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The Art of Rest: How to Find Respite in the Modern Age
Today busyness has become a badge of honour. We want to say we're busy, yet at the same time we feel exhausted. Instead we should start taking rest seriously as a method of self-care and this book can help us to work out how.
The Art of Rest draws on ground-breaking research Claudia Hammond collaborated on - 'The Rest Test' - the largest global survey into rest ever undertaken, which was completed by 18,000 people across 135 different countries. Much of value has been written about sleep, 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.
Counting down through the top ten activities which people find most restful, Hammond explains why rest matters, examines the science behind the results to establish what really works and offers a roadmap for a new, more restful and balanced life.
The Art of Rest draws on ground-breaking research Claudia Hammond collaborated on - 'The Rest Test' - the largest global survey into rest ever undertaken, which was completed by 18,000 people across 135 different countries. Much of value has been written about sleep, 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.
Counting down through the top ten activities which people find most restful, Hammond explains why rest matters, examines the science behind the results to establish what really works and offers a roadmap for a new, more restful and balanced life.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 21, 2019
357 people are currently reading
5,936 people want to read
About the author
Claudia Hammond
16books88followersClaudia is an award-winning broadcaster, writer and psychology lecturer. She is the presenter of All in the Mind & Mind Changers on BBC Radio 4 and Health Check on BBC World Service Radio and BBC World News TV. She is a columnist for BBC.com and regularly appears on Impact on BBC World News to discuss research in psychology. Claudia is on the part-time faculty at Boston University's London base where she lectures in health and social psychology. She is an Associate Director of Hubbub - a 22 month residency examining the topic of rest at Wellcome Collection.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 311 reviews
March 1, 2020
For all the comments saying this provides ways for you to find rest haven't read the book.
There is no insight for how to become restful, it's just a top 10 list with common sense information in each.
There is no insight for how to become restful, it's just a top 10 list with common sense information in each.
March 1, 2020
I picked this up from the library when the author was one of the guests on Doctor Chatterjee's podcast. She talked a lot about rest and how it's seen as something wrong, something we should feel guilty over, and I was interested enough to check out her book.
This book is mostly focused around the Restful survey which was carried out where people were asked anonymously to list things they found the most restful. Each chapter of this book is dedicated to one of the top ten things, why it could be considered restful and studies around it. The author is very upfront about the fact that there isn't as much research around rest and the benefits of it, as there are for other things, like diet and exercise, so many of the studies are very small.
That said, I really enjoyed this book. I found it an easy non-fiction book to get through. The author talks about the various activities, such as walk, a bath, doing nothing, being alone etc and how they might work for some, but not for others. She talks about how various restful activities have been given as cures throughout the years but they are only truly restful when we choose them ourselves. Enforced lying in bed can have a negative effect on both physical and mental health, while choosing to lie in bed in the morning is a chosen restful activity for some. Being able to sit in a chair and do nothing but think is restful when you choose to do it, but if it is enforced, people can sometimes end up giving themselves electric shocks just to relieve the boredom. Choosing to be alone is different from enforced loneliness.
She also talks about people's attitudes towards rest, about how it's seen as lazy or unproductive or the opposite of success, but only in certain parts of the world as well as certain periods of time. Reading fiction used to be seen as amoral and almost sinful, while now going on your phone is seen in the same light. It was very interesting to see it being put together like this and made me confront my attitude towards things. Not signing myself up for something in six months time for something I wouldn't be able to do in two weeks because it is unlikely I would be less busy was a piece of advice I really connected with.
While I did recognise some parts of the book from the podcast and similar studies were used in this book as they were in Why We Sleep, I still found this an interesting and informative book.
4.5 stars!
This book is mostly focused around the Restful survey which was carried out where people were asked anonymously to list things they found the most restful. Each chapter of this book is dedicated to one of the top ten things, why it could be considered restful and studies around it. The author is very upfront about the fact that there isn't as much research around rest and the benefits of it, as there are for other things, like diet and exercise, so many of the studies are very small.
That said, I really enjoyed this book. I found it an easy non-fiction book to get through. The author talks about the various activities, such as walk, a bath, doing nothing, being alone etc and how they might work for some, but not for others. She talks about how various restful activities have been given as cures throughout the years but they are only truly restful when we choose them ourselves. Enforced lying in bed can have a negative effect on both physical and mental health, while choosing to lie in bed in the morning is a chosen restful activity for some. Being able to sit in a chair and do nothing but think is restful when you choose to do it, but if it is enforced, people can sometimes end up giving themselves electric shocks just to relieve the boredom. Choosing to be alone is different from enforced loneliness.
She also talks about people's attitudes towards rest, about how it's seen as lazy or unproductive or the opposite of success, but only in certain parts of the world as well as certain periods of time. Reading fiction used to be seen as amoral and almost sinful, while now going on your phone is seen in the same light. It was very interesting to see it being put together like this and made me confront my attitude towards things. Not signing myself up for something in six months time for something I wouldn't be able to do in two weeks because it is unlikely I would be less busy was a piece of advice I really connected with.
While I did recognise some parts of the book from the podcast and similar studies were used in this book as they were in Why We Sleep, I still found this an interesting and informative book.
4.5 stars!
January 9, 2021
I've been poorly for years with ME / CFS (amongst other things), 'rest' is a big part of my treatment and I've never know how to do it?, what 'good' rest is? or how to rest without guilt? so I thought this was the book for me. And, I got a huge amount out of it. There was science bits, psychology stuff, practical aid, common sense and realistic ideas aplenty all in a very readable style.
Now, I've had my fill of self help books but this isn't one of them in the most obvious sense of the term. If anything this book just reminds us that rest is part of the cycle of human life so trying to build some rest time into your daily life is a very good thing.
Well, I'm convinced. And the examples given are all backed up with the mantra 'Balance' and 'Personal Choice' so give yourself a break and have a read.
Toast
Now, I've had my fill of self help books but this isn't one of them in the most obvious sense of the term. If anything this book just reminds us that rest is part of the cycle of human life so trying to build some rest time into your daily life is a very good thing.
Well, I'm convinced. And the examples given are all backed up with the mantra 'Balance' and 'Personal Choice' so give yourself a break and have a read.
Toast
May 2, 2022
It's always pleasant to feel vindicated. is structured as a list of the top ten most restful activities according to a large-scale survey. At number one is, spoilers, reading a book! As it should be. Personally I need to read 600-1,200 pages of books a week so my brain doesn't dissolve into soup (presumably). Confirmation bias aside, this is an easy and restful book to read. Each of the ten chapters considers anecdotal and academic evidence for the efficacy of a particular means of resting, as well as the importance of rest overall.
Before going any further, I must put my professional statistician hat on for a moment to comment on the survey that precipitated the book. This 'Rest Test' had 18,000 participants from 135 countries, which is a commendable amount of data. However, it would be unwise to generalise global applicability from the sample as it was in no way random. The survey was launched via BBC Radio 4 and World Service; essentially a convenience sample. There is no mention in the book as to whether the outcomes were weighted to be demographically representative (e.g by age, gender, and geography). This is not to say that inferences cannot be made from the data, merely that they need caveats. It is likely that the majority of respondents were anglophone, for instance. To her credit, the author doesn't dwell on precise percentages as though they were definitive, rather using the survey as a jumping off point. Achieving a representative global survey sample is effectively impossible in any case.
I was amused to find the first chapter concerned mindfulness, after recently agreeing with the ambivalence about it expressed in . Hammond also acknowledges that it isn't for everyone and has been thoroughly commercialised. More thought-provoking was the next chapter on watching TV. This defends an activity often assumed to be bad for you as a valuable means of resting when enjoyed in moderation. I certainly agree that it provides emotional escapism. What I want from TV is a compelling narrative totally different to my life that I can become immersed in. Hammond makes the good point that watching TV with someone (in person or online) provides undemanding companionship and is a restful way to socialise when tired out by work.
The daydreaming chapter was of particular interest to me, as it defined the activity very differently to my experience of it. I don't consider letting my mind wander to be daydreaming as such. Maybe it is, but to me daydreaming is more proactive - visiting worlds or scenarios I've mentally created, rather than reflecting on what's actually happening. The latter is just thinking/ruminating, surely? I have a very visual imagination, so there are a selection of imaginary locations I wander into when in the mood to daydream. Most were created to be relaxing, with the intent of helping me sleep or zone out when travelling. Hammond's discussion of daydreaming was vaguer than my conception of it, concluding only that it's under-researched but seems to be a good thing.
My views on the remaining chapters did not really vary. Although my own experience of 'doing nothing in particular', 'listening to music' (which I often combine with daydreaming), 'a good walk' etc is somewhat different to that discussed, they are all undoubtedly important ways to rest. In theory, the book broadened my understanding of the means of relaxation I've been using as long as I can remember. In practice, the gentle combination of anecdote and research slipped from my mind soon after reading. Perhaps this demonstrates how I use reading as rest: I take pleasure in the act of reading books quickly, review them to make note of what I thought, then forget the vast majority of their content. I did not need convincing of how important rest is, so cannot say how effective the book would be at persuading someone who sees it as a waste of time. The specific advice in the final chapter certainly seems sensible and the book did encourage navel-gazing about what I find restful. I borrowed it from the library on impulse because it seemed like a relaxing book to read, and so it proved even though its lasting impact on me seems likely to be minimal.
Before going any further, I must put my professional statistician hat on for a moment to comment on the survey that precipitated the book. This 'Rest Test' had 18,000 participants from 135 countries, which is a commendable amount of data. However, it would be unwise to generalise global applicability from the sample as it was in no way random. The survey was launched via BBC Radio 4 and World Service; essentially a convenience sample. There is no mention in the book as to whether the outcomes were weighted to be demographically representative (e.g by age, gender, and geography). This is not to say that inferences cannot be made from the data, merely that they need caveats. It is likely that the majority of respondents were anglophone, for instance. To her credit, the author doesn't dwell on precise percentages as though they were definitive, rather using the survey as a jumping off point. Achieving a representative global survey sample is effectively impossible in any case.
