If you’ve ever thought, “I’m so tired… but I slept,” this episode will hit home.

After two powerful conversations with Dr. Kirk Parsley and Dr. Chris Winter in our Sleep Series, we’re rounding it out with a perspective everyone needs: rest is not the same as sleep.

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, physician, bestselling author of Sacred Rest, and creator of the Seven Types of Rest Framework, joins Susan to break down the real reasons you feel exhausted… and how to finally replenish your energy in ways sleep alone never could.

This framework is transforming the way individuals, organizations, and high achievers understand burnout, productivity, and wellbeing, and once you hear it, everything clicks.

In This Episode:

• The 7 Types of Rest, physical, mental, emotional, creative, sensory, social, and spiritual
  
• Why sleep doesn’t fix exhaustion (and what type of rest you may actually need)
  
• Signs you’re hitting burnout long before you realize it
  
• Why “rest ethic” matters as much as work ethic
  
• How rest impacts relationships, intimacy, boundaries, and presence
  
• Simple restorative practices you can integrate into your daily life
  
• Why some people feel exhausted even with perfect sleep scores and labs

This episode is the missing piece to the sleep series, tying together sleep, lifestyle, epigenetics, and human wellbeing in a way that’s practical, compassionate, and game-changing.

Learn more about our guest Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith is a Board-Certified internal medicine physician, speaker, and award-winning author. She is an international well-being thought-leader featured in numerous media outlets including Prevention, MSNBC, Women’s Day, FOX, Fast Company, Psychology Today, INC, CNN Health, and TED.com. She is the author of numerous books including her bestseller Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity, including insight on the seven types of rest needed to optimize your productivity, increase your overall happiness, overcome burnout, and live your best life. Over 250,000 people have discovered their personal rest deficits using her free assessment at RestQuiz.com. Learn more about Dr. Saundra at DrDaltonSmith.com.

RESOURCES:

Connect with : Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrDaltonSmith
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrSaundraDaltonSmith
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdaltonsmith/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/drdaltonsmith/

Find all of Kate and Susan’s Resources and links in the show notes:

https://healthyawakening.co/2025/11/17/episode93

Connect with Susan: https://healthyawakening.co/

Connect with Kate: https://theradiantlifeproject.com/

Visit the website: healthyawakening.co/podcast

Find listening links here: https://healthyawakening.co/links

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