The value of rest in the age of COVID-19

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Sleep is taken seriously now, but rest is different. It’s how we unwind, calm our mind and recharge our bodies. The problem is that many of us feel under constant pressure, with no time to rest. Or if spare time has been imposed on us by the pandemic, that enforced rest can leave us feeling restless, rather than rested.

In this lecture Claudia Hammond will draw on the world’s largest study of the topic of rest, The Rest Test. In a collaboration between psychologists at the University of Durham and the BBC, this global study of rest found a rest deficit. Claudia will explain what we know about the science of rest and how the findings are relevant to the new world of the pandemic.

Busyness has become a badge of honour, but we need to find the balance between rest and activity. Using the best evidence from around the world, we can make our own lives feel more restful.