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The Power of Rest: Why Sleep Alone Is Not Enough. A 30-Day Plan to Reset Your Body
This groundbreaking book takes a fresh look at the role that rest plays in the quality of your life, offering a proven program to enhance your health, help you look younger, and feel restored. The Power of Rest provides a low-cost, low-risk answer to some pressing health concerns, and is an important adjunct for those already investing time, energy, and money in their health. Readers interested in a new plan to help with sleep disruptions, fatigue, lack of zest, weight loss, or diabetes will find many helpful suggestions in The Power of Rest .
288 pages, Hardcover
First published May 21, 2010
156 people are currently reading
567 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Edlund
13 books5 followersDr. Matthew Edlund, M.D., M.O.H., is an internationally recognized expert on biological clocks, performance, and rest, and the Director of the Center for Circadian Medicine. Formerly a medical school professor at Brown University and the University of Texas and the author of The Body Clock Advantage, his next book, The Power of Rest, will be published by Harper One in June 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
October 10, 2016
Take a break, driver 9-5.
Getting a good night's sleep is a big part of good health, but it's not the whole of the matter, Edlund argues. The 30-day format is broken into chapters that cover sleep, physical non-sleep rest, mental rest, social rest, and spiritual rest, both at home and at work. I tried most of these on for science and found the majority of them effective. Edlund admits that not every technique will appeal to every person, but I'm still giving him the side-eye for that self-hypnosis / eye-rolling thing, which borders on woo-woo. In fact, the whole "spiritual rest" chapter should probably be avoided by skeptics, as it is a bit, er, floofy-worded, even for those who do have some sort of god/dess concept.
The music metaphor, and final chapters on putting it all together and "tuning your life," are neat, but not mandatory. Basically this is a nice gentle book with some neat rest techniques in it, many of which are the common sense things we know we should do, but shouldn't. There are a few neat surprises, though, so if you're feeling tired and wired all the time, and you can handle a soft-and-gentle type tone in science writing, you might appreciate this.
Please note that Edlund IS a doctor, but that no book (or book review) should take the place of advice from your own physician. Caveat lector. Now go take a walk. It's good for you.
Getting a good night's sleep is a big part of good health, but it's not the whole of the matter, Edlund argues. The 30-day format is broken into chapters that cover sleep, physical non-sleep rest, mental rest, social rest, and spiritual rest, both at home and at work. I tried most of these on for science and found the majority of them effective. Edlund admits that not every technique will appeal to every person, but I'm still giving him the side-eye for that self-hypnosis / eye-rolling thing, which borders on woo-woo. In fact, the whole "spiritual rest" chapter should probably be avoided by skeptics, as it is a bit, er, floofy-worded, even for those who do have some sort of god/dess concept.
The music metaphor, and final chapters on putting it all together and "tuning your life," are neat, but not mandatory. Basically this is a nice gentle book with some neat rest techniques in it, many of which are the common sense things we know we should do, but shouldn't. There are a few neat surprises, though, so if you're feeling tired and wired all the time, and you can handle a soft-and-gentle type tone in science writing, you might appreciate this.
Please note that Edlund IS a doctor, but that no book (or book review) should take the place of advice from your own physician. Caveat lector. Now go take a walk. It's good for you.
August 12, 2021
It's very rare that I give up on a book. This one was really bad. I gave it 2 stars because the first section did have some useful info on sleep, but the writing was just terrible. Ridiculous metaphors that made no sense, sciency tangents that were irrelevant and only there to make the author sound smart, and oh my god, the quizzes. Flashback to being a 14-year-old reading magazines, except those quizzes were actually kind of fun.
This book read like a high school student trying to hit a minimum word count on a writing assignment (but not REALLY trying).
This book read like a high school student trying to hit a minimum word count on a writing assignment (but not REALLY trying).
September 8, 2012
Pretty good techniques to interleave active rest in your day in order to be more engaged when you're not resting. Message: rest is not sleep, and it is not laziness. Also, the book includes a sleep makeover which I've followed pretty successfully. I am now waking up at the same time every day (and going to sleep approximately consistently). Also, the book focuses a lot on active rest techniques which I liked a lot. Some I already was familiar with and others were totally new to me. I've been using some of them, and interleaving with my day's activities to achieve better focus.
October 11, 2013
In order to be fully alert, alive and awake plus completely engage in the full peak experiences to which folks attribute their best memories, indeed to survive disease and heal, people must learn to "rest" properly ...not just sleep.
Going F.A.R. (creatively integrating Food. + Activity. + active & passive Rest. is a fun and powerfully productive way to do this as a conscious lifestyle.