I was amused to find the first chapter concerned mindfulness, after recently agreeing with the ambivalence about it expressed in . Hammond also acknowledges that it isn't for everyone and has been thoroughly commercialised. More thought-provoking was the next chapter on watching TV. This defends an activity often assumed to be bad for you as a valuable means of resting when enjoyed in moderation. I certainly agree that it provides emotional escapism. What I want from TV is a compelling narrative totally different to my life that I can become immersed in. Hammond makes the good point that watching TV with someone (in person or online) provides undemanding companionship and is a restful way to socialise when tired out by work.
The daydreaming chapter was of particular interest to me, as it defined the activity very differently to my experience of it. I don't consider letting my mind wander to be daydreaming as such. Maybe it is, but to me daydreaming is more proactive - visiting worlds or scenarios I've mentally created, rather than reflecting on what's actually happening. The latter is just thinking/ruminating, surely? I have a very visual imagination, so there are a selection of imaginary locations I wander into when in the mood to daydream. Most were created to be relaxing, with the intent of helping me sleep or zone out when travelling. Hammond's discussion of daydreaming was vaguer than my conception of it, concluding only that it's under-researched but seems to be a good thing.
My views on the remaining chapters did not really vary. Although my own experience of 'doing nothing in particular', 'listening to music' (which I often combine with daydreaming), 'a good walk' etc is somewhat different to that discussed, they are all undoubtedly important ways to rest. In theory, the book broadened my understanding of the means of relaxation I've been using as long as I can remember. In practice, the gentle combination of anecdote and research slipped from my mind soon after reading. Perhaps this demonstrates how I use reading as rest: I take pleasure in the act of reading books quickly, review them to make note of what I thought, then forget the vast majority of their content. I did not need convincing of how important rest is, so cannot say how effective the book would be at persuading someone who sees it as a waste of time. The specific advice in the final chapter certainly seems sensible and the book did encourage navel-gazing about what I find restful. I borrowed it from the library on impulse because it seemed like a relaxing book to read, and so it proved even though its lasting impact on me seems likely to be minimal.
February 22, 2021
The first, immediate flaw of this book is that it is based on a classic Top Ten list (i.e. what things do people find most relaxing) and then uses this list as its basis for discussing rest. Of course, as the author immediately points out, it doesn't include things that she (and millions of others) find enormously restful, e.g. gardening. And the reason for this - like all Top Tens - is that people only include things they know about. They won't include gardening if they haven't tried it, even if - perhaps - gardening may be found to be THE most relaxing thing in the world. Immediately, then, the book fails. Beyond this, it's fairly trite and obvious and not helped when the author doesn't actually like the list herself - e.g. doing nothing or being alone.
Most ironically, then, given that reading is the number one for relaxation, I didn't find this a relaxing read
Most ironically, then, given that reading is the number one for relaxation, I didn't find this a relaxing read
February 18, 2022
A book so empty it's like reading air - and that's doing air a discredit.
Utterly aimless.
Utterly aimless.
September 25, 2020
In an utterly compelling and engaging book, “The Art of Rest�, British author, occasional TV presenter, and frequent radio presenter with the BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4, Claudia Hammond, takes head on, the one elephant in the room which has been singularly responsible in stymying creativity and exacerbating stress levels in the modern contemporary professional world. The hustle and bustle of everyday life, the perennial rat race, not just leaves a greater part of the populace disillusioned, exhausted and unhealthy, but also takes away the critical aesthetics of contentment and fulfilment from the very lexicon of life. At the heart of the book lies the “Rest Test.� The Rest Test represents a survey involving 18,000 participants spread across 135 jurisdictions. The participants provided their own choice of activity that each one considered to be the most restful. “The Art of Rest� dissects the top 10 activities (in reverse order) that were considered to be most restful by the participants. So, without further ado, here goes a concise review of the top 10 activities that participants in the aforementioned study deemed to be restful. With an avowed objective of not depriving readers of Ms. Hammond’s unique and lovely work, I am providing a mere sneak-peek into each activity:
10. Mindfulness
It is not surprising at all to see an ancient Buddhist technique find itself in the list of activities deemed to be most restful. As Ms. Hammond informs her readers, ‘The Ladybird Book of Mindfulness� defines the practice as “the skill of thinking you’re doing something while you are doing nothing.� This Tantric relaxation methodology perfected by experts such as Jon Kabat-Zinn has almost discarded its avatar of a noun to become a ‘hot� verb. From Corporate Boardrooms to Constituencies of Ministers, mindfulness is the order of the day. While there is no doubting its efficacy in so far as stillness of a mischievous mind is concerned, as Ms. Hammond warns her readers, this is not for everyone, and aspirants should be careful and convinced about the authenticity of Mindfulness courses and the experience of the teachers.
9. Watching TV
Yes! You read that right! Poleaxed? If yes, we are not done yet. The ‘Idiot Box� that has been at the receiving end of so many recriminations and reviles might not be that insidious an influence after all. In a study that has now attained legendary proportions, and has also been encapsulated in stupendous detail in the best seller “Flow�, Hungarian-American psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi discovered, amongst others, that people declared that watching TV was more relaxing than playing sport or even going to clubs. But as Ms. Hammond illustrates, TV viewing is not immune to the rule that anything done in excess is dangerous. While you can indulge in a nostalgic delight dished out by a Big Bang Theory or 2 ½ Men, (the Charlie Sheen version only), once in a way, ensure that you do not binge watch for more than five hours a day, since a Japanese study found in 2016 that if people exceeded 5 hours of TV watching a day, their risk of dying from pulmonary embolism doubled! Correlation and causation notwithstanding, it pays to be safe. Personally, I am not a huge fan of the telly, except on those occasions when there is a live telecast of a cricket match, which unfortunately is almost every day!
8. Daydreaming
Who on earth would have thought that a mind which impudently wanders off in the middle of a conference to mull about dalliance with damsels and duels with demons would constitute an exercise in restfulness! Not until one read Ms. Hammond at least. She brings to our attention a complicated method named Descriptive Experience Sampling which is used to analyse daydreaming and its patterns. The psychologist Russell Hulbert identifies five elements that creep into the wanderings of the mind: visual imagery, inner speech, feelings, sensory awareness, and unsymbolized thought. The brain as Ms. Hammond explains even when in a state of rest is extremely busy with its hardwired circuitry as illustrated by the pioneering neuroscientist Marcus Raichle. If the word daydreaming sounds too very prosaic then how about ‘mind wandering?� Left to its own contrivance, this mind wandering focuses on the future. As Ms. Hammond illustrates once a future event actually occurs, this mind wandering ensures an element of preparedness in the dreamer.
7. A Nice Hot Bath
Even though the merit of a good bath has been extolled since Roman times, I will give this a go since yours truly has to be contended only with a walk-in shower! Watch out for the name Amou Haji.
6. A Good Walk
The virtues of walking have been explored, evaluated and expounded at length. The therapeutic benefits of a peripatetic lifestyle have been captured in reams that would take more than a lifetime to absorb. Some of the inveterate walkers are immortal geniuses such as Henry David Thoreau, Soren Kierkegaard, William Wordsworth, Immanuel Kant, Aristotle etc. They have all declared an invigorating walk to be an uncompromising facet of their life. However, the most absorbing aspect of this Chapter is the author’s own experience hiking through the Torres del Paine National Park in southern Chile to view the three vast granite spires. These are the spires after which the park itself takes its name. Ms. Hammond’s agony and ecstasy during the hike itself and the transformation the experience ushers in her makes for some remarkable reading.
5. Doing Nothing in Particular
This is the most peculiar, yet most obvious choice for activities epitomizing rest. Hence it is a surprise that is occupies only the fifth, and not a higher place. For a bewildered soul, the answer lies in the very quandary. In a world where a premium is placed on sleeplessness, workaholism and accumulation of flying miles (at least before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic), doing nothing in particular can seem to be the most difficult act. I thought I wouldn’t do anything for a fixed period of 2 hours post lunch this noon. An hour and 25 minutes after consuming my food, here I am furiously typing away at my laptop eager to complete this review and tag Ms. Hammond on Twitter! This Chapter is a perfect complement to Jennifer Odell’s brilliant book, “How to do nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy.� But as Ms. Hammond clarifies doing nothing does not mean sitting in a statuesque fashion and glancing at the wall in front. This refers to consigning the taken for granted hustle and bustle to the confines of neglection and doing something that will accord relaxation.
4. Listening to Music
An act which resonates with universal acceptance, listening to music bags the 4th place in the survey on most restful activities. Ms. Hammond illustrates in detail why. Extensive research has been performed on the myriad ways in which music soothes and mellows a restless mind � and head. For instance, mothers started playing Mozart to babies after a research waxed eloquent on the positive impact of listening to Mozart on infants. Even though there was skepticism in terms of correlation and causality, there is no disputing or doubting the alleviating effect music can have. Yet another study conducted on Finnish teenagers revealed that music at once made them feel relaxed and also instilled in them energy. I personally play an advertising jingle on loop whenever I hit the sack.
3. I want to be Alone
“Me Time� has to be arguably one of most frequently employed words of late. A need to extricate oneself from the claustrophobic grip of a mad, perpetual motion machine that is the everyday rat race has spurred people to seek solitude. A solitude that is quite different from loneliness. Ms. Hammond educates her readers about empirical evidence that unearthed the startling fact that a study of eighteen-to-twenty-five-year olds in the USA revealed that spending time alone was associated with greater creativity. However, Ms. Hammond also warns her readers of the peril of getting into a rut of loneliness as was illustrated in great detail by great figures such as Petrarch, Montaigne and Wordsworth.
