Why Rest Can Be More Productive Than Hustling

Rest isn’t a reward—it’s a requirement for health

Mar 18, 2025

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I’m the first to admit I sometimes overdo it. I am passionate about my work, my writing, and spending time with friends and family, and I can easily burn myself out. So I spent the past weekend resting. On Saturday I slept in and took a gentle yoga class. On Sunday I took a two hour nap next to my cat. Unsurprisingly, I felt like a new person on Monday morning.

I’ve learned the hard way that rest is essential for physical and mental health. I try to practice what I preach to my own patients. Like the patient in her early 60s who recently sat across from me in my office, rubbing her knee and sighing. “I don’t know what I did to it,” she said. Maybe it’s arthritis?”

As we talked, it became clear that she hadn’t injured herself in the traditional sense. There was no single fall, no sudden twist—just weeks of nonstop motion. She had spent the prior month helping her daughter move into a new apartment, running errands for her aging parents, and managing the everyday logistics of life that seem to multiply as we get older. She was on her feet all day, barely sitting down for meals, let alone to rest.

She wasn’t exercising per se, but she was overusing her body—constant caregiving, constant motion, constant “doing.” On physical examination of her knee, she had the classic signs of an overuse injury. Her knee pain wasn’t just about wear and tear; it was her body’s way of telling her to stop.

She expected a prescription medication or a referral to physical therapy. Instead, I gave her something else: permission to rest. “Your knee isn’t failing you—you’re just asking a lot of it.”

Her eyes welled up. She hadn’t even considered that resting was an option.

When Doing More Backfires

We often think of overuse injuries as something that happens to athletes—runners with shin splints, weightlifters with shoulder pain. But in reality, you don’t have to be training for a marathon to be overdoing it. Simply moving too much without adequate recovery can cause pain, inflammation, and exhaustion.

And it’s not just about the body. Overuse happens in our lives, too.

Caregiver burnout is real—whether it’s for kids, aging parents, or both.
The mental load of always being responsible for others takes a physical toll.
Stress keeps our bodies in a constant state of alert, interfering with sleep, metabolism, and healing.

And yet, slowing down can feel like a failure. Rest can feel like a luxury, especially when others around us are suffering. We push through pain, through fatigue, through the quiet whispers from our bodies telling us to take a break. But just because you can keep going doesn’t mean you should.

The Science Behind Rest and Recovery

Rest isn’t laziness—it’s an essential part of health. When you let your body recover, this happens:

Inflammation goes down. Whether it’s a sore knee, tight shoulders, or general exhaustion, chronic stress and overuse drive inflammation. Rest allows the body to heal.
The nervous system shifts from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest. Constant motion keeps your body in stress mode, flooding it with cortisol and adrenaline. Rest is the reset button.
Muscles and joints recover. Movement is good, but too much can lead to chronic pain. Just as an athlete needs rest days, so does everyone else.
Your mind gets clarity. Rest isn’t just for the body—it helps regulate mood, memory, and emotional resilience.

How to Build Rest Into Your Life (Without Guilt)

Resting doesn’t mean stopping entirely. It means pausing intentionally so you can keep going in a way that’s sustainable. Here’s how:

Reframe rest as necessary, not indulgent. Rest isn’t a reward for working hard—it’s part of what keeps you functioning.
Learn to recognize early warning signs. Pain, fatigue, irritability, and poor sleep are signals—not just annoyances. Ignoring them makes things worse.
Take micro-breaks. Even five minutes of sitting down, breathing deeply, or stretching can help recalibrate your system.
Set limits and boundaries—and stick to them! If you’re constantly helping others, practice saying no or delegating.
Drop the hustle guilt. Productivity isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing what’s sustainable. Plus, you’re better equipped to help other people when you’re not burning the candle at both ends.

More Doesn’t Always Mean Better

A few weeks after our appointment, my patient sent me a message. She’d taken my advice—not perfectly, but enough to make a difference. She skipped a few errands that weren’t urgent. She let her daughter figure out some of the moving logistics herself. She propped up her knee, iced it, and—most importantly—gave herself permission to do less.

Her pain had improved. She felt better. And for the first time in a long time, she wasn’t running on empty.

Rest isn’t the opposite of productivity. It’s what allows you to keep going.

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So, tell me: What is YOUR body’s signal that it’s time to rest? What are your favorite ways to take a load off?