{"id":453,"date":"2022-04-11T16:01:44","date_gmt":"2022-04-11T16:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/georgenowik.com\/?p=453"},"modified":"2022-04-11T16:01:44","modified_gmt":"2022-04-11T16:01:44","slug":"the-importance-of-down-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/georgenowik.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/11\/the-importance-of-down-time\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of Down Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

– Or: “All work and no play” is actually a recipe for a meltdown<\/h2>\n

Down time.\u00a0 It’s something so many of us think about on the regular.\u00a0 Need some down time.\u00a0 Need to chill out, recharge, relax.\u00a0 The need for our brain to send efferent impulses to the rest of the body to “take a chill pill.”\u00a0 The whole kit ‘n kaboodle.<\/p>\n

In reality, there’s a whole lot of scientific study surrounding the need to give our daily rider (read: US) the opportunity to just …. reset.\u00a0 Studies concerning the long term impact of grinding without end.\u00a0 How ignoring that need impacts our ability to effulge positive energy and proceed through life on a path of fewer soul-jarring speed bumps.<\/p>\n

There are challenges\u00a0 regarding this entire concept\u00a0 The efficacy of downtime is contingent on both carving out the time to do it and then the effort necessary to do it right.<\/p>\n

“But wait, George,” you’re probably saying, ” what do you mean do it right?\u00a0 Don’t I just need to chill out on the couch and let Netflix do all the heavy lifting?”\u00a0 To which I would respond “Just keep reading, I’ll get to that in a minute.\u00a0 See above?\u00a0 Take that chill pill.”<\/p>\n

So let’s dive into how down time can have an effect on our overall health and wellbeing!\u00a0 How the efflorescence of brain and body regeneration can make a significant difference in our lives overall.\u00a0 More namby pamby words and things!\u00a0 You get where I’m going with this.<\/p>\n

Important acknowledgement: it’s vital to point out that down time is sometimes neither easy nor possible.\u00a0 I’ve been stewing over a whole other topic regarding the notion of “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” and just how much first world stuff goes into a statement like that. Total societal effluent and sludge for someone holding down three jobs and trying to keep their family afloat.\u00a0 But that’s not today.<\/em><\/p>\n

How do we define down time<\/h2>\n

The short version; giving the brain a chance to just stop overprocessing and instead just plain rest.<\/p>\n

The long version is just more words describing the above.\u00a0 That’s how this whole thing works. Reducing brain stimulation is the goal of what it is that we are talking about.\u00a0 This can be different from person to person in terms of methods and the level of difficulty varies wildly.\u00a0 The removal of stimuli is a very key component in every study that involves exactly what the definition of down time is.<\/p>\n

Also! I’d like to get into the value of NAP TIME because there are SO many studies on the benefits of structured naptime during a day.\u00a0 Unfortunately there are only so many words that I can force ya’ll to read so we’re just going to make that a footnote.\u00a0 Also, naps rule.<\/p>\n

An article in Scientific American<\/a> goes into a SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF DETAIL that I can’t even begin to try and quote entirely here.\u00a0 I encourage you to head over there and give it a read if it’s something you’re interested in really deep diving into.\u00a0 There’s a ton to absorb!<\/p>\n

Benefits of down time<\/h2>\n

Down time actually increases<\/em> productivity.\u00a0 Believe it or not.\u00a0 (although I recommend believe it)\u00a0\u00a0 There is a significant amount of research that shows that taking mental breaks will actually bring you back refreshed in a way that makes you more productive than if you had powered through it.\u00a0 Our productivity is increased on an overall basis when we make sure to try and alternate between hyper focus and occasional renewal.\u00a0 Wild, isn’t it?<\/p>\n

For creatives, it can create an explosion of ideas.\u00a0 You could say that productivity is productivity, regardless of if it is a work environment or a creative environment.\u00a0 I know from my own experience that trying to plow through the creative process of writing music that if I get stuck on something, the best possible thing to do when stuck is go somewhere else and do something completely unrelated.\u00a0 Almost every time I come back fresh and bust through that block.<\/p>\n

It can dramatically increase our mental and physical health.\u00a0 Obviously sleep is one of those components in keeping our minds and bodies in better shape, but in similar studies as noted above, occasional down time sessions can give our moods a boost along with productivity and creativity.\u00a0 Better moods make us feel better (amazing, isn’t it?) which in turn makes our bodies work better and probably<\/em> rubs off on the people around us.\u00a0 Relationships can actually benefit dramatically from us actually taking the time to take care of ourselves.<\/p>\n

It’s like on the airplane.\u00a0 You put your own mask on before assisting someone else with theirs.\u00a0 Or something to that effect.<\/p>\n

What we currently do to sabotage our down time<\/h2>\n

Sometimes we do things that we think are giving our brains the opportunity to conk out.\u00a0 Dr. Scott Bea<\/a> has many things to say about the things that we think we’re doing for down time that are not in actuality down time.<\/p>\n

Here are some examples:<\/p>\n