RETHINKING REST
The secret to restorative downtime (it’s not what you’d think)
Words
CLAUDIA HAMMOND
Photography
JACK FAIREY
For many the new year is a time for making resolutions, and I'd like to suggest setting the intention to get more rest. While being busy and relentlessly on the go has become a mark of status and success in the 21st century, rest is undervalued in our culture – but we both long for it and need it.
When in 2016 I worked in partnership with psychologists from Durham University on the largest study on rest ever undertaken, more than two thirds of the eighteen thousand people who took part from 134 different countries said they felt they suffered from a rest deficit. In the Rest Test people also told us that they faced many barriers to resting, ranging from the emotional – feeling embarrassed or guilty; to the practical – not having enough time or even not knowing how to rest.
This last point highlights a common misunderstanding about rest. It is different from sleep and it needn’t mean doing nothing or lazing about. Rather, it is about finding a way to quieten the mind, still the spirit and soothe the soul. And for some, the way to do this is anything but sedentary. Running or strenuous workouts are restful for those who find that exerting their bodies helps to calm the ceaseless whirring of stressful thoughts in their heads.
What works for you might be something entirely different. In my case, it’s gardening. For others it might be cooking or playing the piano. Or it might well be reading. In the Rest Test we asked respondents to tell us which activities they found most restful. Spending time in nature and listening to music were very popular, but reading came top of the list, which initially surprised us because, of course, it’s an activity that involves complex cognitive effort. Why, then, can it be restful?
First, it is a solitary pursuit, and our research has shown that time away from other people is a common feature of popular restful activities. Second, reading allows us to escape from our own world and to be transported into other worlds. This is why the Canadian psychologist Keith Oatley calls reading ‘the mind’s flight simulator’. Eye tracking studies have also shown that when we’re reading we’re not always concentrating on the story in front of us – a tendency we shouldn’t fight because this mind wandering, this day dreaming, is another wonderful way to relax the mind. Finally, reading enhances empathy, through allowing us to enter the minds of other people living very different lives to our own. This can help to put our own stresses and worries into perspective.
And of course reading is something we generally do sitting down, or even curled up in bed, so it’s restful in a physical sense too. And don’t worry if after a few minutes of reading you find you are dropping off. I said above that rest is not the same as sleep, but many of us need more of both.
One thing I often say to people who struggle to fit rest into their busy lives is to prescribe themselves short breaks at regular intervals, to put rest into their schedules. Even two minute micro-breaks can make a difference. Or to reframe frustrating long queues or delays on trains not as wasted time, but as opportunities for rest. So, why not carry a book with you and, rather than scrolling through your phone when your journey is disrupted, you can immerse yourself in a good story?
Here are three books I’ve enjoyed recently to get you started:
Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang
The Expectation Effect by David Robson
The Accidental by Ali Smith
And, three Hush women share how they find their rest:
“I always feel absolutely restored after an hour of cycling in and around Epping Forest and so make the time to do this 2-3 times per week, rain or shine. I ride solo – as an introverted extrovert I need the time alone – and listen to a couple of Desert Island Discs. Not only does it open my mind to different songs and musical genres that I wouldn’t choose myself, but it’s also a break to spend time immersed in someone else’s life story (it’s wonderful for building empathy too). Being out in the elements, in fresh air and nature, going as fast as I can is soothing and the definition of a good rest to me!” – Melissa Dick, Chief Creative Officer
“For some, getting home after a long day of work and having to cook dinner is at best a bore and at worst the last straw. But for me, it’s the perfect way to unwind. It stops the whirring of words and the overprocessing of information in my brain; my senses step up to the (literal) plate, while my mind takes a well-deserved back seat. I’ll relish the methodical slicing and dicing of ingredients or the stirring of a pan. I’ll listen to my favourite music while I cook, and probably sing along if there’s nobody around to hear it (a good way to calm your vagus nerve, so there’s your excuse). And at the end of it all, I can sit down and enjoy something tasty and nourishing in a much more relaxed mode. The washing up is a future-me problem.” – Olivia Durie, Senior Writer
“I never thought weeding would be therapeutic, but there’s something about digging into the earth, getting my hands muddy and planting fresh bulbs that completely restores me. No matter how tired I am, I always feel rested, energised and overall lighter after spending a few hours in my allotment. The headphones that usually accompany me at my desk are always left at home: instead, I let the sounds of shovelling, the squeak of the wheelbarrow and the steady running water act as my personal ASMR. There’s nothing like the joy of pinching an apple or blackberry straight from the bush while I work, and if I have a visit from my little robin neighbour, that’s always a bonus.” – Samantha Green, Senior Creative Artworker
Claudia Hammond is the author of The Art of Rest and Visiting Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Sussex.