Even though we all know that rest is hugely important for our physical and mental wellbeing, it can be difficult to make space for it in our day-to-day lives. When work is busy or our social calendars are packed, rest often slips down our list of priorities.

And while rest isn’t synonymous with sleep, it’s indisputable that we’re a tired nation. According to Nuffield Health’s Healthier Nation Index report for 2023, people in the UK are, on average, getting less than six hours of sleep a night. Nearly half of adults, meanwhile, said that they’ve had less sleep in the last year compared to previous years.

The stresses of modern life only make people more exhausted. And even though ‘banking’ sleep sounds like a great solution, experts say it’s not really possible to build up your energy reserves during quiet periods. We need consistent rest – but how much is enough?

So, how much rest do you need?

In their book Burnout: The Secret To Solving The Stress Cycle, behavioural scientist Emily Nagoski and her twin sister Amelia Nagoski theorised that 42% is the necessary portion of the day we need to rest to function optimally, working out at around 10 hours per day dedicated to rest in its various forms. 

Before you start to panic, you don’t need to rest for 42% of every day. But you do need to balance it out over several days to feel the maximum benefit.

“We’ve established by now that stress is a physiological phenomenon that impacts every system and function in our bodies, including immune functioning, digestive functioning and hormones,” Nagoski wrote. “To keep all of those systems in full working order, our biology requires that we spend 42% of our lives maintaining the organism of our physical existence.”

Of course, you can get by with less rest for short periods, but it’s not recommended and it will catch up with you eventually as you pay the price in decreased performance and physical illness. We’re all capable of pushing through exhaustion to meet an urgent deadline or finish a project, but it shouldn’t be a long-term strategy for wellbeing.

Is the amount of rest we need different for everyone?

It goes without saying that the amount of rest required depends on your individual needs. When you don’t sleep well, have a busy schedule or feel stressed,  you might feel like you need more frequent breaks. What’s most important, though, is that you allow your body adequate time to activate its healing cascade and return to a state of homeostasis, when it can repair and recover. 

According to the experts at coaching platform BetterUp, focused attention on a task uses about 5% of the body’s energy, whereas rest utilises about 20% of the body’s energy. So your rest, in whatever form it takes, should aim to replenish that.

Rest can also be difficult to define because it looks different for everyone. In her book Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity, physician Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith identified seven types of rest: creative, mental, physical, social, emotional, sensory and spiritual rest.

While you’ll probably need a little bit of all the different types of rest to function well, certain people will need certain types of rest more often than others, for example if you’re an introverted person or more of an extrovert.

Rest can also be defined as any behaviour aimed at increasing physical or mental wellbeing. It can be active, such as going for a walk outside, or passive, such as taking 10 minutes to sit down and breathe deeply.

Sleep, on the other hand, is an essential function of the body and impacts every system from our cognitive function to our immune health. Good quality sleep – the recommended seven to nine hours per night – is vital to brain function, memory, concentration, immune health and metabolism. Because unlike rest, sleep is something your body cannot function without.

How to make sure you’re getting enough rest

Even when it feels like you simply don’t have time, it’s always a good idea to find small ways to incorporate rest and relaxation into your daily routine. After all, we make time every day to eat, move, complete errands and go to work. Why should rest be any different?

To follow the 42% rule, Nagoski suggests that your rest could be broken down into:

• Eight hours of sleep opportunity, give or take an hour
• 20 to 30 minutes of “stress-reducing conversation” with your partner or other trusted loved one
• 30 minutes of physical activity
• 30 minutes of paying attention to food
• A 30-minute wild card, depending on your needs (this could be anything from preparing for sleep to social time)

While these are just averages, it’s important to tweak them accordingly to make them work for you and your lifestyle – and R&R your priority.

Images: Getty