Rest is part of human nature; it’s defined in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as a “basic” need. Humans cannot flourish without meaningful rest – which can be either physical (sleep) or mental (time off from work and stress) – otherwise our health can take a toll. So why is it that, as students, we often feel guilty for taking rest seriously?
Student life inherently means that every moment of free time could, in theory, be used productively: to work on that next assignment that’s due; or develop your dissertation idea; or apply to jobs; or attend an optional lecture; or write an informative blog post for the university (hah) – you get the picture. This pressure to be always using time “productively” can lead to quite an unhealthy reality; guilt can set in as soon as we take time off.
I’m here to remind you that resting should be guilt-free; it’s as important as working hard. Sure, if you’ve got a deadline looming the next day that you’ve barely started, don’t carelessly scroll or game or take an hour-long bubble bath. Let’s be sensible about this. But what is important is scheduling in both active and inactive rest in your week, to help your mind perform at its best when it really comes down to the important stuff.
Active rest is anything that rests and relaxes your mind, while still being an activity. This could include solving puzzles, gaming, going for coffee, going on a walk or a drive, baking, going to the gym, calling a friend, performing self-care like a bath or face mask, or perhaps even doing chores if you’re someone who finds them therapeutic. Inactive rest, on the other hand, is essentially sleeping and physically resting enough. You’ll be no use at writing essays or revising for exams if you’re running on a couple of hours’ sleep, or if you’ve exhausted yourself by spending three hours every day in the gym. Balance is key.
One of my key takeaways while at university has been the benefit of scheduling as much as I can using Google calendar (#NotSpon). Alongside my university timetable, I allocate specific time for many different academic and non-academic activities; this means that any free time in my calendar is truly “free”, allowing me to use it however I see fit in a guilt-free way. Of course, if you don’t get on so well with strict schedules, you don’t have to use this method. Perhaps you could work out roughly how many hours per day you want to dedicate to rest, and use tools such as screen time limits on your phone, or a sleep tracker to make sure you’re sticking to your targets.
My major point is this: as a student, rest should be as important to you as work. They work in an almost yin-yang relationship; your work won’t be at its best unless enough meaningful rest happens, while your rest won’t feel as satisfying if you aren’t also working hard. Sometimes you might be able to combine the two, such as watching an interesting documentary related to your course, or working and chatting with a coursemate in a coffee shop. However you go about fitting rest into your week, just make sure you reject any feelings of guilt about doing so, and know that you’re taking care of yourself in the process. Happy chilling!