Our grandparents and their parents had less money than we do today, but they possessed the gift of rest sweet  rest. Why? One reason: daily exercise!

Money has an upside and a downside that can help or hurt your goal to get the rest you need. Psst. . .Did you miss any post in my REST series? See the last one here.

The upside: Prosperity means you can relax after work (whether outside the home or at home). You don’t have to hunt for a second job.

The downside: Prosperity has turned up into cerebral slugs. We choose updates our Facebook status and our tweets over moving our bodies and getting the exercise we need.

And when you and I sit sit sit all day long, we not only increase our risk for obesity and its nasty cousins (including heart disease and some types of cancer), we feel more stressed and less rested.

The prescription: Move it!

Many decades ago women broke a sweat going about their chores and watching after the kids. Scrubbing laundry on washboards, hanging shirts, jeans, long johns, and sheets on the clothesline to dry, sweeping, and washing and waxing floors on hands and knees as well as making huge meals three time a day and washing dishes by hands. All this physical toil burned calories and cured insomnia.

Now we drive our cars to the gym and work out, if we have the energy.

Amazing but true: Expending energy produces rest. “One of the first benefits people notice when they embark on an exercise program is sounder sleep,” said physician Richard Swenson, author of the bestseller Margins. “Healthy physical tiredness probably has no equal as a sleep-inducing sedative.”

Indeed.

But HOW?

As I wrote in my book Energy Eating, soon to come out in a revised edition, the best way to exercise so you get good rest is to combine an aerobic activity (cycling, swimming, walking, jogging, dance) with a strength-training exercise (calisthenics, resistance rubber bands, weight-lifting) and gentle stretching.

Start slow. If you haven’t broken a sweat in a while, start with two weekly, 20-minute aerobic activites, two weekly, 10-minute strength-training exercise, and 5 to 10 minutes of gentle stretching fours times a week.

Increase as you go. Exercise longer (30 to 45 minutes per session) and more frequently as your endurance and strength improves. Aim for three to five 45-minute aerobic activities a week and three strength-training exercises a week, as well as daily stretching.

Be smart. To stick with exercise, select activities you like. For example, I don’t like to swim laps. Boooring. Instead I work out on a machine called the Elliptical for aerobic exercise and use machines and free weights. Also, check with your doctor before beginning an exercise program.

Put it on your calendar. You are more likely to get moving when you plan your exercise and put is on your calendar.

ENJOY! As you move and burn calories — and get better rest — you may also notice a mood boost. Physical activity bumps up the production of your brain’s feel-good endorphins and lowers stress levels.

Go Retro

More than a century ago, 90 percent of Americans were farmers; today the number has dwindled to a mere 2 percent, Swenson reported. You can get the benefit of exercise by growing your own vegetables and fruits in a large garden at home. Plus, you’ll save money on your grocery bill.

Question: How has exercise improved your rest? 

With Joy Overflowing!