The idea of de-cluttering your life, taking some ‘me time’ or scheduling 20 minutes a day for meditation may seem idealistic, unachievable or even unnecessary. However, ‘slowing down’ can work wonders in boosting your health and improving your productivity, mood and quality of life. It can even make you look younger.
A social trend
While Gen Y-ers are busy embracing the trend of ‘slowing down for wellness’, taking time out isn’t so prevalent in those who, after decades of hard work, have adopted the habit of being busy out of necessity. According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, people in their 20s and 30s are commonly investing in additional university courses for enjoyment, health coaching for insight and embracing a more balanced existence, where travel and leisure is afforded by, in part, a later age for marriage and child-rearing than ever before. Those born just one or two decades earlier, however, have seemingly missed out on this preoccupation with balance, and need encouragement when it comes to switching off and slowing down.
Health benefits
Taking the time to slow down at any age can be beneficial to your health, both physically and mentally. Using meditation as an example, Elizabeth Monk-Turner of the Old Dominion University, Virginia, found meditation benefited the individual in a number of ways. After a 14-week meditation program, she found study participants did not react as negatively to the criticism of others and took fewer stimulants or relaxants to change their mood. Similarly, a study by Li-Chuan Chu found people with greater meditation experience exhibited higher emotional intelligence and less perceived stress or negative health.
Slowing down, however, doesn’t have to involve ritualistic meditation or yoga. It might simply be taking ‘time out’ to direct your thoughts from your responsibilities and focus them within. A study by Christopher Long and James Averill in the Journal For The Theory of Social Behaviour found time alone, or in solitude, is generally a positive experience, resulting in benefits such as ‘freedom, creativity, intimacy and spirituality’.
Sustained stress
If the benefits of downtime are not convincing enough, the detriments of sustained stress may clarify just how important this internal form of escapism really is. Depression, high blood pressure, a weakening of the immune system and metabolic imbalances are all potentially linked to leading a stress-fuelled life.
According to researchers George Chrousos and Philip Gold, excessive and sustained cortisol secretion, which is the hormone associated with stress, could affect important physiological functions. The researchers suggest lifestyle changes should be incorporated into the treatment of both emotional disorders and organic diseases, simply stating, ‘a healthy mind will define a healthy body, and vice versa.’
Whether it means cutting your work hours, changing your perspective, considering retiring or simply scheduling time for yourself, slowing down takes confidence. It might take trust in your ability to deal with a changed income and will mean rewiring your brain to stop dwelling on those million things awaiting your attention. It lessens the power of that phrase, ‘I’m so stressed’, and may require effort in reconnecting with your spouse, or even yourself, in spending time together as opposed to in the office.
Challenging the cult of speed
There are several ‘slowness’ pioneers who advocate the importance of slowing down and who believe it will ultimately result in the exact opposite of slowness, helping to boost productivity, quality of life and general wellbeing.
An advocate of the ‘slow movement’, author of several books including In praise of Slowness and The Slow Fix, Carl Honoré is tired of racing against the clock. Defining slowness as a mindset, Honoré believes too many people are living in fast-forward, dictating their lives according to the principles of speed and quantity.
Once a ‘time-slave’ himself, Honoré decided to lose his watch and shift his mentality. Now, by approaching tasks aiming for quality as opposed to quantity, Honoré says embracing slowness has enhanced, rather than detracted from, his productivity. In fact, Honoré believes that by wholeheartedly dedicating each moment to a particular task, without consulting the clock, it is easier to prosper in this fast-paced world.
To establish this slowness mindset, Honoré encourages people to resist over-scheduling their timetable, to indulge in some time-out, away from technology and work commitments, and to tune into, rather than rush, the real pace of all things – from sex and exercise to work and education.
5 steps to slowing down
Renowned for his book Wrecked, which delves into ‘living the life we are afraid to live’, slowness pioneer Jeff Goins urges readers to live in the present, stop wishing for the future and make the most of the ‘in-between moments’. Reading offline, eating slowly and scheduling time for silence are all tips in achieving a more ‘connected’ life. Interestingly, Goins also recommends taking walks, as opposed to using only high-intensity exercise, to de-stress and slow the mind.
Indeed, it seems ‘slow’ exercise, like walking, yoga or pilates, can afford the same benefits as regular exercise alongside the luxury of slowing down. Understandably, for those working in a stressful career, managing responsibilities or supporting a family, the temptation to channel this stress using high-intensity exercise often outweighs the allure of something a little slower, which might appear to offer less value for precious time. Yet researchers speculate slowing down in exercise can afford equal or improved mental and physical results.
A US study into the comparison of the health benefits of yoga and more-intense exercise found yoga ‘may be as effective or better than exercise at improving a variety of health related outcome measures’. Meaning, for those too busy to schedule time for silence or ‘time-out’, replacing one exercise session each week with a yoga or pilates class might give your mind the boost it needs while also staving of the kilograms.
Slowing down is more a mindset than anything else. It involves training the mind to tackle each moment with total dedication. It demands time and effort in relaxing and clearing the mind to establish a healthier outlook, and means accepting the need to de-stress and unwind, for the sake of both mind and body.
Honoré believes it increases productivity, Goins advocates slowness as a ‘life-changing’ concept and several researchers have found the benefits of slowing down extend to improve both physiological and psychological wellbeing, propagating an internal sense of serenity.
