Seat could help an individual rest initially (5)
I believe the answer is:
chair
'seat' is the definition.
(chair is a kind of seat)
'could help an individual rest initially' is the wordplay.
'initially' suggests taking the first letters.
The initial letters of 'could help an individual rest' is 'CHAIR'.
(Other definitions for chair that I've seen before include "What professor has" , "Senior academic post" , "Professorship" , "Supporter" , "Single seat" .)