Blog by Dr. Nicola McCaffrey: The lost art of resting

In a world where exhaustion and achievement are status symbols it can take courage to rest. Rest can often be seen as being superfluous to our wellbeing, as the thing that we will do when everything else is done. The paradox of course being that everything so rarely gets done that we seldom get to practice the art of rest. Busy is a drug that many of us have become addicted to. Being busy conveys status. We tell ourselves that it means we are important and valued. We have come to view rest as expendable, lazy and indulgent. We focus on striving, on achieving, and never stop, only resting when we have become so exhausted that we have no other choice but to do so.

When I talk about rest some of you might feel quite confused by what this even means. Rest can look and feel like something quite different to everyone. In The Rest Test, the world’s largest study on rest to date which asked more than 18,000 people from 134 countries about their subjective experiences of rest, the top restful activities included mindfulness, watching TV, daydreaming, having a bath, taking a walk, doing nothing much, listening to music, being on your own, and spending time in nature, with the most restful activity being cited as reading. Interestingly socialising with friends did not even appear in the top ten! Some of the most restful activities even included quite a bit of effort. For example the study showed that 8% of the respondents found running to be restful. Ultimately the data shows that the ideal rest seems to give you a break from other people, to allow your mind to wander and to distract you from your worries, without making you feel so lazy or guilty that the restfulness is ruined! Furthermore, when respondents in this research were asked which words they associated with rest, the results were interesting. The most commonly cited word was relaxing, followed by peaceful/calming, comfortable, recuperative and sleep. Some people however described rest as rare, stress-inducing, anxiety-inducing and guilt-inducing perhaps starting to unearth our conflicted relationship with rest.

At it turns out however rest is not a luxury or an indulgence. It is absolutely critical for our physical and psychological wellbeing. Rest has been shown to improve cardiovascular health, as well as lower blood pressure and cortisol levels. It has also been shown to reduce levels of depression, and anxiety, as well as helping to encourage a more positive mindset. Beyond our health research has further shown that our performance in the workplace improves following a period of rest and recovery, even amongst people who enjoy their work. And if you work in a creative industry then rest might be exactly what you need as a study from both the University of York and the University of Florida have shown that more than 40% of our creative ideas come during breaks and downtime, when our minds are free to wander.

The truth is though that although resting may be simple it isn’t always easy. In order to prioritise and engage in it we need to value it more. We may even need to actually give ourselves permission to rest. Daring to set boundaries with ourselves and give ourselves permission to rest means having the courage to meet our own needs even when we risk disappointing other people. Whilst many of us feel guilty and uncomfortable resting it is important to start to acknowledge that continuing to work and live in the way that we do currently, where we prioritize doing over being, will likely lead to burnout and at the very least living a life where we feel constantly frazzled and overwhelmed. The more that you can acknowledge the role that rest plays in helping balance your life, be more creative as well as productive, that rest is important in helping you to be a better parent, partner and friend, the more likely you are to defend it against a world that will find other uses for that time that would be better for them, but not better for you.