Why rest alone doesn’t restore energy
Your energy doesn’t work like a battery — and treating it that way may be why you still feel tired even after a break.
by Anne-Laure Le Cunff
When I signed a book deal in the middle of my PhD, I knew that I’d have to be very disciplined when it came to rest, so I did what most people would consider the “right” thing: I took regular breaks and went to bed early.
On paper, I was doing everything you’re supposed to do to protect your energy. And yet, I kept feeling tired. It didn’t make sense, so I started looking into it, and what I found is that most of us are working with the wrong model of energy management.
We tend to think of personal energy like a battery: We use it up, and then recharge by doing nothing. But biologically, energy behaves less like a battery and more like a machine: It doesn’t automatically repair itself just because you stop using it.
It might sound counterintuitive, but doing less can actually make you feel more tired.
The mistake is assuming that feeling tired means you just need to do less. Sometimes that helps. But often, the issue isn’t the level of demand — it’s whether your body and brain are in a state that can meet that demand effectively.
In fact, it might sound counterintuitive, but doing less can actually make you feel more tired. Research suggests that when you stay inactive for long periods, your body becomes less efficient and less ready to handle effort.
This creates a feedback loop: You feel tired, so you move less. But moving less makes your system less capable of generating energy, so you end up feeling even more tired. That’s why the wrong kind of rest can make the problem worse.
Mood and motivation also play important roles in how energized we feel. Energy isn’t just about physical resources — it’s also about whether your brain is willing to deploy them.
The problem isn’t that you lack energy. It’s that your brain isn’t signaling that the energy is worth using.
Dopamine, for example, impacts your willingness to engage with tasks. When that system is downregulated, activities that once felt easy start to feel draining, and everything requires more effort.
In the same way, subtle shifts in mood — like boredom, low interest, and lack of engagement — can all make you feel like you have less energy. The problem isn’t that you lack energy. It’s that your brain isn’t signaling that the energy is worth using.
Lastly, stress can get in the way of real recovery. You might be lying down or taking a break, but you’re still thinking, worrying, and checking your phone. It might look like rest from the outside, but it’s not restorative because the engine is still running.
Energy depends on multiple systems working together: metabolic, neurological, psychological, and autonomic. Rest in the conventional sense reduces external demand, but that’s only addressing one variable. So, how can we actually restore our energy?
Active rest. For many people, light movement, such as stretching or easy exercise, can be more energizing than lying down. It improves circulation and increases alertness. Even a short walk around the block can be enough to bring your energy back up.
Mental downtime. Physical rest doesn’t help much if your mind is still busy. Scrolling, checking messages, or watching the news all keep you cognitively engaged. Instead, aim for activities that settle your mind, such as being in nature, engaging in simple offline hobbies, or just sitting without input and allowing yourself to feel bored for a moment.
Autonomic reset. If you’ve been under stress, simply stopping what you’re doing isn’t enough. You can take a break but still feel tense or distracted. Practices that increase parasympathetic activity, such as slow breathing, meditation, or chatting with people who feel safe, can help move your body out of a high-alert state — allowing you to actually unwind.
Creative break. Sometimes the fastest way to feel more energized is not to step away from everything but to do something you care about. Activities that feel interesting or purposeful can bring your energy back by reengaging your attention and motivation in a meaningful way.
Switching it up. No matter how rested you technically are, doing the same thing for too long can leave you feeling flat. To reset your energy, try switching activities, breaking up your routine, or changing your environment by, for example, working from another room or going to a coffee shop.
If you feel tired, resting more feels like the obvious solution. But taking a break only removes the demand — it doesn’t necessarily change the state of your body and mind. If that state is off, doing less won’t fix it. In some cases, it can make things worse.
A more useful approach is to pay attention to what actually restores your energy. Not just what feels like rest in the moment, but what actually leaves you with more energy afterwards. That might mean going for a walk instead of lying down, stepping away from your phone instead of scrolling, or doing something engaging instead of taking a break.
Keep experimenting. Over time, you will start to notice what works and what doesn’t. You can then design resting strategies that actually restore your energy.
This article is part of The Energy Transition, our latest monthly issue, which comes out tomorrow, April 22.
I needed to read this!
Did you read my diary? This is exactly the reminder I needed.