2. Spending Time in Nature
In sharp contradistinction to walking, spending time in nature refers to getting oneself ‘immersed� in nature. Ms. Hammond illustrates this fact beautifully with reference to the Great Fen Conservation Project which is currently one of the largest restoration projects of its type in Europe where a barren landscape is being restored and transformed for the benefit both of wildlife and of people. With an ornithologist for a father (and an avid gardening enthusiast herself), Ms. Hammond undoubtedly possesses the credentials to hold forth on the benefits of being enveloped amidst nature. This Chapter has one of the most poignant passages in the book. Ms. Hammond explains the ‘overview effect�, (the impact which a view of earth from outers pace can have on people) as elucidated by Annahita Nezami. The intense feeling that almost overwhelms an astronaut not just makes us realise our infinitesimal place on the Planet but also makes us cherish the same. Remember “The Pale Blue Dot?�
1. Reading
An inveterate bibliophile myself, this finding warmed the very cockles of my heart. The participants in the Rest Test overwhelmingly voted “reading� as the most restful activity of all. I can unequivocally and wholeheartedly vouch for the same. Irrespective of the genre, a book paradoxically keeps me both rooted at a spot for hours on end, while at the same time transporting me across continents separated by mountains that are unscalable and oceans that are unnavigable. Whether it is a Carl Sagan or a Virginia Woolf, Scott Fitzgerald or Daniel Kahneman, I am an armchair Alexander Humboldt measuring the world from the confines of my settee. Digest this: “A poll of 5,000 people living in Britain found that 38 percent of those who watched TV in bed said they sleep poorly most nights, while 39 percent of those who read before they go to sleep said they sleep very well.� That, ladies and gentlemen, should seal any debate!
“The Art of Rest�, is persuasive, provocative and poignant. An essential read in today’s tumult and turbulence caused by a pandemic and exacerbated by politics.
(The Art of Rest by Claudia Hammond is published by Canongate Books and will be released on the 20th of October 2020.)
10. Mindfulness
It is not surprising at all to see an ancient Buddhist technique find itself in the list of activities deemed to be most restful. As Ms. Hammond informs her readers, ‘The Ladybird Book of Mindfulness� defines the practice as “the skill of thinking you’re doing something while you are doing nothing.� This Tantric relaxation methodology perfected by experts such as Jon Kabat-Zinn has almost discarded its avatar of a noun to become a ‘hot� verb. From Corporate Boardrooms to Constituencies of Ministers, mindfulness is the order of the day. While there is no doubting its efficacy in so far as stillness of a mischievous mind is concerned, as Ms. Hammond warns her readers, this is not for everyone, and aspirants should be careful and convinced about the authenticity of Mindfulness courses and the experience of the teachers.
9. Watching TV
Yes! You read that right! Poleaxed? If yes, we are not done yet. The ‘Idiot Box� that has been at the receiving end of so many recriminations and reviles might not be that insidious an influence after all. In a study that has now attained legendary proportions, and has also been encapsulated in stupendous detail in the best seller “Flow�, Hungarian-American psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi discovered, amongst others, that people declared that watching TV was more relaxing than playing sport or even going to clubs. But as Ms. Hammond illustrates, TV viewing is not immune to the rule that anything done in excess is dangerous. While you can indulge in a nostalgic delight dished out by a Big Bang Theory or 2 ½ Men, (the Charlie Sheen version only), once in a way, ensure that you do not binge watch for more than five hours a day, since a Japanese study found in 2016 that if people exceeded 5 hours of TV watching a day, their risk of dying from pulmonary embolism doubled! Correlation and causation notwithstanding, it pays to be safe. Personally, I am not a huge fan of the telly, except on those occasions when there is a live telecast of a cricket match, which unfortunately is almost every day!
8. Daydreaming
Who on earth would have thought that a mind which impudently wanders off in the middle of a conference to mull about dalliance with damsels and duels with demons would constitute an exercise in restfulness! Not until one read Ms. Hammond at least. She brings to our attention a complicated method named Descriptive Experience Sampling which is used to analyse daydreaming and its patterns. The psychologist Russell Hulbert identifies five elements that creep into the wanderings of the mind: visual imagery, inner speech, feelings, sensory awareness, and unsymbolized thought. The brain as Ms. Hammond explains even when in a state of rest is extremely busy with its hardwired circuitry as illustrated by the pioneering neuroscientist Marcus Raichle. If the word daydreaming sounds too very prosaic then how about ‘mind wandering?� Left to its own contrivance, this mind wandering focuses on the future. As Ms. Hammond illustrates once a future event actually occurs, this mind wandering ensures an element of preparedness in the dreamer.
7. A Nice Hot Bath
Even though the merit of a good bath has been extolled since Roman times, I will give this a go since yours truly has to be contended only with a walk-in shower! Watch out for the name Amou Haji.
6. A Good Walk
The virtues of walking have been explored, evaluated and expounded at length. The therapeutic benefits of a peripatetic lifestyle have been captured in reams that would take more than a lifetime to absorb. Some of the inveterate walkers are immortal geniuses such as Henry David Thoreau, Soren Kierkegaard, William Wordsworth, Immanuel Kant, Aristotle etc. They have all declared an invigorating walk to be an uncompromising facet of their life. However, the most absorbing aspect of this Chapter is the author’s own experience hiking through the Torres del Paine National Park in southern Chile to view the three vast granite spires. These are the spires after which the park itself takes its name. Ms. Hammond’s agony and ecstasy during the hike itself and the transformation the experience ushers in her makes for some remarkable reading.
5. Doing Nothing in Particular
This is the most peculiar, yet most obvious choice for activities epitomizing rest. Hence it is a surprise that is occupies only the fifth, and not a higher place. For a bewildered soul, the answer lies in the very quandary. In a world where a premium is placed on sleeplessness, workaholism and accumulation of flying miles (at least before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic), doing nothing in particular can seem to be the most difficult act. I thought I wouldn’t do anything for a fixed period of 2 hours post lunch this noon. An hour and 25 minutes after consuming my food, here I am furiously typing away at my laptop eager to complete this review and tag Ms. Hammond on Twitter! This Chapter is a perfect complement to Jennifer Odell’s brilliant book, “How to do nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy.� But as Ms. Hammond clarifies doing nothing does not mean sitting in a statuesque fashion and glancing at the wall in front. This refers to consigning the taken for granted hustle and bustle to the confines of neglection and doing something that will accord relaxation.
4. Listening to Music
An act which resonates with universal acceptance, listening to music bags the 4th place in the survey on most restful activities. Ms. Hammond illustrates in detail why. Extensive research has been performed on the myriad ways in which music soothes and mellows a restless mind � and head. For instance, mothers started playing Mozart to babies after a research waxed eloquent on the positive impact of listening to Mozart on infants. Even though there was skepticism in terms of correlation and causality, there is no disputing or doubting the alleviating effect music can have. Yet another study conducted on Finnish teenagers revealed that music at once made them feel relaxed and also instilled in them energy. I personally play an advertising jingle on loop whenever I hit the sack.
3. I want to be Alone
“Me Time� has to be arguably one of most frequently employed words of late. A need to extricate oneself from the claustrophobic grip of a mad, perpetual motion machine that is the everyday rat race has spurred people to seek solitude. A solitude that is quite different from loneliness. Ms. Hammond educates her readers about empirical evidence that unearthed the startling fact that a study of eighteen-to-twenty-five-year olds in the USA revealed that spending time alone was associated with greater creativity. However, Ms. Hammond also warns her readers of the peril of getting into a rut of loneliness as was illustrated in great detail by great figures such as Petrarch, Montaigne and Wordsworth.
2. Spending Time in Nature
In sharp contradistinction to walking, spending time in nature refers to getting oneself ‘immersed� in nature. Ms. Hammond illustrates this fact beautifully with reference to the Great Fen Conservation Project which is currently one of the largest restoration projects of its type in Europe where a barren landscape is being restored and transformed for the benefit both of wildlife and of people. With an ornithologist for a father (and an avid gardening enthusiast herself), Ms. Hammond undoubtedly possesses the credentials to hold forth on the benefits of being enveloped amidst nature. This Chapter has one of the most poignant passages in the book. Ms. Hammond explains the ‘overview effect�, (the impact which a view of earth from outers pace can have on people) as elucidated by Annahita Nezami. The intense feeling that almost overwhelms an astronaut not just makes us realise our infinitesimal place on the Planet but also makes us cherish the same. Remember “The Pale Blue Dot?�
1. Reading
An inveterate bibliophile myself, this finding warmed the very cockles of my heart. The participants in the Rest Test overwhelmingly voted “reading� as the most restful activity of all. I can unequivocally and wholeheartedly vouch for the same. Irrespective of the genre, a book paradoxically keeps me both rooted at a spot for hours on end, while at the same time transporting me across continents separated by mountains that are unscalable and oceans that are unnavigable. Whether it is a Carl Sagan or a Virginia Woolf, Scott Fitzgerald or Daniel Kahneman, I am an armchair Alexander Humboldt measuring the world from the confines of my settee. Digest this: “A poll of 5,000 people living in Britain found that 38 percent of those who watched TV in bed said they sleep poorly most nights, while 39 percent of those who read before they go to sleep said they sleep very well.� That, ladies and gentlemen, should seal any debate!
“The Art of Rest�, is persuasive, provocative and poignant. An essential read in today’s tumult and turbulence caused by a pandemic and exacerbated by politics.
(The Art of Rest by Claudia Hammond is published by Canongate Books and will be released on the 20th of October 2020.)
November 30, 2020
If you choose to read this book, then it is probably a good thing for you. It's a light, evidence supported reflection on what rest is. It makes you think about how you frame rest, busy-ness and how you might go about getting more of it. Or better. It won't change your life, but it will help.. That's not a bad deal for the price and the time spent reading.
- - - - - -
This is a fuller review after some reflection. I like the book more and more as I think about it after reading...
A lighthearted but well-researched book about how we rest and how we might do it better. It starts with the argument that rest is as important as sleep.We should be resting for something like five hours a day. Rest includes daydreaming, walking, meditation etc. The most popular restful activity according to a study called The Rest Test is reading.
