By Khemi Adé
Daydreaming is directly linked to having a healthier mind and even a healthier life. Time spent daydreaming and removing yourself from the outer world is important. In the long run, failure to allow the mind to rest can result in “accelerated aging and premature death”, according to Stephanie McCain, a Cleveland-area independent marriage and family therapist.
Similar to the body, the brain can experience chronic stress and immune dysfunction. The mind acts like a sponge and can only absorb so much information, according to mental health experts at Cleveland Clinic and The Village of Healing Center.
Why is downtime vital for overall health and well-being? What exactly is downtime?
What is downtime?
There are several meanings when defining downtime. Bianca Stallings, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at the Village of Healing Center, has a very simple and straightforward definition: downtime is decreased activity or inactivity.
“It means taking time for yourself that doesn’t involve work. It involves being intentional with your time so that you can truly relax and not worry about daily tasks or responsibilities,” Stallings said.
What happens when the brain doesn’t rest?
The lack of prioritizing downtime in one’s day-to-day life can come with major, long-term health consequences.
“Increased stress can lead to depression, anxiety, decreased concentration, and problems with memory. Chronic stress, in particular, can weaken the immune system “which determines our ability to fight off infections,” Stallings said in a recent interview with The Cleveland Observer.
The body will inevitably respond to a lack of mental rest.
“The body will demand downtime” since “there’s little to no space for exploration.” Furthermore, “if we don’t make time for ourselves, it can negatively impact our mental and physical health,” McCain said.
Lack of downtime can also negatively impact social health, worklife, and sleep hygiene.
As it pertains to social health, “relationships are challenged” due to such personal stress. As a result, quality time spent with others – including loved ones – also “diminishes” because “we’re not pleasant people” to be around.
When it comes to work-life balance, “you lose command of your time.” Therefore when overloaded with tasks and activities, one’s time management is jeopardized.
“Sleep hygiene is defined as healthy patterns, practices, and habits that support sleeping well. The “inability to rest” due to racing thoughts compromises the quality of sleep. This could be concerning because sleep plays a huge role in downtime,” stated McCain.
As the mind is said to be like a sponge, the mind is also “kind of like a battery – you can only use it for so long before you need to either replace it or recharge it,” Stallings said. This is what happens when your mind rests.
A Rested Body Blooms with Benefits
“When we have consistent downtime for ourselves, it improves overall mental and physical health. It leads to improved concentration, productivity, and satisfaction with life,” Stallings explained.
There are additional long-term advantages to prioritizing mental rest.
Consistent downtime could result in “better decision making, better problem solving, increased ability for learning, sparked creativity, and heightened imagination,” McCain also added.
Almost Doesn’t Count: Downtime Doppelgangers
According to both McCain and Stallings, there are certain situations and circumstances that don’t count as downtime.
“Downtime doesn’t involve providing a service for someone else even if it may bring you joy. Although caring and helping others may bring us happiness, intentional time for ourselves is important. Relaxation is paramount because it helps refuel our bodies and mind. Sometimes doing absolutely nothing is important too,” according to Stallings.
Activities like “video games, games on your phone, scrolling on social media, watching TV, or any goal-oriented activity” do not qualify as proper downtime, McCain said. Simply put, “these activities do not allow our minds to wander” and they “keep you focused on an outside stimulus.”
What is true downtime?
Stallings’ answer is, “First and foremost, being intentional with your time. It’s easy to let our schedules fill up, and then we don’t have time for ourselves. One way we can avoid this happening is to pencil in our downtime so it’s a part of our routine.” Leaning in, and asking for help, and being kind to oneself are acts of necessary self-preservation.
Doing nothing is good!
Mental rest can look like an array of things but ultimately it’s doing nothing, sleeping, relaxing, daydreaming, and having uninterrupted time with self. Such deliberate choices improve physical, social, and overall mental health.
Downtime can also be viewed as subjective. It’s “different for everyone” because “it depends on how engaged your mind is,” McCain said. Overall, accounting for that level of rest results in being “happier people because we took care of ourselves.”
Cleveland was ranked as the most stressed city amongst the large U.S. cities in 2023, according to a study by personal finance company WalletHub.
Clevelanders could be in need of some mental rest even in the smallest of ways. Every little bit invested into downtime will be of benefit down the line.
Learn more about how to “downtime”: Why Downtime Is Essential for Brain Health (clevelandclinic.org)
Khemi Adé is a vibrant artist, writer, journalist, and the author of the Kindle eBook, “My Life is a Faerytale – A Journal Guide for the Magical Gorlies.”
