The science of resting (well)

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BY Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic and Dr Sunny Lee

Workers everywhere are exhausted and need recovery time. According to a recent?Gallup survey, three out of four workers experience burnout at work. The COVID-19 pandemic and all its accompanying threats and uncertainties have reoriented people’s value systems toward focusing more on life, especially on fun and downtime outside work. Furthermore, widely spread hybrid and flexible?working arrangements?have (in theory) created more hours for people to spend resting.

We all know that it is important to rest. Research has shown that resting is vital to humans’ mental and physical health, given its great benefits to our immune system, stress management, mood, decision-making, creativity, and work productivity.

However, what is less known is?how to rest well.?Resting can be natural, like sleeping or running. But just as we can sleep or run much better by learning the right techniques, we can maximize the power of rest to fully restore ourselves by learning scientific tips on the mechanisms for resting well.

SCHEDULE DOWNTIME AND MAKE IT A ROUTINE

Resting is easier said than done. It is a habit that needs to be introduced and reinforced over a sustained period. One of the problems is the assumption that a break or rest slows us down, decreasing productivity. However, building downtime into our routines can help us recharge our batteries and improve our focus and concentration.?

As?experts?suggest, routinizing and rewarding an activity is the easiest way to develop a habit because by doing so, the activity becomes automatic.?Research?also shows that when routinized, any activity, including resting, maximizes its positive effect on our body, mind, and emotions.

So if you’re not good at resting, schedule it daily by using an alarm, calendar, or a time management app. And make sure to reward yourself when you manage to secure downtime as you planned.

FIND THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF REST

All things are good in moderation. Just like too little rest is problematic, too much will decrease your productivity.?A recent paper?on discretionary time (closely related to downtime) shows that too much downtime can hurt our well-being just as too little downtime does.?Another study?suggests that too much discretionary time can trigger teenagers’ bad habits, such as compulsive shopping.

How much time do we have to secure for our daily downtime??

In line with research, a rule of thumb is about four hours’ rest a day. However, the exact time needed will depend on a person’s work activities, stress level, and other conditions. You need to figure out your optimal number of hours for rest. Just like the right number of sleeping hours, it will depend on each individual.?

IDENTIFY AND PRIORITIZE YOUR SPECIFIC NEEDS

We often harbor stereotypes about resting. For example, if you search for “taking rest” on the internet, you will find hundreds of pictures of people lying on their sofas. But there is no one-size-fits-all type of rest. All rest has restorative properties. According to?research, depending on the specific needs of an individual, rest can be various including physical, emotional, mental, and social rest activities, among others.?

Not all rest activities are passive. Walking may not be a good type of rest for those who are physically exhausted. But walking,?particularly in nature, is a good way to restore one’s emotional and mental energy.?

Meeting friends can be the worst thing to do for those who need social rest, but it can be an effective rest strategy for those who feel recharged by social interactions.

That’s why resting well requires deep self-knowledge. Rather than following what others do to rest, spend some time understanding your specific needs and designing your rest activities based on where you find the biggest deficit.

MAKE TIME FOR DEEP REST IF YOU HAVE TO DO DEEP WORK

Research on deep work?highlights the importance of blocked and uninterrupted time to maximize work efficiency. When people are occupied by multiple tasks, work efficiency suffers considerably and brains might be overloaded by?attention residues—cognitions regarding tasks that persist in our minds.?

Interrupted downtime is not effective and could create more burdens rather than recovery for the same reason. We all have that experience of feeling drained after being constantly on our phones and emails while watching Netflix for fun, or spending hours trying to decide what to watch, only to fail in the end.?

Focus on one thing in your downtime: relaxing, refreshing, or recovering yourself through the specific rest -activity you chose.

DON’T SKIP VACATION

Daily downtime is not sufficient—, we need regular seasonal recharging time, not only for us but for well-functioning and positive workplaces and societies.

Vacation, defined as longer time off from work (from several days to weeks), is known to help people recover from job demands and replenish their resources.?Research?has suggested that any vacation longer than seven days will be equally beneficial, but there are?studies?suggesting that longer vacations are more beneficial and might even increase longevity.

Plan your annual leave well by considering your specific needs and, of course, your company’s policy on vacations.?

The accumulation of knowledge and experience is helping people learn more about the value of resting. Actively planning and strategizing downtime is as important as doing it for career progressions and investments. As Jenson Button, the 2009 F1 champion once said, resting is (in some way) fitness training. We hope these science-based tips will make you better and more efficient in that training.

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic?is an international authority in leadership assessment, people analytics, and talent management. He is the chief talent scientist at ManpowerGroup and a professor of business psychology at both University College London and Columbia University. His most recent book is?Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (And How to Fix It).

Sunny Lee?is an associate professor of organizational behavior and head of diversity at the UCL?School of Management.

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