The top ten ways of resting people in the study said were :
1. Reading.
2. Spending time in nature.
3. Being alone.
4. Listening to music.
5. Doing nothing in particular. [Pottering?]
6. Walk.
7. Bath.
8. Daydreaming
9. Watching TV.
10. Mindfulness.
Hammond structures the book around these activities, using scientific research to understand more about them and often disproving common misunderstandings about them. For instance, people find walking in managed countryside settings more restful than truly wild nature, that there is no evidence that listening to Mozart makes you smarter and that TV watching can be good for you. As well busting myths, some old advice is given new support by science, such as writing a to-do list before bed-time to get things off your mind...
�...in trials just before bed in which people were required either to write a to-do list or a satisfying list of everything they had achieved that day, those prescribed the to-do list fell asleep an average of nine minutes faster.
“You might expect the busiest people with the longest lists would still find it hard to get to sleep, but the study found that busy people who created lists of more than ten tasks did better, falling asleep an average of fifteen minutes faster.�
Blimey, eh?
A common theme through all of them is that different people require different kinds of rest, and that moderation is important.The most helpful aspect of the book is that it addresses how difficult many people find resting. The best way to deal with this is to think about rest as important, to be conscious of doing it. One lovely example of reframing rest is taken from Henry Thoreaux, who saw sitting down as something that required endurance and saw walking as “taking a break from sitting�.
Other helpful suggestions I noted were to reframe wasted time as rest, and to “prescribe yourself fifteen minutes of your favourite restful activity when you feel stressed�.It’s a subtle book in many ways. It’s personal and gentle, but it achieves its aim in the end. You have had a good think about rest and are a little more aware of how you are resting –or not –in your own life.
- - - - - -
This is a fuller review after some reflection. I like the book more and more as I think about it after reading...
A lighthearted but well-researched book about how we rest and how we might do it better. It starts with the argument that rest is as important as sleep.We should be resting for something like five hours a day. Rest includes daydreaming, walking, meditation etc. The most popular restful activity according to a study called The Rest Test is reading.
The top ten ways of resting people in the study said were :
1. Reading.
2. Spending time in nature.
3. Being alone.
4. Listening to music.
5. Doing nothing in particular. [Pottering?]
6. Walk.
7. Bath.
8. Daydreaming
9. Watching TV.
10. Mindfulness.
Hammond structures the book around these activities, using scientific research to understand more about them and often disproving common misunderstandings about them. For instance, people find walking in managed countryside settings more restful than truly wild nature, that there is no evidence that listening to Mozart makes you smarter and that TV watching can be good for you. As well busting myths, some old advice is given new support by science, such as writing a to-do list before bed-time to get things off your mind...
�...in trials just before bed in which people were required either to write a to-do list or a satisfying list of everything they had achieved that day, those prescribed the to-do list fell asleep an average of nine minutes faster.
“You might expect the busiest people with the longest lists would still find it hard to get to sleep, but the study found that busy people who created lists of more than ten tasks did better, falling asleep an average of fifteen minutes faster.�
Blimey, eh?
A common theme through all of them is that different people require different kinds of rest, and that moderation is important.The most helpful aspect of the book is that it addresses how difficult many people find resting. The best way to deal with this is to think about rest as important, to be conscious of doing it. One lovely example of reframing rest is taken from Henry Thoreaux, who saw sitting down as something that required endurance and saw walking as “taking a break from sitting�.
Other helpful suggestions I noted were to reframe wasted time as rest, and to “prescribe yourself fifteen minutes of your favourite restful activity when you feel stressed�.It’s a subtle book in many ways. It’s personal and gentle, but it achieves its aim in the end. You have had a good think about rest and are a little more aware of how you are resting –or not –in your own life.
January 30, 2020
This is the perfect audiobook. The author narrates & she is engaging, relaxing & so easy to listening to. I loved this book. It was full of interesting & useful facts & just made so much sense.
June 14, 2023
เล่มนี้ดีมา� อาจน่าเบื่อหน่อ� เพราะอิงงานวิจัยมาเยอ� แต่หนังสือก็ทำให้เรารู้ว่าการพักผ่อนแบบใดที่เราได้พักผ่อนอย่างแท้จริง และไม่ควรมีใครรู้สึกผิดที่จะอยู่เฉย� เพราะการอยู่เฉย� ก็เป็นการพักผ่อนที่ดีอย่างนึง
เราเป็นคนที่เชื่อว่าคนเราไม่จำเป็นต้อ� productive ตลอดเวล� และคนเราควรมีเวลาที่ได้พักผ่อน ที่ไม่ใช่แค่การนอนหลับ เพื่อให้ชีวิตมีสุนทรียะ และหนังสือเล่มนี้ก็ได้ให้คำตอบกับเราทุกอย่างว่าเราควรมีช่วงเวลาในชีวิตที่ไม่ต้องทำอะไรเป็นพิเศษ ได้อยู่เฉย� ปล่อยใจให้ล่องลอ� นอนแช่น้ำอุ่� อยู่คนเดียว อ่านหนังสื� อยู่กับธรรมชาติได้โดยที่ไม่ต้องรู้สึกผิดเลย หากเราจะพักผ่อนมากกว่าคนอื่นทั่วไป
รักเล่มนี้มากค่ะ
เราเป็นคนที่เชื่อว่าคนเราไม่จำเป็นต้อ� productive ตลอดเวล� และคนเราควรมีเวลาที่ได้พักผ่อน ที่ไม่ใช่แค่การนอนหลับ เพื่อให้ชีวิตมีสุนทรียะ และหนังสือเล่มนี้ก็ได้ให้คำตอบกับเราทุกอย่างว่าเราควรมีช่วงเวลาในชีวิตที่ไม่ต้องทำอะไรเป็นพิเศษ ได้อยู่เฉย� ปล่อยใจให้ล่องลอ� นอนแช่น้ำอุ่� อยู่คนเดียว อ่านหนังสื� อยู่กับธรรมชาติได้โดยที่ไม่ต้องรู้สึกผิดเลย หากเราจะพักผ่อนมากกว่าคนอื่นทั่วไป
รักเล่มนี้มากค่ะ
December 18, 2024
Vajalik meeldetuletus puhkamise vajalikkusest, toetatud uuringutega. Mikropausid, mitte millegi tegemine, kõpitsemine, jne. Haaran mõned nipid loodetavasti igapäevaellu kaasa.
August 13, 2021
A book by a freelancer telling busier people with rigid schedules that they'd be happier if they watched more TV.
May 25, 2022
fuck yes good stuff
December 28, 2023
This could have been a blog post.
December 4, 2023
I very rarely read non-fiction but I saw this on my library app and thought it would be useful. I listened to it on audio. It goes through the top 10 best ways to relax and goes into detail of each and explains studies and theories to each. A lot of the types of rest are ones I had heard of, thought of or already do but listening about them and taking the time to think about rest and how to do it definitely helped. It gave me some tips and also helped me to justify to myself reasons to rest. I definitely took something away from this book as someone who is tired from a busy mum life and feeding a baby through the night. Hopefully I will be able to put some of it into practice and also give myself a break!
January 19, 2025
3,5 ⭐️ mulle jäi läbi kumama, et autor kirjeldas puhkamisviise peamiselt selle vaatepunkti läbi, mis talle endale rohkem meeldib (nt kui mediteerimine ei meeldi, siis ei võtnud selle kohta teadusuuringuid ka tõsiselt)
kõige parem osa raamatust oli minu jaoks viimased 20 lehekülge ideaalse puhkuse retseptiga
kõige parem osa raamatust oli minu jaoks viimased 20 lehekülge ideaalse puhkuse retseptiga
December 8, 2024
Book reviews can never be objective. The way we find a book and everything that’s going on in our lives while we read it will colour what we take from it. When this book found me my life had recently been turned upside down by multiple family health issues. I was juggling that, being around for my parents and siblings and still working. I was (and am) consciously trying to build my adaptability and resilience. I was on a weekend away with my brother, having taken time off work so I could drive him to an event he wanted to go to, and while he did that I went to a bookshop (the best kind of self-care) and found this book.
I had so much going round my head that I was struggling to sit down and be with my thoughts. I’ve read so much less this year than every other year in my life; one because I’ve had less time, but mainly because when I’ve had time I haven’t been able to focus on a book. I felt proud of myself for how I was handling everything but also acknowledged the possibility of burn out in this situation was quite possible. So when I found this book I thought - PERFECT. Sometimes a book finds you just when you need it. I read it over four months, I dog-earred lots of pages and from being new a few months ago it’s now beat up as I took it to so many places as a symbolic commitment to balance and valuing rest.
I think in our culture we value busyness, we wear it as a badge of honour. Effort is good, therefore not putting effort in (even if only for a short period of time) is bad. I’m guilty of this myself. If we stop, we fear being seen as lazy (or we see ourselves as lazy). Then we don’t find it very restful do we! I have an obsession with “making the most� of every moment. And as this book mentions, one of the Seven Deadly Sins is Sloth.
“Sloth, he [Thomas Aquinas, the medieval theologian] says is ‘sluggishness of the mind which neglects to begin good� and that makes sloth ‘evil in its effect� as it stops us doing God’s work. And it isn’t just the Christian tradition that takes a dim view of doing nothing, Hippocrates said ‘Idleness and a lack of occupation tend - nay are dragged - towards evil.’�
The book is chatty, I liked the relaxed style. Claudia Hammond discusses studies and surveys but it’s her musings more than anything, which I enjoyed. Her reflecting on rest created space for me to reflect on rest. I loved the discussions of what even is rest and the difference between physical rest and mental rest, how sometimes tiring the body can rest the mind. Feeling rested is about getting the balance between activity and inactivity right.
Rest is not one thing. Nothing will be relaxing for everyone all the time. It’s in the context of your life. If you are forced to stay in bed because of illness or injury, it’s not at all relaxing and can be damaging mentally and physically. If you have too much time to yourself it can become stale and “change is as good as a rest�. Enjoyment in a leisure activity drops if people have too much time on their hands. Free time is only relaxing up to a certain point. Physical labour can be very relaxing but if your job is physical it’s the last thing you want to do to relax.
