The Gift of a Good Reset
In North America, The Holidays are arguably the most paradoxical time of the year — we’re supposed to be on a vacation of sorts, and yet the vast majority of us find our calendars packed to the brim, our to-do lists a mile long, and our stress levels at an all-time high.
With an intense holiday season and a new decade fast approaching, there’s a decent chance that a lot of us are looking for ways to relax, and there are plenty of articles available with tips on how to do just that. So, instead of giving you yet another task to do, let’s take a moment to focus on why it’s so important for us to take breaks in the first place.
Creativity Gets to Thrive
In her New York Times article “You Are Doing Something Important When You Aren’t Doing Anything”, Bonnie Tsui explores the concept of fallow time. In a nutshell, it’s the act of doing something that may not be regarded by society as productive but is personally fulfilling and rejuvenating, like visiting an art gallery or watching a movie. Tsui warns that this can feel indulgent — possibly even lazy — but it’s a crucial kind of break that helps restore our creative power.
According to Scientific American, there are several important mental processes that specifically require downtime; a famous study found that judges are more likely to grant parole to prisoners early in the day or right after their lunch break. It could be argued that the things that make us the most human — such as our moral compasses — are at their best when we treat ourselves less like robots and more like actual humans.
Productivity Perks Back Up
So our creativity and morality benefit from regular breaks, but what about one of our most prized attributes, our productivity? It benefits too, according to Forbes. Mental energy, like physical energy, isn’t in unlimited supply; just as athletes take time to rest during half-time breaks, a lunch break can help get our brains back in gear. (Of course, there’s the post-lunch productivity slump, which can thankfully be mitigated.)
As much as we may feel the urge to power through when we’re on a tight deadline — whether it’s wrapping gifts or preparing for a big presentation — human brains can only focus on a single task for so long. There are plenty of ways to structure breaks for ourselves so that we take them, like the highly efficient Pomodoro Technique.
Of course, there are going to be times where we genuinely feel like we can’t take a moment to ourselves, and it’s in these exact moments where taking a breather can do us a world of good. Really — even just giving yourself a little bit of time to focus on slowing down your breath, which is usually heightened during moments of stress, can do you a world of good.
You’ll Feel Healthier in General
The powerful words of the late Bruce Lee, “Be a calm beholder of what is happening around you’’ implore the reader to observe their surroundings in a relaxed state. However, due to our constant connectedness, this may not be so easy.
An article from The Guardian on our “always-on, anywhere, anytime, anyplace behavior” outlines how our existing in a constant state of alertness, while never really giving our full attention to anything, leads to our brains being pumped full of the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Over time, cortisol squashes out the feel-good ones — serotonin and dopamine — and we’re suddenly left feeling a whole lot less content.
In a sense, it’s best to look at downtime as something that is as essential for our wellbeing as Vitamin D is; it’s a form of self-care. (Usually, this is where the oxygen mask metaphor comes in — putting on your own mask before you help someone else put theirs on — but it’s recommended you get yourself some oxygen before it’s an emergency situation in the first place.)
Oh, Give Me a Break
Of course, there are some occasions where taking a break might not be the best, such as getting into a flow state or racing to foil Hans Gruber’s nefarious plans. Generally, though, it’s recommended that you keep the above reasons in your back pocket to motivate you to do some good old-fashioned nothing when you need it.
This holiday season, and all other seasons henceforth, give yourself the gift of a break—hey, why not start off with one of the dance variety?
