Claudia Hammond

It's always pleasant to feel vindicated. [b:The Art of Rest: How to Find Respite in the Modern Age|51115322|The Art of Rest How to Find Respite in the Modern Age|Claudia Hammond|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562012243l/51115322._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71751480] 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 [b:No Such Thing As Normal: What My Mental Illness Has Taught Me About Mental Wellness|55621242|No Such Thing As Normal What My Mental Illness Has Taught Me About Mental Wellness|Bryony Gordon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1602375190l/55621242._SY75_.jpg|86739088]. 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.… (more)

A book about time perception, the central thesis kind of investigating why when we go on holiday we feel like we're there forever, doing millions of activities, but afterwards feel like it's flown by. A feeling I know all too well. It was interesting and held my attention when I was reading it on the train. It delves into self-help a little at the end, too, warning people not to try and have too many "new" experiences, which can be exhausting and mess with our perception of time (advice which I wasn't following).

A bit repetitive overall but fine… (more)

This is a really interesting topic, but I had to skim sections of it because I was short on time (lol.) I would love to see an updated version w/ info on how smartphone use affects our time perception. I suspect they contribute to the feeling of time flying.

TLDR - If you want time to go slower, disrupt your routine occasionally and do lots of different things. The more memories we make, the longer time seems to last. That was mostly what I was here for, since time is beginning to fly by for me at an alarming rate!… (more)