Why You Need More Rest with Claudia Hammond #95
Dr. Rangan Chatterjee and guest Claudia Hammond, author of 'The Art of Rest,' explore why rest is crucial for health and productivity. They challenge the 'busyness as a badge of honor' mindset, discuss the science of relaxation, and share top activities for switching off without guilt.
Deep Dive Analysis
20 Topic Outline
Busyness as a Modern Status Symbol
Defining Rest and the Modern Rest Deficit
The Never-Ending To-Do List and Constant Connectivity
Societal Pressures and Social Media's Influence on Busyness
Cultural Perceptions of Busyness and Leisure
The Science of Breaks and Productivity
The Rest Test: Identifying Most Restful Activities
Why Social Media Isn't Restful: The Problem of Life Admin
Personal Strategies for Disconnecting from Work Email
Overcoming Guilt and Granting Permission to Rest
The Importance of Solitude vs. Loneliness
Music as a Powerful Tool for Rest and Mood Regulation
Mindful vs. Distracted Engagement with Activities
The Paradox of TV Watching as a Restful Activity
The Challenge of Doing Nothing and the Fear of Boredom
Communal Listening: The Concept of Vinyl Clubs
Daydreaming and Mind Wandering During Restful Activities
The Surprising History of Disapproving Reading Novels
Baths: A Personal and Cultural Rest Experience
Rest in the Workplace: The Four-Day Week Debate
9 Key Concepts
Busyness as a Badge of Honor
This concept describes how being busy has evolved into a symbol of status and importance in modern society, contrasting with historical periods where leisure was a sign of success. People often claim busyness to project an image of being in demand and successful.
Rest Deficit
Similar to a 'sleep deficit,' this refers to a widespread lack of adequate rest in society. Rest is often relegated to the end of a to-do list that is never completed, leading to a continuous state of feeling unrested and overwhelmed.
Always On Call Phenomenon
Due to technology, individuals often feel a constant obligation to be available for work or communication, even outside of traditional working hours. This creates a psychological state where true rest is difficult because one is always anticipating potential demands.
Micro-breaks
These are short breaks, lasting only a couple of minutes, taken periodically throughout the workday. Activities like leaning back, looking out a window, or making tea can help maintain concentration and improve overall well-being by the end of the day.
The Rest Test
A large-scale survey conducted by psychologists at Durham University, involving 18,000 participants from 135 countries. It investigated what activities people found most restful, revealing a diverse range of preferences and common themes.
Life Admin
Refers to the invisible, often tedious tasks that consume significant time and energy in modern life, such as booking holidays online, arranging social events via messaging, or filling out forms. These tasks can feel like work and detract from restful downtime.
Micro Stress Doses
Small, individual hits of stress that, while manageable in isolation, accumulate over time. When these doses add up, they can push an individual past their personal stress threshold, leading to physical or emotional breakdowns.
Permission to Rest
The societal phenomenon where individuals feel they need external validation or justification to engage in restful activities without guilt. This often stems from the perception that resting is lazy or that there are always more important things to be done.
Mindless Reading
A state during reading where one's eyes track words on a page, but the mind is not concentrating on the content and instead wanders or daydreams. This is considered an acceptable and potentially beneficial part of reading for pleasure.
11 Questions Answered
Rest is anything that helps an individual relax, switch off from worrying, and take a break or pause. It is highly individual and can be an active pursuit, not necessarily meaning sitting still and doing nothing.
People feel busier due to the blurring lines between work and non-work enabled by technology, the constant feeling of being 'on call,' and self-imposed high standards influenced by social media, which bombards them with images of others' achievements.
While people may enjoy social media, they often don't find it truly restful because it can make them feel restless, like work (due to screens), or like 'admin' (e.g., coordinating social plans), and it doesn't necessarily leave them feeling refreshed.
Taking breaks, even micro-breaks of a couple of minutes every hour, improves task performance, enhances concentration, and contributes to better overall well-being by the end of the day, making work more productive and easier.