I love that the book doesn’t judge. A whole chapter is spent on ‘Watching TV� with an acknowledgment that it is one of the main ways people relax these days, and it can be joyful, communal, and good. In the ‘Reading� chapter she mentions reading the news. How negative news can make us feel anxious and less motivated to do something about the issues but “there is one perspective to be had from reading a negative story; like seeing the Earth from space, other people’s misfortune does put our own difficulties into perspective.� Reading the news is relaxing for some people.
The “Doing Nothing in Particular� chapter was interesting - what does that mean if actually doing nothing is impossible, why don’t we like to admit we “did nothing�. It’s about finding things you can do with little to no thought to distract your mind just enough so you can relax. That might be pottering, jigsaws, colouring books, gazing out the window, doodling. Things you can do with little thought, to distract your mind just enough that you can relax.
“I still believe more of us, more of the time, should try to aim for pure nothing-doing. It’s good for us. As Albert Camus said, ‘Idleness is only fatal to the mediocre.� [or as my uncle says only boring people get bored] It’s probably not an activity to schedule, because we know that enforced inactivity leads to boredom. But what we can do is wait until the opportunity to do nothing presents itself to us spontaneously and then embrace it.�
I liked the term ‘lifemin� - the neverending admin of day to day life. One of the reasons why going away on holiday can be so relaxing for some people: you can escape lifemin and the constant reminders of everything to do that surround you when you’re at home. The chapter on ‘Reading� makes the point that many people think it’s fine to read a book in bed at the end of the day but “at any other time of day reading made them feel guilty. They should, they felt, be doing something more active, more useful.� There’s that sneaky guilt again! The author says walking can be restful because we feel like we’re doing something, so we don’t feel bad - we have permission to think but we also have distractions. The most restful times can be when we enter a state of Flow and lose track of time.
I LOVED the concept of micro-breaks. Breaks can be as small and simple as leaning back in your chair, closing your eyes for a few seconds, looking out the window, stretching. And studies have shown even micro-breaks like these can make a difference on your mood.
“Rest needs to be taken seriously. If you can’t even take micro-breaks at work, stress can build up. Research conducted in Germany and the Netherlands found that agreeing strongly with statements such as, ‘When I get home after work, I want to be left in peace for a while,� and ‘I have difficulties in showing interest in other people immediately after I get home from work,� served as an early warning sign for bouts of prolonged fatigue and lower well-being.�
At the end of the book she says the optimum rest time is 5 hours of rest a day (averaging out weekdays and weekends) 😲 which is wild to me! But when you actually stop and think about it, as she says, we often have more rest time than we give ourselves credit for. If I spend 8 hours working, 8 hours sleeping, some hour/s commuting, some hours doing chores - maybe I do have 3,4,5 hours free time to do whatever the hell I like and maybe it should be re-energising, revitalizing and restful activities so I don’t burn out. And we can find rest in the inbetween moments, while commuting or doing chores or on breaks at work. There are many circumstances in life where 5 hours a day is unattainable - but as Hammond says, don’t get bogged down in the numbers, if you feel you are getting enough rest you are probably right.
“Rest is anything that a particular person counts as rest.�
A revelation I had in a counselling session when discussing this book and that the (self-imposed) pressure to rest was not helping me feel restful, my counsellor said - with everything going on maybe you can’t rest at the moment, maybe it’s more helpful to think of scheduling in stop or pause time; if that time turns out to be restful then hooray, but don’t put pressure on it having to be - that has been so helpful. I took a lot from this read. The importance of managing the rhythms of rest and activity, of busyness and idleness, and valuing rest without it becoming another job on our to-do list, how to rebrand wasted time as rest, stop fetishising busyness, and to "keep an eye out for resting when you don't realise it."
“It is only by realising that you are resting that you can properly relish it. Try to be a purposeful and conscious rester. Yes, potter if you want to; yes, do nothing in particular - but appreciate the satisfying, restful nature of that pottering and loafing. Note it, value it. Don’t allow precious moments of rest to pass you by.�
🤍
I had so much going round my head that I was struggling to sit down and be with my thoughts. I’ve read so much less this year than every other year in my life; one because I’ve had less time, but mainly because when I’ve had time I haven’t been able to focus on a book. I felt proud of myself for how I was handling everything but also acknowledged the possibility of burn out in this situation was quite possible. So when I found this book I thought - PERFECT. Sometimes a book finds you just when you need it. I read it over four months, I dog-earred lots of pages and from being new a few months ago it’s now beat up as I took it to so many places as a symbolic commitment to balance and valuing rest.
I think in our culture we value busyness, we wear it as a badge of honour. Effort is good, therefore not putting effort in (even if only for a short period of time) is bad. I’m guilty of this myself. If we stop, we fear being seen as lazy (or we see ourselves as lazy). Then we don’t find it very restful do we! I have an obsession with “making the most� of every moment. And as this book mentions, one of the Seven Deadly Sins is Sloth.
“Sloth, he [Thomas Aquinas, the medieval theologian] says is ‘sluggishness of the mind which neglects to begin good� and that makes sloth ‘evil in its effect� as it stops us doing God’s work. And it isn’t just the Christian tradition that takes a dim view of doing nothing, Hippocrates said ‘Idleness and a lack of occupation tend - nay are dragged - towards evil.’�
The book is chatty, I liked the relaxed style. Claudia Hammond discusses studies and surveys but it’s her musings more than anything, which I enjoyed. Her reflecting on rest created space for me to reflect on rest. I loved the discussions of what even is rest and the difference between physical rest and mental rest, how sometimes tiring the body can rest the mind. Feeling rested is about getting the balance between activity and inactivity right.
Rest is not one thing. Nothing will be relaxing for everyone all the time. It’s in the context of your life. If you are forced to stay in bed because of illness or injury, it’s not at all relaxing and can be damaging mentally and physically. If you have too much time to yourself it can become stale and “change is as good as a rest�. Enjoyment in a leisure activity drops if people have too much time on their hands. Free time is only relaxing up to a certain point. Physical labour can be very relaxing but if your job is physical it’s the last thing you want to do to relax.
I love that the book doesn’t judge. A whole chapter is spent on ‘Watching TV� with an acknowledgment that it is one of the main ways people relax these days, and it can be joyful, communal, and good. In the ‘Reading� chapter she mentions reading the news. How negative news can make us feel anxious and less motivated to do something about the issues but “there is one perspective to be had from reading a negative story; like seeing the Earth from space, other people’s misfortune does put our own difficulties into perspective.� Reading the news is relaxing for some people.
The “Doing Nothing in Particular� chapter was interesting - what does that mean if actually doing nothing is impossible, why don’t we like to admit we “did nothing�. It’s about finding things you can do with little to no thought to distract your mind just enough so you can relax. That might be pottering, jigsaws, colouring books, gazing out the window, doodling. Things you can do with little thought, to distract your mind just enough that you can relax.
“I still believe more of us, more of the time, should try to aim for pure nothing-doing. It’s good for us. As Albert Camus said, ‘Idleness is only fatal to the mediocre.� [or as my uncle says only boring people get bored] It’s probably not an activity to schedule, because we know that enforced inactivity leads to boredom. But what we can do is wait until the opportunity to do nothing presents itself to us spontaneously and then embrace it.�
I liked the term ‘lifemin� - the neverending admin of day to day life. One of the reasons why going away on holiday can be so relaxing for some people: you can escape lifemin and the constant reminders of everything to do that surround you when you’re at home. The chapter on ‘Reading� makes the point that many people think it’s fine to read a book in bed at the end of the day but “at any other time of day reading made them feel guilty. They should, they felt, be doing something more active, more useful.� There’s that sneaky guilt again! The author says walking can be restful because we feel like we’re doing something, so we don’t feel bad - we have permission to think but we also have distractions. The most restful times can be when we enter a state of Flow and lose track of time.
I LOVED the concept of micro-breaks. Breaks can be as small and simple as leaning back in your chair, closing your eyes for a few seconds, looking out the window, stretching. And studies have shown even micro-breaks like these can make a difference on your mood.
“Rest needs to be taken seriously. If you can’t even take micro-breaks at work, stress can build up. Research conducted in Germany and the Netherlands found that agreeing strongly with statements such as, ‘When I get home after work, I want to be left in peace for a while,� and ‘I have difficulties in showing interest in other people immediately after I get home from work,� served as an early warning sign for bouts of prolonged fatigue and lower well-being.�
At the end of the book she says the optimum rest time is 5 hours of rest a day (averaging out weekdays and weekends) 😲 which is wild to me! But when you actually stop and think about it, as she says, we often have more rest time than we give ourselves credit for. If I spend 8 hours working, 8 hours sleeping, some hour/s commuting, some hours doing chores - maybe I do have 3,4,5 hours free time to do whatever the hell I like and maybe it should be re-energising, revitalizing and restful activities so I don’t burn out. And we can find rest in the inbetween moments, while commuting or doing chores or on breaks at work. There are many circumstances in life where 5 hours a day is unattainable - but as Hammond says, don’t get bogged down in the numbers, if you feel you are getting enough rest you are probably right.
“Rest is anything that a particular person counts as rest.�
A revelation I had in a counselling session when discussing this book and that the (self-imposed) pressure to rest was not helping me feel restful, my counsellor said - with everything going on maybe you can’t rest at the moment, maybe it’s more helpful to think of scheduling in stop or pause time; if that time turns out to be restful then hooray, but don’t put pressure on it having to be - that has been so helpful. I took a lot from this read. The importance of managing the rhythms of rest and activity, of busyness and idleness, and valuing rest without it becoming another job on our to-do list, how to rebrand wasted time as rest, stop fetishising busyness, and to "keep an eye out for resting when you don't realise it."
