

• Light mobility

• Nature walks (LIGHT and of low duration… I live in Colorado and a nature walk could be a couple of hours!)

• A slow breakfast and a good book

• Journaling what’s actually on your mind

The goal isn’t to fill the silence. It’s to meet it gently.

The Quiet Reps Count, Too

You don’t have to earn rest. It’s not a reward. It’s a requirement. And learning to sit with stillness without needing to “fix” it might be the most elite training you do.

You’re not falling behind. You’re investing in your capacity to come back strong, again and again.

The quiet reps count. Even the ones no one sees.

If this post hit home, you’re not alone and you’re not weak for struggling with rest. Reach out to me if you’re here in Colorado and we can see if we’re a good fit to work together.