Be wise! Become truly healthy regardless of your age by integrating the easy, fun, and powerful techniques Dr. Edlund will teach you one day at a time.
Enjoy!
GaryFPatton
Going F.A.R. (creatively integrating Food. + Activity. + active & passive Rest. is a fun and powerfully productive way to do this as a conscious lifestyle.
Be wise! Become truly healthy regardless of your age by integrating the easy, fun, and powerful techniques Dr. Edlund will teach you one day at a time.
Enjoy!
GaryFPatton
dnf
February 19, 2022There might have been some good information here, but I wasn't loving the writing style or finding anything life changing. After a long stretch of not wanting to pick it up it was time to admit that it's not worth forcing myself to try to read it.
October 19, 2010
I think this is a good book, but it makes me so sleepy whenever I read it! I'm dead serious. Even just thinking about it makes me yawn every time. I guess I recommend the crap out of it for all the insomniacs out there! Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see if I ever make it past the chapter on Mental Rest.
...
Just can't finish this! And it's ILL, so can't renew it, either.
His initial premise is that if we keep living in this cycle: Food-Activity-Rest (going FAR), we'll be healthier, happier, and more productive. He talks about sleep: what everyone needs it for, how to figure out how much you personally need, how to adjust to the world's schedule if your job/life doesn't allow you to be on your natural sleep schedule.
One thing I found interesting that I didn't know before is that your brain is actually a few degrees cooler than normal when you've been asleep--it literally needs to be warmed up in the morning! He recommends having a little stretch and then getting out for a walk in the sunshine as soon as you get up. If walking outside isn't practical, do some light exercise in bright light.
For folks who lie awake worrying, he recommends setting aside a time hours before bedtime and writing down the top five things that are bothering you. Then write down what you can/will do to solve or fix them, or at least make things better. This way, your brain focuses on solutions, not wallowing in problems, and you can check off these issues as sufficiently thought about for the night.
Other recommendations include a hot bath right before bed (this will raise your body temperature, which will presumably drop again when you get out; a sudden drop in body temperature signals your brain and body to fall asleep and sleep more deeply) and short evening walks.
For physical rest, he recommends deep breathing, the mountain pose, the gravity pose, napping, and unnapping. Mountain pose: stand straight with good posture and align everything right. Breathe deeply. Gravity pose: lie down with your hands behind your head and your ankles crossed. Raise your feet up and point them toward the ceiling. Breathe, feel yourself sinking into the floor, feel your body relaxing, feel your legs drooping back down to the floor, then put them back up.
The book also includes chapters on mental rest, social rest, and spiritual rest, as well as how to put it all together. It's probably really good.
...
Just can't finish this! And it's ILL, so can't renew it, either.
His initial premise is that if we keep living in this cycle: Food-Activity-Rest (going FAR), we'll be healthier, happier, and more productive. He talks about sleep: what everyone needs it for, how to figure out how much you personally need, how to adjust to the world's schedule if your job/life doesn't allow you to be on your natural sleep schedule.
One thing I found interesting that I didn't know before is that your brain is actually a few degrees cooler than normal when you've been asleep--it literally needs to be warmed up in the morning! He recommends having a little stretch and then getting out for a walk in the sunshine as soon as you get up. If walking outside isn't practical, do some light exercise in bright light.
For folks who lie awake worrying, he recommends setting aside a time hours before bedtime and writing down the top five things that are bothering you. Then write down what you can/will do to solve or fix them, or at least make things better. This way, your brain focuses on solutions, not wallowing in problems, and you can check off these issues as sufficiently thought about for the night.
Other recommendations include a hot bath right before bed (this will raise your body temperature, which will presumably drop again when you get out; a sudden drop in body temperature signals your brain and body to fall asleep and sleep more deeply) and short evening walks.
For physical rest, he recommends deep breathing, the mountain pose, the gravity pose, napping, and unnapping. Mountain pose: stand straight with good posture and align everything right. Breathe deeply. Gravity pose: lie down with your hands behind your head and your ankles crossed. Raise your feet up and point them toward the ceiling. Breathe, feel yourself sinking into the floor, feel your body relaxing, feel your legs drooping back down to the floor, then put them back up.
The book also includes chapters on mental rest, social rest, and spiritual rest, as well as how to put it all together. It's probably really good.
October 7, 2022
I think about 25% of this book was worth the read for me. I really liked the ideas of active rest throughout the day and creating routines to transition to sleep and to wake up. But much of the book was repetitive and boring. I skimmed the whole second half, and I could tell get the premise of each section.
November 1, 2015
Disappointing. I am already doing 90% of what he recommends and am still tired. His FAR method wasn't actually explained as such, and there was a great deal of repetition and space-filling faux quizzes.