“It is only by realising that you are resting that you can properly relish it. Try to be a purposeful and conscious rester. Yes, potter if you want to; yes, do nothing in particular - but appreciate the satisfying, restful nature of that pottering and loafing. Note it, value it. Don’t allow precious moments of rest to pass you by.�
🤍
January 12, 2021
For those who aren’t a fan of non-fiction books, this was an unthreatening and engaging read. For those who aren’t a fan of self-help books, this book was humble, relatable and unpretentious. For those who are a fan of both but maybe find resting a struggle, it’s simply a relaxed but informative take on the nation’s favourite ways to unwind (mentally, physically, or both), some of the psychology behind it (making clear that unlike other areas of lifestyle such as diet and exercise, rest has not historically had the interest that would allow many large-scale studies) and an insight into the contrast between societal attitudes to resting vs the reality.
Writing from the viewpoint that rest is a natural and necessary part of our lives, this book addresses issues of guilt, modern work culture, and expectations as factors that often affect our ability to (and perhaps make us more reluctant to) switch off and kick back - doing so in a way that is comforting rather than patronising. The tips are helpful but not forceful, based on feedback from a variety of different people who participated in a Rest Test and not one single self-claimed expert.
I really enjoyed this book - it was easy, interesting and at points even surprising. I recommend it for anyone thinking of re-evaluating their priorities in 2021.
Writing from the viewpoint that rest is a natural and necessary part of our lives, this book addresses issues of guilt, modern work culture, and expectations as factors that often affect our ability to (and perhaps make us more reluctant to) switch off and kick back - doing so in a way that is comforting rather than patronising. The tips are helpful but not forceful, based on feedback from a variety of different people who participated in a Rest Test and not one single self-claimed expert.
I really enjoyed this book - it was easy, interesting and at points even surprising. I recommend it for anyone thinking of re-evaluating their priorities in 2021.
March 27, 2024
Me ha costado😭 pero me ha parecido muy interesante. El último capítulo especialmente me parece muy útil la verdad. Supongo que es muy bueno en su función principal: ayudar a relajarte; porque me quedaba dormida a cada rato mientras lo leí ahahah.
October 12, 2020
2.5�
не клікнуло, хоча дуже хотілось🤞🏻 Було враження що читаю довжелезну (розуміти "задовгу, без реальної потреби") , і як це часто у моєму випадку буває, розмиту статтю на Medium. Відверто, деякі речі проскакувала очима 👀
Ніби так багато всього, але нічого конкретного і цінного; побіжні висновки там, трішки цифр тут, ну і ще як без авторського "від себе" додам 😐 Хоча куди ж без цього, все просіюється через фільтр "суб'єктивності".
Але є у всьому цьому і хороше, це постійне нагадування читачеві, що ВІДПОЧИНОК - ЦЕ НАШ З ВАМИ ОБОВ'ЯЗОК ПЕРЕД СОБОЮ ❤️ На превеликий жаль, у XXI столітті ми стали заручниками "зайнятості"! Наш з вами соціальний статус вимірюється, тим наскільки ви зайняті щодня, щоночі, на вихідних, у моменти відпустки 📇 Ми всі один наперед одного ганяємось за показником "а скільки ж галочок" я сьогодні намалюю у своєму to-do списку, який скоріш за все ніколи немає кінця 😧
Відпочинок подається як щось погане, ба більше ганебне, це прояв нашої слабкості й нецілеспрямованості!
Але перепочинок - це необхідність, ми не машини, які можуть працювати невтомно. Без перерви страждає наше тіло, вичерпуються наші з вами ментальні резерви, а це речі які не так вже й легко поповнити 👀
Тому нам усім потрібно вчитись відповідально ставитись до своїх потреб, вчитись слухати себе 👂У кожної людини різні потреби й
різні погляди та очікування щодо того чи іншого виду відпочинку, для одних ресурсом стане медитація, для
для інших гаряча ванна або кілька годинна прогулянка... А може все разом😇
Та не так важливий спосіб, надважливим тут є саме результат ❤️
не клікнуло, хоча дуже хотілось🤞🏻 Було враження що читаю довжелезну (розуміти "задовгу, без реальної потреби") , і як це часто у моєму випадку буває, розмиту статтю на Medium. Відверто, деякі речі проскакувала очима 👀
Ніби так багато всього, але нічого конкретного і цінного; побіжні висновки там, трішки цифр тут, ну і ще як без авторського "від себе" додам 😐 Хоча куди ж без цього, все просіюється через фільтр "суб'єктивності".
Але є у всьому цьому і хороше, це постійне нагадування читачеві, що ВІДПОЧИНОК - ЦЕ НАШ З ВАМИ ОБОВ'ЯЗОК ПЕРЕД СОБОЮ ❤️ На превеликий жаль, у XXI столітті ми стали заручниками "зайнятості"! Наш з вами соціальний статус вимірюється, тим наскільки ви зайняті щодня, щоночі, на вихідних, у моменти відпустки 📇 Ми всі один наперед одного ганяємось за показником "а скільки ж галочок" я сьогодні намалюю у своєму to-do списку, який скоріш за все ніколи немає кінця 😧
Відпочинок подається як щось погане, ба більше ганебне, це прояв нашої слабкості й нецілеспрямованості!
Але перепочинок - це необхідність, ми не машини, які можуть працювати невтомно. Без перерви страждає наше тіло, вичерпуються наші з вами ментальні резерви, а це речі які не так вже й легко поповнити 👀
Тому нам усім потрібно вчитись відповідально ставитись до своїх потреб, вчитись слухати себе 👂У кожної людини різні потреби й
різні погляди та очікування щодо того чи іншого виду відпочинку, для одних ресурсом стане медитація, для
для інших гаряча ванна або кілька годинна прогулянка... А може все разом😇
Та не так важливий спосіб, надважливим тут є саме результат ❤️
April 11, 2021
Based on survey findings, there isn’t enough substance to sustain a chapter on each of the top ten leisure activities. We are told things that are too obvious and too obviously padding. There are a few interesting pointers but overall the format and the content both fail.
March 4, 2023
Pagaliau kažkas aiškiai pasakė, kad žiūrėti televizorių yra gerai. Pagal tyrimą, kuriame dalyvavo 18 tūkst. žmonių iš 135 šalių, žiūrėti televizorių yra 9 vietoje pagal tai, kaip žmonės pailsi. Nieko čia nereikia apgaudinėti, valandėlę ar dvi praleidę prie TV pasijuntame atsipalaidavę ir pailsėję. Daugiau jaunų nei vyresnių žmonių pasisakė, kad pailsi prie televizoriaus.
Gal net TV žiūrėjimas tyrime būtų užkopęs į aukštesnę vietą, betgi televizoriaus reputacija prasta. Prisipažinimas, kad šeštadienio vakarą praleidai prie TV ekrano, yra lygus pasakymui - “Aš nesėkmingas�. Gerai, kad dirbu LRT, tad visada turiu alibi, kodėl žiūriu TV. Žiūri ir tie, kurie alibi neturi - statistika byloja, kad TV žiūrėjimas yra velniškai populiarus nepaisant to, kad paklausius aplinkui televizoriaus namie nieks neturi.
Absoliutus malonumas buvo rasti Claudios Hammond knygoje “Menas ilsėtis� klausimą, “kas pasakė, kad reikia maksimaliai išnaudoti kiekvieną mūsų gyvenimo minutę aktyvioms, sudėtingoms, vertingoms ir įsimintinoms veikloms?�. Mums reikia ir pailsėti, ir netgi pasistengti tai daryti dažniau.
Žiūrėdami televiziją žmonės atsipalaiduoja - netgi labiau nei sportuodami, valgydami ar tinginiaudami. Tiesa, tingėti ir nieko neveikti yra irgi labai naudingas užsiėmimas, leidžiantis pailsėti, bet ir labai sudėtingas, nemokame nieko neveikti. Televizijos žiūrėjimas yra arčiausiai nieko neveikimo.
Televizija leidžia pabėgti nuo kankinačių minčių. Taip pat nuo būtinybės kalbėtis su kitais žmonėmis - žiūri sau ir nieko tokio, kad visi tyli, vis tiek jautiesi, kad daliniesi bendrais pojūčiais. Televizorius toks šiuolaikinis namų židinys.
Ir, dėmesio, dar viena svarbi priežastis, kodėl TV leidžia pailsėti. Mes paprastai televizorių žiūrime savo noru, niekas mūsų neverčia. O būtent tos veiklos, kurias mes patys pasirenkame, neverčiami jokių visuomeninių normų ar gydytojų patarimų, mus suteikia daugiausiai malonumo ir galimybių pailsėti.
Aišku, perdozavimas nesveika. Tie, kas TV žiūri labai daug, nesijaučia nei laimingi, nei pailsėję.
Tai va, šioje knygoje aptarti visi 10 geriausių poilsio būdų. Pirmoje vietoje - knygų skaitymas! Ir dar man buvo įdomus faktas, kad savanos tipo peizažai (medžiai plačiomis šakomis) labiausiai patinka visiems žmonėms, nepriklausomai nuo jų kilmės. Galvojau, tik man vienai kažkodėl patinka.
Dar vienas fun fact - vonios putos reikalingos tam, kad vanduo taip greit neatšaltų (poilsis malonioje karštoje vonioje 7 vietoje).
Žodžiu, “Meną ilsėtis� rekomenduoju. Leido pažvelgti į savo kasdieną kitaip, o tai savaime atpalaidavo. Be jokių ten mindfulness stūmimų.
O man ją rekomendavo Lolita Varanavičienė, kai apsipirkinėjau “Knygų mugėje�.
Gal net TV žiūrėjimas tyrime būtų užkopęs į aukštesnę vietą, betgi televizoriaus reputacija prasta. Prisipažinimas, kad šeštadienio vakarą praleidai prie TV ekrano, yra lygus pasakymui - “Aš nesėkmingas�. Gerai, kad dirbu LRT, tad visada turiu alibi, kodėl žiūriu TV. Žiūri ir tie, kurie alibi neturi - statistika byloja, kad TV žiūrėjimas yra velniškai populiarus nepaisant to, kad paklausius aplinkui televizoriaus namie nieks neturi.
