Why Rest Isn't Lazy: Scientists Say Doing Less Boosts You

Forget the New Year pressure to do more, achieve more, and hustle harder. Scientists say the secret to success in 2024 might actually be doing less.

"We all involuntarily participate in the stress Olympics, and are aware that the busiest person wins gold," says Amelia Nagoski, co-author of Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. But here's the problem: there's no actual prize for burning yourself out.

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, a physician who studies rest, discovered this truth the hard way. Even with eight hours of sleep nightly while working in a hospital ICU, she felt completely drained. The breakthrough came when she realized she needed emotional rest from the constant pressure to appear calm during crises.

Her research revealed something fascinating: rest isn't one-size-fits-all. Physical exhaustion needs sleep and naps. Mental fatigue requires meditation or simple activities like puzzles. Emotional depletion calls for talking through feelings with friends or therapists.

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, author of Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less, found that the most restorative breaks are often active ones. Walking in nature or exercising delivers more energy than passive TV watching, though both have their place.

The science backs this up. Studies show people who protect boundaries between work and personal time enjoy longer, happier careers. Workers who take 30-minute breaks after 90-minute focus sessions produce higher quality work than those who push through fatigue.

Why This Inspires

This movement toward rest represents a cultural shift that could transform millions of lives. For decades, we've been told that sacrifice and grinding equals success, leaving people exhausted and ironically less productive.

The experts offer practical wisdom: rest means anything that gives you energy back. Sometimes that's doing nothing, sometimes it's doing different things. The key is identifying what kind of rest you actually need.

Nagoski learned this lesson dramatically when stress-induced illness landed her in the emergency room. Her twin sister drove hours to reach her, armed with research about burnout. "All these external pressures to sacrifice everything are like a rushing river," Nagoski explains. "If you try to stand against it alone, you'll get washed away fast."

Her solution? Surround yourself with people who value your wellbeing as much as you value theirs. Stand together against the current of overwork culture.

The message is spreading beyond academic circles into workplaces and homes. People are discovering that protecting nights and weekends, taking real lunch breaks, and saying no to constant availability doesn't make them lazy. It makes them sustainable.

This year, the most radical act of self-improvement might just be permission to rest.