This only “works” if you treat the body like a computer or machine that is supposed to do what you want if you just do what you should. Systemic violence, oppression and generally just social “vibes” create an environmental terrain that changes how your body can or cannot “recover from stress”, even if you are “doing all the right things”, “mindfulness”, nutrition etc.
Not to mention aging.
But lets keep lying to people so that tech-fascism can grow and we can pay for the idea of a good life without ever being a good community member.
Learning to relax is a habit that can be acquired.
I read a motivational book by Richard Branson where he said he owed it all to nonstop activity. In the same book he held up as an example of perfection, a humble Japanese fisherman who appeared to be content while engaged in a very simple and inactive task.
Context matters: In some cases (acute illness, true depletion), rest is therapeutic. But in chronic low-energy states, excessive rest can reinforce inertia.
I’ve seen this repeatedly: energy improves not just when demands reduce, but when inputs—sleep quality, movement, meaning, metabolic health—are actively corrected.
So the real question isn’t “Should I rest more?” but “What state am I in—and what intervention actually shifts it?”
A good book I recommend on this topic is Calm Energy: How People Regulate Mood with Food and Exercise by Dr. Robert Thayer. It's both theoretically sound and good practical advice on regulating energy.
(I do research on sleep onset and insomnolence, developed the cognitive shuffle technique, and write Cognitive Productivity books).
This really resonated with me. We often think that rest means simply stopping, but stopping doesn’t always allow for rest. If the mental pressure is still there, the body may pause, but our mind keeps carrying the weight. Real rest feels a lot less like “doing nothing” and more like reaching a state where that pressure finally lets loose.
This is such a new way of experiencing resting, I have been quietly suffering from it too, rest making me more restless, but now I understand that I was doing it the wrong way. Thanks to Anne for sharing this valuable essay
The perfect article to read while I'm studying for exams, and confirms much of what I have already learned about how I need to rest in order to boost productivity (through much trial and error)
I needed to read this!
Did you read my diary? This is exactly the reminder I needed.
Really insightful.
very helpful read
Nail on the head. 🫡
This only “works” if you treat the body like a computer or machine that is supposed to do what you want if you just do what you should. Systemic violence, oppression and generally just social “vibes” create an environmental terrain that changes how your body can or cannot “recover from stress”, even if you are “doing all the right things”, “mindfulness”, nutrition etc.
Not to mention aging.
But lets keep lying to people so that tech-fascism can grow and we can pay for the idea of a good life without ever being a good community member.
OPTIMIZE! The newest religion for the castes.
Learning to relax is a habit that can be acquired.
I read a motivational book by Richard Branson where he said he owed it all to nonstop activity. In the same book he held up as an example of perfection, a humble Japanese fisherman who appeared to be content while engaged in a very simple and inactive task.
Great article. Thank you
My afternoon slump improved when I started eating slower and getting some light earlier in the day. Feels more like a rhythm issue than a food issue.
The body stops easily enough. The mind needs somewhere to arrive.
Context matters: In some cases (acute illness, true depletion), rest is therapeutic. But in chronic low-energy states, excessive rest can reinforce inertia.
I’ve seen this repeatedly: energy improves not just when demands reduce, but when inputs—sleep quality, movement, meaning, metabolic health—are actively corrected.
So the real question isn’t “Should I rest more?” but “What state am I in—and what intervention actually shifts it?”
I agree.
re Active rest, one can do mobile cognitive productivity work, i.e., problem solving on the go: [Turning Idle Time into Thinking Time](https://luccogzest.substack.com/p/turning-idle-time-into-thinking-time).
A good book I recommend on this topic is Calm Energy: How People Regulate Mood with Food and Exercise by Dr. Robert Thayer. It's both theoretically sound and good practical advice on regulating energy.
(I do research on sleep onset and insomnolence, developed the cognitive shuffle technique, and write Cognitive Productivity books).
This really resonated with me. We often think that rest means simply stopping, but stopping doesn’t always allow for rest. If the mental pressure is still there, the body may pause, but our mind keeps carrying the weight. Real rest feels a lot less like “doing nothing” and more like reaching a state where that pressure finally lets loose.
There's also a state called satisfaction where the limbic brain has achieved all its needs and goes into standby mode.
This is such a new way of experiencing resting, I have been quietly suffering from it too, rest making me more restless, but now I understand that I was doing it the wrong way. Thanks to Anne for sharing this valuable essay
The fact that I experienced this today. The timing is crazy!
Insightful!
The perfect article to read while I'm studying for exams, and confirms much of what I have already learned about how I need to rest in order to boost productivity (through much trial and error)