Claudia Hammond, an award-winning author and broadcaster renowned for her work on psychology, joins physicist Helen Czerski to discuss the art of rest. They explore how true rest is more than just sleep; it's essential for mental health. Hammond shares insights from her Global Rest Test, revealing surprising personal definitions of rest and how societal views on busyness can create guilt around downtime. They also touch on the benefits of walking for well-being, the impact of reading on our mood, and the disruptive role of technology in achieving restorative rest.
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insights INSIGHT
The Resting Brain
The brain is more active during rest than when performing focused tasks like math problems.
This "default mode network" engages during daydreaming and may consolidate memories, solve problems, and rehearse future scenarios.
insights INSIGHT
Bias Against Rest
Societal biases often portray rest as laziness, linking busyness with status.
Studies show that people perceive busy individuals as more organized and having more meaningful jobs.
insights INSIGHT
Reading and Rest
Reading, though cognitively engaging, allows for guilt-free rest and escape.
It can also serve as a starting point for daydreaming, further enhancing its restful qualities.
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In 'The Art of Rest', Claudia Hammond draws on the groundbreaking 'Rest Test' survey, which involved 18,000 people across 135 countries. The book distinguishes rest from sleep, highlighting how rest is essential for unwinding, calming the mind, and recharging the body. Hammond counts down the top ten activities people find most restful, examines the science behind these activities, and offers a roadmap for a more restful and balanced life. The book addresses common misconceptions about rest and provides practical advice on incorporating rest into daily life to improve overall well-being.
The pandemic of 2020 has turned our lives upside down. Home working and homeschooling have become the norm for millions of us. And while you might think that the absence of long commutes, live entertainment and late-night socialising means we are more rested, many of us are more frazzled than ever, finding it difficult to separate work from downtime and unable to take proper time out for ourselves. And when we do, we often feel guilty that we aren’t doing something more productive.
In this live podcast taken from Intelligence Squared Plus, Claudia Hammond explained that rest is not just a matter of doing nothing – it is a vital part of self-care. Her book, The Art of Rest, draws on ground-breaking research she uncovered through ‘The Rest Test’, the largest global survey into rest ever undertaken, which was completed by 18,000 people across 135 different countries. Much has been written on the value of sleep in recent years, but rest is different; it is how we unwind, calm our minds and recharge our bodies. And, as the survey revealed, how much rest you get is directly linked to your sense of well-being. The episode was hosted by Oceanographer and physicist Helen Czerski.
To buy the book, click here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-art-of-rest/claudia-hammond/9781786892829
Intelligence Squared 