The Art of Rest: How to find respite in the modern age, by Claudia Hammond

Busyness used to be a badge of honour but nowadays it is becoming less so. We need rest! And rest means different things to different people. It’s not just sleep, but restful activities we do whilst awake. Not getting enough rest affects all age groups and manifests itself in higher rates of depression, more colds, worse memories, and poor decision making.

Claudia and her counterparts set up a survey called the Rest Test which asked 18,000 people in 135 countries about rest. The findings make up the 10 chapters in the book.

Each chapter of the book is dedicated to one of the top ten things people considered restful and the studies around it. Claudia is upfront about the fact that there isn’t as much research around rest and its benefits so some of the studies are very small. Saying that, all the papers are in the back of the book if you wanted to access them.

As a young Sara Fogarty watched her friends finish university and book flights to Europe for their OEs, she recalls thinking ‘I’m not going to do that, I’m going to do my own thing’. “I was quite stubborn at that age,” she says with a laugh.

It wasn’t until later, when she set off for a holiday through the UK and Europe with her then boyfriend, now husband, aged 31, that she “fell in love” with London and all the opportunities it has to offer.

“It’s big, but it’s not noisy like New York, it’s got its own beat and hum and is a little bit softer than some of the other big cities around the world,” Sara says. “I love that you can walk down the street and you get that sense of history, and that real sense of openness and changing scenery.”

Moving to London as a fresh 21 year old, Sophie describes having no fear and no idea. Determined to not make beans on toast a regular meal, she was quick to take control of her destiny, adapting to the fast pace of London and everything in between.

After graduating from Rangitoto College on Auckland's North Shore in 2012, Sophie left home to live and work in the United States as an au pair. With an itch to travel and explore the world further, she made what she describes as ‘the obvious choice’ and moved to London in 2016.

With every intention to stick with her first London gig as a live-in nanny, Sophie soon realised that living in a London flat with a bunch of kiwis was an experience she didn’t want to miss! This decision led her to look further afield, beyond nannying, as she undertook a number of admin roles within the corporate world, eventually landing a position as a medical secretary looking after 5-7 surgeons a week.

After two years as a medical secretary Sophie was ready for a new challenge. Her cousin Tess had been working for their auntie and uncle Paula and Bill Wallace, helping to build a UK presence for their New Zealand based luxury linen and homeware company, Wallace Cotton.