Yes, rest is very individual, and people need to find their own combination of activities that work for them. What one person finds restful (like running) another might find torturous.
Many people feel guilty about resting because they believe there are always things to be done, and they want to be productive or improve themselves. This guilt can even make a potentially restful activity feel unrestful.
One way is to reframe 'wasted time,' like waiting in a queue, as 'rested time' and consciously choose to observe the surroundings or simply be present, rather than immediately reaching for a phone.
While human connection is vital, solitude is a chosen state of being alone for recovery or reflection, often desired by those who have strong social connections. Loneliness, conversely, is an unwanted state of being alone, resulting from not having the desired quality or quantity of relationships.
Listening to music, especially music one personally finds calming, can quickly change mood and provide a distraction from worries, taking people out of themselves. The brain responds by changing, with calmer music often chosen for recovery from stress or exercise.
Yes, watching TV can be restful, particularly if it's a conscious choice for relaxation rather than mindless distraction, and if it's shared with others. It provides a shared experience, an escape into other stories, and can be a way to switch off without the demands of conversation.
People find it hard to do nothing because modern society offers constant stimulation, meaning we rarely have to be alone with our thoughts or experience boredom. Studies show many would prefer negative stimulation (like an electric shock) over simply sitting with their thoughts.
25 Actionable Insights
1. Accept Endless To-Do Lists
Recognize and accept that your to-do list will never be fully completed, as new tasks will always arise. This mindset shift can prevent the feeling of constantly waiting for completion before allowing yourself to rest.
2. Create Your Personal Rest Prescription
Identify and combine specific activities that personally help you relax, switch off from worries, and take a break. This individualized approach ensures that your chosen rest activities are truly effective for you.
3. Grant Yourself Permission to Rest
Actively give yourself permission to engage in restful activities without guilt, recognizing that prioritizing your mental health is important. Overcome the societal pressure and internal feeling that there are always things to be done instead of resting.
4. Evaluate Future Commitments Carefully
When asked to commit to something in the distant future, imagine if it were scheduled for the week after next. If you would be horrified by the thought of fitting it in, then decline, as your future self will likely be just as busy.
5. Realistically Plan Future Time
Avoid overestimating how much spare time you will have in the future and recognize that you are unlikely to become a ‘better organized’ version of yourself without conscious effort. This helps prevent overcommitment and allows for more realistic scheduling of rest.
6. Safeguard Core Restful Activities
When trying to free up time, be careful not to eliminate your most genuinely restful activities, even if they seem like a ‘chore’ or commitment. Prioritize protecting these activities as they are crucial for your mental well-being and rejuvenation.
7. Implement Hourly Micro-Breaks
Take short, couple-minute breaks every hour, such as leaning back, closing your eyes, looking out a window, or making tea. This practice helps maintain concentration and improves overall well-being by the end of the day.
8. Remove Email App from Phone
Delete your email application from your phone, requiring you to log in via a laptop to check emails. This can significantly reduce constant checking, free up perceived time, and lower daily micro-stress doses.
9. Avoid Constant ‘On-Call’ Mode
Be aware of the pervasive ‘on-call’ feeling driven by technology and consciously choose not to engage with work-related communications, such as emails, late at night to prevent constant pressure.
10. Reframe ‘Wasted’ Time as Rest
Consciously reframe unavoidable waiting periods or downtime, like queuing, as opportunities for rest rather than wasted time. Use these moments to observe your surroundings or simply do nothing, rather than immediately reaching for your phone.
11. Prioritize Solitary Rest Activities
Engage in activities you can do alone, as these are often highly effective for rest and recovery, even for extroverts. Solitude provides a break from social demands and allows for personal reflection without external pressures.
12. Take Breaks Before Deadlines
Instead of saving breaks as a reward after completing a task, take them beforehand to enhance productivity. This allows you to work faster and more easily on the remaining work.
