Resting isn’t selfish or lazy
Life isn’t easy. There’s a lot of things to worry about and not getting adequate amounts of rest will make everything worse. Remember that viral vine video of a little girl having a meltdown and her big brother asking “Did you have a nap today?” and she replies screaming “No, I didn’t” and he says “Well, you need one”? Well, he’s right. When you don’t give your mind a chance to pause and refresh, it doesn’t work as efficiently. And although getting an adequate amount of sleep should be top of the priority list for us all, life often gets in the way and this then allows for the build-up of stress.
Research into the importance of taking breaks states that it can improve your mood, boost your performance and increase your ability to concentrate and pay attention (now there’s a sentence you might want to highlight and send your boss), but why is it so hard for us to do? Has society shaped us to believe that being more productive is the only way to pursue happiness? Did all those that managed to bake banana bread during lockdown unlock some sort of new level to life? The answer is no. But keeping busy in a time of isolation is a whole other article. This one is about resting and I want to talk about why it is important for your brain and your mental health.
Life really threw some curveballs at me this year. I didn’t realise how little rest I was giving myself until I asked my employer if I could have a few days off and they replied with: “Take a week off. Anytime. You never even take your breaks at work and the annual leave you’ve taken so far have been to complete assignments for University. Book the ticket, tell us the dates, we will figure it out — go whenever.” And so I did (perks of working in mental health, I guess). I got on a plane, left London for a week and soaked up some sunshine. I took my laptop to do some writing, but in the end, I only used it to plan excursions on our trip. I took the break and I needed it. There was a moment when I sat on the rooftop of my hotel and filmed a palm tree gently swaying in the early evening breeze. The video itself is only 17 seconds long, but since being back at work, I must have watched it a hundred times, to remind myself to sit still for a second — to take a moment for myself and rest.
Resting isn’t selfish or lazy — it’s actually vital for your brain as it can promote better mental health, increased concentration and memory, a healthier immune system, reduced stress, improved mood and even a better metabolism. If we imagine that our brain is a sponge — there is only so much information it can soak up before it is saturated — so it’s only natural that it needs to dry out a bit, which can be achieved by just doing nothing. Some regions of the brain actually get more active when you are not focussing on processing information. The brain area most associated with this is the default mode network (DMN). The DMN seems to play an important role when you’re focusing attention inward, rather than focusing on the external world. The DMN has been linked to things like ethics, memories, creativity and how we define our sense of self. What our brain does when it’s not actively processing information is pretty important, so letting the mind wander, can be replenishing.
And I mean, really letting it wander. Not scrolling through your phone, or watching TV. I mean, staring-at-a-palm-tree-swaying-in-the wind kind of letting your mind wander. Not taking in any real information. Lying on the grass and staring at the clouds passing by. And honestly, when was the last time you did THAT?! For those of us who are fully aware of the benefits but still manage to stay awake till 1am, not getting sufficient amounts of sleep hellbent on finishing the entire season of something on Netflix in a single day… (I see you, I am you), here’s how to take a break if you’re simply “too busy”:
Schedule downtime like you would schedule a meeting. You need to recharge and this is important. Go into your calendar and see what time on what days you could squeeze in some downtime. My favourite is half an hour before going to bed, but even that proves to be difficult at times. But to start, try setting aside a few minutes a day and add more as you get into the habit.
Plan when to worry. If you spend your mind-wandering moments stressing over problems, it’s not exactly restorative. Set aside a set time each day to worry. If you find yourself worrying during other times — like mind-wandering moments — remind yourself to postpone the stress until its regularly scheduled appointment. Say to yourself “I’m going to worry about that at 4pm”. This will take a lot of practice, but once you get into the habit of planning your day out like this, it can be so useful and eventually you can plan it in for once a week instead of once a day.
Get yourself into the mood. If you find it hard to practice mindfulness / meditate, try using some of the technology in your hands to guide your thoughts. Personally, I like to use an app on my smartwatch which allows me to just focus on breathing and there are plenty of guided meditations/mindfulness practices available online. If you want to be technology-free for this and are not anywhere near a palm tree swaying in the wing, try remembering some pleasant childhood memories and see where they lead you — the more detailed the better. This will help you plan healthy brain experiences.
Connect with your senses. If you’re trying to switch off but end up worrying about your bills or notice that you’re worrying instead of relaxing, try and pay attention to your senses. What can you see? Are there any new smells around you? How does the chair feel when you touch it? Also attempting to describe a taste in words can help, eg: How would you describe the taste of a pear to someone who can’t taste?
Practice, practice. Embracing downtime and truly learning how to rest takes some time. As time goes on, you will notice yourself getting better and better, and perhaps this is the key to start recovering something important and restorative for your brain.
So go ahead and give yourself a break. Your mind will thank you later — when it’s done wandering.