Absoliutus malonumas buvo rasti Claudios Hammond knygoje “Menas ilsėtis� klausimą, “kas pasakė, kad reikia maksimaliai išnaudoti kiekvieną mūsų gyvenimo minutę aktyvioms, sudėtingoms, vertingoms ir įsimintinoms veikloms?�. Mums reikia ir pailsėti, ir netgi pasistengti tai daryti dažniau.
Žiūrėdami televiziją žmonės atsipalaiduoja - netgi labiau nei sportuodami, valgydami ar tinginiaudami. Tiesa, tingėti ir nieko neveikti yra irgi labai naudingas užsiėmimas, leidžiantis pailsėti, bet ir labai sudėtingas, nemokame nieko neveikti. Televizijos žiūrėjimas yra arčiausiai nieko neveikimo.
Televizija leidžia pabėgti nuo kankinačių minčių. Taip pat nuo būtinybės kalbėtis su kitais žmonėmis - žiūri sau ir nieko tokio, kad visi tyli, vis tiek jautiesi, kad daliniesi bendrais pojūčiais. Televizorius toks šiuolaikinis namų židinys.
Ir, dėmesio, dar viena svarbi priežastis, kodėl TV leidžia pailsėti. Mes paprastai televizorių žiūrime savo noru, niekas mūsų neverčia. O būtent tos veiklos, kurias mes patys pasirenkame, neverčiami jokių visuomeninių normų ar gydytojų patarimų, mus suteikia daugiausiai malonumo ir galimybių pailsėti.
Aišku, perdozavimas nesveika. Tie, kas TV žiūri labai daug, nesijaučia nei laimingi, nei pailsėję.
Tai va, šioje knygoje aptarti visi 10 geriausių poilsio būdų. Pirmoje vietoje - knygų skaitymas! Ir dar man buvo įdomus faktas, kad savanos tipo peizažai (medžiai plačiomis šakomis) labiausiai patinka visiems žmonėms, nepriklausomai nuo jų kilmės. Galvojau, tik man vienai kažkodėl patinka.
Dar vienas fun fact - vonios putos reikalingos tam, kad vanduo taip greit neatšaltų (poilsis malonioje karštoje vonioje 7 vietoje).
Žodžiu, “Meną ilsėtis� rekomenduoju. Leido pažvelgti į savo kasdieną kitaip, o tai savaime atpalaidavo. Be jokių ten mindfulness stūmimų.
O man ją rekomendavo Lolita Varanavičienė, kai apsipirkinėjau “Knygų mugėje�.
January 31, 2021
(промо-лінк)
Нотатки з книги:
"Одна з рис, що відрізняє нас, людей, від інших тварин, � це допитливість... Нам притаманне жадібне прагнення досліджувати, відкривати більше, знаходити сенси. "
"Утома відчутно впливає на когнітивні здібності... Втома призводить до втрати пам’ят�, притуплення емоцій, браку зосередженості, частіших непорозумінь і сповільненого мислення. "
"Нині всі знають про наслідки дефіциту сну, і перелік спричинених ним проблем, що скорочують тривалість життя, � доволі довгий: зростання ризику цукрового діабету ІІ типу, серцеві захворювання, інсульт, гіпертонія, больовий синдром, запальні реакції, розлади настрою, проблеми з пам’ятт�, метаболічний синдром, ожиріння та колоректальний рак (Listening Skills in Grades K�2 Children. Frontiers in Education, 3(9). 9 Medic, G. et al (2017) Short- and long-term health consequences of sleep disruption. Nature and science of sleep, 9, 151�161. )"
"доведено, що періоди дозвілля допомагають нам приймати кращі рішення, знижують імовірність депресії, поліпшують пам’ят� і запобігають застудам"
"добре відпочивати так само важливо, як і добре спати "
"Ця книжка � заклик до відпочинку. "
"Відпочинок � це не розкіш, а необхідність. Це життєва потреба. "
"Суть відпочинку - Безкоштовний. Повноцінний. Теплий. Відновлювальний. Темний.
Лежачий. Мрійливий. Смачний. Класний. Очищувальний. Спокійний. Необхідний. Піднесений. Безпечний. Безтурботний. Цілющий. Безцінний. Приватний. Жаданий. Бездумний. Підбадьорливий. "
"Вільям Морріс писав: «Дружба � це рай, а відсутність дружби � це пекло: дружба—ц� життя, а відсутність дружби—ц� смерть». "
"найпопулярнішим способом відпочинку є читання "
"[Топ-список найпопулярніших видів відпочинку:]
10. Усвідомленно
9. Перед телевізором
8. Блукаючи думками
7. У гарячій ванні
6. На прогулянці
5. Байдикуючи
4. Слухаючи музику
3. На самоті
2. На природі
1. За книжкою "
"Філософ і психолог XIX століття Вільям Джеймс казав: «Змінюючи внутрішні настанови розуму, можна змінити зовнішні аспекти власного життя». "
"завдяки усвідомленості легше досягти стану розслаблення. Деякі дослідження також виявили покращення пам’ят�, уваги, настрою, якості відпочинку, потяг до творчості, зниження артеріального тиску та активізацію імунної системи. Згідно з одним із досліджень, практика усвідомленості здатна навіть поліпшити людські якості. Після двох тижнів користування мобільним застосунком або восьми тижнів занять люди часті- ше пропонували допомогу комусь, хто використовує милиці "
"Моя улюблена техніка усвідомленого дихання називається «квадратним диханням»..."
"перегляд телебачення розслабляє більше, ніж тренування або відпочинок у клубі "
"дозвілля перед екраном розслабляє більше, ніж споживання їжі чи навіть байдикування "
"Одне із побоювань, яке висловлюють деякі фахівці, � це те, що телебачення забагато робить замість нас. Якщо ми читаємо книжку або слухаємо радіо, то мусимо малювати в голові картинки, створюючи уявні світи. А телебачення перебирає все це на себе, тому виникає відчуття, що воно тлумить нашу уяву, заважаючи мріяти чи створювати власні образи. "
"перегляд телебачення може справити негативний вплив на наше сприйняття часу. Години, збуті за телевізором, іноді називають «змарнованим часом». "
"люди, які багато дивляться телевізор, мають нижчий рівень добробуту. "
"досліджень за участі 3500 осіб віком понад 50 років, показало, що ті, хто дивився телевізор понад 3,5 години на день, за 6 років демонстрували гірші результати в завданнях на запам’ятовуванн�, ніж ті люди, які ТБ не дивилися "
"Очевидно, ми не можемо збути в такому стані все жит- тя. Але, як і з іншими видами відпочинку, мабуть, усе-таки по- винні дати розуму більше часу блукати, ніж дозволяємо зараз "
"Здатність блукати думками така сама важлива, як здатність зосереджуватися на завданні. "
"38% людей, які відповідали на запитання «Тесту на відпочинок», вважали, що ходити пішки—оди� із трьох найкращих різновидів відпочинку. "
"ходити пішки—чудови� відпочинок. Звісно, насамперед це відпочинок для розуму, але і для тіла теж; ви дужче розслабитеся, розтягуючи м’яз� ніг, а не залишаючи їх у стані спокою. "
"ходьба наче розтягує й поглиблює час. Гадаю, саме тому нас так заспокоюють прогулянки пішки. У наші дні темп життя прискорений. Ходіння нас сповільнює. "
"«Усі справді вартісні думки приходять під час ходьби»,�1889 року писав філософ Ніцше. "
"ходьба на 17% зменшує інтенсивність психічних проблем "
"До вищої продуктивності призводить не постійна робоча катавасія, а більша зосе- редженість і креативність—� перерви цьому сприяють "
"після достатнього відпочинку ми ухвалюємо кращі рішення та досягаємо більшого "
"прослуховування музики в присутності інших людей посилює емоції "
"Усі п’ят� видів відпочинку, що стали лідерами опитування, часто потребують усамітнення, натомість зустрічі з друзями та родиною чи інше спілкування не потрапили навіть у десятку найкращих. "
"самотність—ц� найбільша радість і скарб, коли вона добровільна і є частиною різнобічного й успішного життя "
"читання—найзаспокійливіш� заняття з усіх "
"Лише у Великій Британії продажі книг 2018 року становили понад 1,6 мільярда фунтів стерлінгів. Це дає нам певне розуміння важливості книжок у нашому світі. "
"читання—одн� з найспокійніших занять у житті"
"наш мозок сприймає прочитане як реальність, а тіло—я� події, що відбуваються з нами. Ми дуже глибоко занурюємося у світ уяви. "
"П’ят� найкращих видів відпочинку потребують усамітнення; для багатьох людей це важливо. І саме цим читання особливе. Воно не тільки дозволяє нам утекти від людей, а й водночас пропонує товариство таке ж цікаве, або й цікавіше, і спокій- ніше за людей, товариство, яке можна ігнорувати, коли зама- неться, не вдаючись до жодних пояснень. "
"читання романів може підвищити рівень емпатії: подорожуючи в життя інших людей, ми стаємо кращими "
"Найкраща книжка—ц� насамперед та, яку ви обрали, дослухаючись до власних смаків, а ще важливо � обрати будь-яку книжку, здатну викликати у вас у стан потоку, описаний Чиксентмихаї. Це стан такий захопливий, що ви не зауважите, як збігає час. "
"Нині доведено, що навіть читання тримісячним малюкам згодом покращує їхню грамотність, можливо, просто тому, що вони навчені проводити час, гортаючи сторінки книжок (Evangelou, M. et al (2005) Birth to school study: A longitudinal evaluation of the Peers Early Education Partnerhip. Oxford University Research Reports SSU/2005/FR/017. )"
"Читання дозволяє нам відпочити, бо змінює напрямок блукання думок. "
"дозвілля � це все, що конкретна людина вважає заспокійливим "
(промо-лінк)
Нотатки з книги:
"Одна з рис, що відрізняє нас, людей, від інших тварин, � це допитливість... Нам притаманне жадібне прагнення досліджувати, відкривати більше, знаходити сенси. "
"Утома відчутно впливає на когнітивні здібності... Втома призводить до втрати пам’ят�, притуплення емоцій, браку зосередженості, частіших непорозумінь і сповільненого мислення. "
"Нині всі знають про наслідки дефіциту сну, і перелік спричинених ним проблем, що скорочують тривалість життя, � доволі довгий: зростання ризику цукрового діабету ІІ типу, серцеві захворювання, інсульт, гіпертонія, больовий синдром, запальні реакції, розлади настрою, проблеми з пам’ятт�, метаболічний синдром, ожиріння та колоректальний рак (Listening Skills in Grades K�2 Children. Frontiers in Education, 3(9). 9 Medic, G. et al (2017) Short- and long-term health consequences of sleep disruption. Nature and science of sleep, 9, 151�161. )"
"доведено, що періоди дозвілля допомагають нам приймати кращі рішення, знижують імовірність депресії, поліпшують пам’ят� і запобігають застудам"
"добре відпочивати так само важливо, як і добре спати "
"Ця книжка � заклик до відпочинку. "
"Відпочинок � це не розкіш, а необхідність. Це життєва потреба. "
"Суть відпочинку - Безкоштовний. Повноцінний. Теплий. Відновлювальний. Темний.