13. Leverage Music for Mood Regulation
Use music strategically to shift your mood, such as playing calming music to unwind after a busy day before transitioning to more lively music if you plan to go out. Choose music you personally find relaxing, as its effectiveness is subjective.
14. Practice Mindful TV Watching
Watch TV mindfully by consciously choosing what to watch and allowing yourself to enjoy it without guilt, as guilt can diminish the refreshing effects. This transforms TV from a default activity into a deliberate act of relaxation.
15. Read for Mental Escapism
Engage in reading, especially fiction, to distract yourself from worries and escape into another’s life or world. The concentration required helps to quiet the mind from persistent anxieties.
16. Prescribe Yourself Gardening Time
Dedicate 15 minutes to gardening when working from home, even if it’s a small activity like deadheading plants. This can induce a wave of calmness and serve as a beneficial mental health break.
17. Utilize Baths for Relaxation
Take a bath for 15 minutes, especially during darker times of the year, to relax and feel nourished. This activity offers a period of peace and allows for relaxation while also serving a practical purpose.
18. Swim for Digital Detox & Rest
Go swimming as a physical activity that also forces a digital detox, as phones are typically not brought into the pool area. This allows for both physical and mental engagement while promoting a complete switch-off from daily distractions.
19. De-emphasize Busyness as Status
Challenge the societal notion that busyness is a badge of honor or a sign of importance. Reflect on whether your busy activities align with what you truly want to be doing with your time.
20. Curate Custom Music Playlists
Create your own personalized music playlists for different occasions, such as calming or pre-going out, rather than relying on generic ones. This ensures the music resonates with your personal taste and effectively contributes to your desired mood or state of rest.
21. Maintain a Curated Watchlist
Create a list of films or TV shows you want to watch to avoid mindless scrolling and decision fatigue when choosing entertainment. This allows for more intentional and restful viewing experiences.
22. Embrace Mind-Wandering During Leisure
Allow your mind to wander and daydream during activities like classical concerts or reading for pleasure, as this is a natural part of the experience. This can be a jumping-off point for creativity and organizing thoughts, and you shouldn’t feel guilty about it.
23. Practice Doodling or Adult Coloring
Engage in activities like doodling or adult coloring to help switch off and relax. These activities provide a way to disengage from worries without the difficulty of simply sitting and doing nothing.
24. Release Pressure for Constant Self-Improvement
Accept that you don’t need to learn every new skill or language, and it’s okay to not achieve every self-improvement goal. This helps reduce self-imposed pressure and frees up mental space.
25. Participate in a Vinyl Listening Club
Join or start a vinyl listening club where participants take turns choosing an album to play, listening in silence before discussing. This offers a communal, mindful way to experience music and connect with others.
6 Key Quotes
Busyness has become a badge of honor in a way.
Jonathan Gershuni (quoted by Claudia Hammond)
We will never get to the end of those lists. And we just need to accept that lists are always there.
Claudia Hammond
We're kind of all on call now.
Claudia Hammond
You can kind of make a restful activity unrestful by feeling bad about it.
Claudia Hammond
The opposite of loneliness is wanting some time on your own.
A person on the street (quoted by Claudia Hammond)
You are the architect of your own health.
Rangan Chatterjee
3 Protocols
Host's Email Management Protocol
Rangan Chatterjee- Delete the Gmail app from your phone.
- Log in to check emails only on a laptop.
Claudia Hammond's Personal Rest Prescription
Claudia Hammond- Prescribe yourself 15 minutes of gardening whenever working at home.
- Decide not to feel guilty about taking this time.
- Take the time for mental health and well-being.
Vinyl Club Protocol
Claudia Hammond- Members take turns choosing an album.
- One side of the chosen album is played.
- Everyone must sit and listen in silence; no talking is allowed during playback.
- After the first side ends, discussion and social interaction are permitted.
- The second side is then listened to in silence.