Slow DaysA 4-minute read
Slowing down sounds like something that requires a sabbatical. It doesn’t. For most people, a calmer life is built from small, unglamorous changes: a regular bedtime, a few minutes of slow breathing, a walk, one task at a time. This guide gathers what U.S. public health agencies actually say about those changes, so you can start with the ones most likely to matter.
What being busy does to the body
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, part of the NIH, describes stress as a physical and emotional reaction to life’s challenges. Under stress the body releases hormones that produce the fight-or-flight response: heart rate, breathing and blood pressure go up, muscles tense and you sweat more. Occasional stress is a normal coping mechanism. Long-term stress, the center says, may contribute to or worsen a range of health problems.
The same source points to a built-in counterweight it calls the relaxation response. It slows the heart rate, lowers blood pressure and decreases oxygen consumption and levels of stress hormones.
Five places to start
| Change | What the guidance says | More |
|---|---|---|
| Protect your sleep | Adults aged 18 to 60 need 7 or more hours a night (CDC) | Sleep habits |
| Breathe slowly on purpose | Slow, deep breathing may modestly lower blood pressure and cortisol (NCCIH) | Breathing exercises |
| Move in small doses | Some activity is better than none; it can be split into chunks (CDC) | Short breaks |
| Do one thing at a time | Switching between tasks costs time and adds errors (APA) | Single-tasking |
| Make room for what you enjoy | Meaningful activities are linked to feeling happier and healthier (NIA) | Hobbies |
Start with sleep
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute puts it plainly: sleep is often the first thing busy people squeeze out of their schedules. Citing the CDC, it says about 1 in 3 U.S. adults report not getting enough rest or sleep every day. The CDC’s own list of benefits from enough sleep includes reducing stress and improving mood, as well as better attention and memory. If you change only one thing, give yourself enough time in bed. The details are in Sleep Habits for a Calmer Life: How Much You Need and How to Get It.
Add pauses, not hours
You do not need a long block of free time to calm down. Relaxation techniques described by NCCIH include breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery. A 2019 review it cites, covering 3 studies and 880 participants, found preliminary evidence that diaphragmatic breathing may help reduce stress. Try the methods in Breathing Exercises for Stress: What They Are, How to Do Them and What the Research Shows and build them into Short Breaks During the Workday: Move, Breathe and Reset Between Tasks.
Stop doing three things at once
A lot of the hurried feeling comes from juggling. The American Psychological Association summarizes decades of task-switching research: people lose time every time they switch, and they lose more as tasks get complex or unfamiliar. Psychologist David Meyer has said that brief mental blocks from shifting between tasks can cost as much as 40 percent of someone’s productive time. The APA’s conclusion is that multitasking may seem efficient on the surface but may take more time in the end and involve more error; see Single-Tasking Instead of Multitasking: What the Research on Switching Costs Shows.
Tip: Pick one change for the next seven days, not five. A regular wake-up time is a good first choice, because the NHLBI recommends keeping the same schedule every day, weekends included.
Move a little, often
The CDC says adults need 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, such as brisk walking, but that it does not have to happen all at once. It could be 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, or broken into smaller chunks. Its short version is move more, sit less, because some activity is better than none. A slow, attentive walk counts; see Mindful Walking: How to Turn an Ordinary Walk Into a Pause.
Know when it is more than busyness
The National Institute of Mental Health draws a line between stress and anxiety. Stress is a response to an outside cause and can be positive or negative. Anxiety can continue even when there is no current threat, and if it does not go away and interferes with your life it can affect your health. NIMH advises talking to a professional if you are struggling to cope or symptoms will not go away. If you are in immediate distress or thinking about hurting yourself, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
A slower week, sketched
- Monday: set a fixed wake-up time and keep it all week. Plan mornings with Slow Mornings: How to Start the Day Without Rushing.
- Tuesday: take one phone-free hour in the evening; ideas in Taking a Phone Break: Simple Rules for the Car, the Bedroom and the Workday.
- Wednesday: two 10-minute walks instead of one long one you never take.
- Thursday: work on one task at a time until lunch.
- Friday: try a simpler evening, as in A Simpler Evening Routine: Winding Down the Way Sleep Experts Suggest.
- Weekend: reset the house and the week ahead; see A Weekend Reset Routine: Rest, Move, Tidy and Plan Without Losing the Weekend.