Лежачий. Мрійливий. Смачний. Класний. Очищувальний. Спокійний. Необхідний. Піднесений. Безпечний. Безтурботний. Цілющий. Безцінний. Приватний. Жаданий. Бездумний. Підбадьорливий. "
"Вільям Морріс писав: «Дружба � це рай, а відсутність дружби � це пекло: дружба—ц� життя, а відсутність дружби—ц� смерть». "
"найпопулярнішим способом відпочинку є читання "
"[Топ-список найпопулярніших видів відпочинку:]
10. Усвідомленно
9. Перед телевізором
8. Блукаючи думками
7. У гарячій ванні
6. На прогулянці
5. Байдикуючи
4. Слухаючи музику
3. На самоті
2. На природі
1. За книжкою "
"Філософ і психолог XIX століття Вільям Джеймс казав: «Змінюючи внутрішні настанови розуму, можна змінити зовнішні аспекти власного життя». "
"завдяки усвідомленості легше досягти стану розслаблення. Деякі дослідження також виявили покращення пам’ят�, уваги, настрою, якості відпочинку, потяг до творчості, зниження артеріального тиску та активізацію імунної системи. Згідно з одним із досліджень, практика усвідомленості здатна навіть поліпшити людські якості. Після двох тижнів користування мобільним застосунком або восьми тижнів занять люди часті- ше пропонували допомогу комусь, хто використовує милиці "
"Моя улюблена техніка усвідомленого дихання називається «квадратним диханням»..."
"перегляд телебачення розслабляє більше, ніж тренування або відпочинок у клубі "
"дозвілля перед екраном розслабляє більше, ніж споживання їжі чи навіть байдикування "
"Одне із побоювань, яке висловлюють деякі фахівці, � це те, що телебачення забагато робить замість нас. Якщо ми читаємо книжку або слухаємо радіо, то мусимо малювати в голові картинки, створюючи уявні світи. А телебачення перебирає все це на себе, тому виникає відчуття, що воно тлумить нашу уяву, заважаючи мріяти чи створювати власні образи. "
"перегляд телебачення може справити негативний вплив на наше сприйняття часу. Години, збуті за телевізором, іноді називають «змарнованим часом». "
"люди, які багато дивляться телевізор, мають нижчий рівень добробуту. "
"досліджень за участі 3500 осіб віком понад 50 років, показало, що ті, хто дивився телевізор понад 3,5 години на день, за 6 років демонстрували гірші результати в завданнях на запам’ятовуванн�, ніж ті люди, які ТБ не дивилися "
"Очевидно, ми не можемо збути в такому стані все жит- тя. Але, як і з іншими видами відпочинку, мабуть, усе-таки по- винні дати розуму більше часу блукати, ніж дозволяємо зараз "
"Здатність блукати думками така сама важлива, як здатність зосереджуватися на завданні. "
"38% людей, які відповідали на запитання «Тесту на відпочинок», вважали, що ходити пішки—оди� із трьох найкращих різновидів відпочинку. "
"ходити пішки—чудови� відпочинок. Звісно, насамперед це відпочинок для розуму, але і для тіла теж; ви дужче розслабитеся, розтягуючи м’яз� ніг, а не залишаючи їх у стані спокою. "
"ходьба наче розтягує й поглиблює час. Гадаю, саме тому нас так заспокоюють прогулянки пішки. У наші дні темп життя прискорений. Ходіння нас сповільнює. "
"«Усі справді вартісні думки приходять під час ходьби»,�1889 року писав філософ Ніцше. "
"ходьба на 17% зменшує інтенсивність психічних проблем "
"До вищої продуктивності призводить не постійна робоча катавасія, а більша зосе- редженість і креативність—� перерви цьому сприяють "
"після достатнього відпочинку ми ухвалюємо кращі рішення та досягаємо більшого "
"прослуховування музики в присутності інших людей посилює емоції "
"Усі п’ят� видів відпочинку, що стали лідерами опитування, часто потребують усамітнення, натомість зустрічі з друзями та родиною чи інше спілкування не потрапили навіть у десятку найкращих. "
"самотність—ц� найбільша радість і скарб, коли вона добровільна і є частиною різнобічного й успішного життя "
"читання—найзаспокійливіш� заняття з усіх "
"Лише у Великій Британії продажі книг 2018 року становили понад 1,6 мільярда фунтів стерлінгів. Це дає нам певне розуміння важливості книжок у нашому світі. "
"читання—одн� з найспокійніших занять у житті"
"наш мозок сприймає прочитане як реальність, а тіло—я� події, що відбуваються з нами. Ми дуже глибоко занурюємося у світ уяви. "
"П’ят� найкращих видів відпочинку потребують усамітнення; для багатьох людей це важливо. І саме цим читання особливе. Воно не тільки дозволяє нам утекти від людей, а й водночас пропонує товариство таке ж цікаве, або й цікавіше, і спокій- ніше за людей, товариство, яке можна ігнорувати, коли зама- неться, не вдаючись до жодних пояснень. "
"читання романів може підвищити рівень емпатії: подорожуючи в життя інших людей, ми стаємо кращими "
"Найкраща книжка—ц� насамперед та, яку ви обрали, дослухаючись до власних смаків, а ще важливо � обрати будь-яку книжку, здатну викликати у вас у стан потоку, описаний Чиксентмихаї. Це стан такий захопливий, що ви не зауважите, як збігає час. "
"Нині доведено, що навіть читання тримісячним малюкам згодом покращує їхню грамотність, можливо, просто тому, що вони навчені проводити час, гортаючи сторінки книжок (Evangelou, M. et al (2005) Birth to school study: A longitudinal evaluation of the Peers Early Education Partnerhip. Oxford University Research Reports SSU/2005/FR/017. )"
"Читання дозволяє нам відпочити, бо змінює напрямок блукання думок. "
"дозвілля � це все, що конкретна людина вважає заспокійливим "
(промо-лінк)
February 8, 2022
A huge help for people who cannot get away from feeling guilty when resting. It is indeed almost laughable that we need to read a book that scientifically demonstrates the importance of rest in order to fulfil this basic need without feeling indulgent. This book points this irony out so clearly that I think my relationship with resting will never be the same. Although the style leaves something to be desired and the chapters are sometimes quite repetitive, reading this book is restful in and of itself.
March 29, 2022
Interesting insight into our cultural obsession with busyness and proving to ourselves and others that our time is valuable. Hammond examines types of rest, how rest is unique to each person (running can be a form of rest!!) and the importance of giving ourselves permission to rest. Good stuff.
April 10, 2021
This is a fascinating read that has come out at an opportune time. It fits well with the need to prioritise mental health and wellbeing by explaining the huge benefits of seemingly simple activities like walking, listening to music and reading. In times when society pressure suggests everything should be productive and have something to show for it, this book counteracts that by proving that rest is not a luxury but a necessity for life. And it turns out that the way I read it over several months, dipping in and out is a particularly restful one!
July 10, 2024
Knyga apie poilsį. Patiko, kad autorė pateikia ir tyrimus, kokios tyrimų metu buvo smegenų reakcijos ir apskritai pasakoja kas yra poilsis ir kada koks būdas pailsėti gali būti geriausias. Nėra garsių išsireiškimų, kad va čia tai poilsis, o čia ne. Kiekvienas pats renkasi ir kas tinka vienam, kitam visai gali nutikti.
January 8, 2023
Verleid door dit boek op het vliegveld en de nummer 1 positie die het had in de boekenwinkel. Louter open deuren.
March 1, 2025
Insgesamt war ich schon enttäuscht von dem Buch. Titel und Cover hatten mich sehr angesprochen. Es werden die nach dem Ruhe-Test erholsamsten Aktivitäten vorgestellt. Die Autorin erläutert die Aktivitäten und nennt verschiedene Studien dazu. Diese ergänzt sie mit eigenen Erfahrungen und eigener Meinung. Das Lesen war teils langweilig. Am besten fand ich das letzte Kapitel, in dem konkrete Handlungsempfehlungen gegeben werden.
January 4, 2023
This is an excellent book! It is exactly the book I needed to read at the start of 2023, my year of careful convalescence to hopefully truly fully recover from long covid. Thoroughly recommended from anyone who is dealing with long-term physical or mental health issues, including potential or actual burnout, and anyone who is looking for ways to prime themselves to maximise their enjoyment of life. As well as being both informative and inspiring, I was pleasantly surprised by how often this book made me laugh. It has inspired me in a variety of ways, including making small change to my lifestyle and adding all of Claudia Hammond’s books to my want to read list.
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