January 7, 2019
Started out okay but when I got to self-hypnosis he lost me. I appreciate his focus on the complexity of rest. Rest is more than just physical but many of the suggestions and practices he sought to promote were just way too over the top cuckoo.
April 14, 2013
The beginning started out really good and I learned a lot. Then it started to get really slow and by the end, I just suffered through it.
January 22, 2025
The useful information in this book is poorly organized. It is presented as a structured 30-day program to "rest your body", but the text is a jumble of musings on the metaphor of music for a life well lived, exhortations on the importance of different kinds of rest, and actual instructions on specific techniques the author recommends. This leaves the reader to wade through repetitions and asides to looking for direction on how to use the techniques, and to not always find them. The sleep-related techniques seem to be cumulative, adopt the first, then add the next and so on through the days dedicated to sleep. But for mental or spiritual rest are we intended to simply keep adding them too, or just try them out once? Surely we aren't meant to take on ALL the techniques mentioned, but some seem to require practice to be effective. Given the sub-title, I think we can demand more specific instruction.
In the end, I got the most from this book by skimming it for rest techniques that seemed fleshed out enough to actually try, and providing the structure myself.
In the end, I got the most from this book by skimming it for rest techniques that seemed fleshed out enough to actually try, and providing the structure myself.
February 9, 2025
Not for me: I wanted to read this book as I'm very interested in finding out more about the different types of rest, other than sleep. It started quite well when discussing sleep, but soon started to go downhill: To me, the writing style and analogies used were very odd and grating, and the rest techniques themselves were either blindingly obvious, or a bit weird and unsettling e.g. making your ears pop, or rolling your eyes to the back of your head. And don't even get me started on the frequent use of really pointless and rubbish "questionnaires", where the answer was nearly always "all of the above". In the chapter on Spiritual Rest, when discussing meditation, the author frequently talked about religion and spirituality as though they were the same thing. They are NOT! The author is a doctor and an expert on rest, but an author, he is not. I'm sure there were lots of useful nuggets in here somewhere, but it was so hard to read that I lost the will to live: I should really classify this book as "did not finish" as I skim read more than half of it.
August 23, 2019
This book caught my eye when it was set out by a librarian. And who doesn't need more rest in this fast-paced world? I sure do! But it felt like a book I *should* read though I didn't *want* to. No surprise that the book was hard to get through (like another reviewer said, it tended to put me to sleep!) and I was glad when it finally ended.
However, having said that, the book was definitely worth reading. Some of the advice was quite good, including a few gems that I have now added to my daily life, like walking to music first thing in the morning. That alone has helped me start my day with more energy and focus, and whether it's the music or the walking or both, it doesn't matter. It works.
I also liked the FAR -- Food, Activity, and Rest -- and intend to walk after meals from now on.
A recommended read.
However, having said that, the book was definitely worth reading. Some of the advice was quite good, including a few gems that I have now added to my daily life, like walking to music first thing in the morning. That alone has helped me start my day with more energy and focus, and whether it's the music or the walking or both, it doesn't matter. It works.
I also liked the FAR -- Food, Activity, and Rest -- and intend to walk after meals from now on.
A recommended read.
December 4, 2021
Libro molto interessante, con spunti originali e spiegati scientificamente. Lo scrittore, un medico americano, illustra e consiglia varie tecniche di riposo alternative e complementari rispetto al sonno, suggerendo come inserirle all'interno della propria routine quotidiana, per dare ristoro non solo al proprio corpo ma anche alla mente, allo spirito e al fisico.
In alcuni tratti può essere un po' pesante seguire la lettura perché vi sono le descrizioni scientifiche dei processi biologici attivati dalle singole strategie di riposo (es. l'attività fisica all'aperto), ma senza dubbio un buon testo, ricco, completo e attendibile. Consigliato.
In alcuni tratti può essere un po' pesante seguire la lettura perché vi sono le descrizioni scientifiche dei processi biologici attivati dalle singole strategie di riposo (es. l'attività fisica all'aperto), ma senza dubbio un buon testo, ricco, completo e attendibile. Consigliato.
January 31, 2019
This is a good book with some great ideas of how to rest. There is a lot of repetition and several of the techniques are very similar. Most of the helpful ideas were more like mindful meditation but there are a couple new ideas that appear to be quite helpful. I will keep this book handy to refresh the ideas as needed.
July 16, 2017
I love this book! I have been practicing the tricks suggested while reading, it's practical ! For better rest and understanding the meaning of rest, this is the book !
March 31, 2019
Thorough. Good ideas for kinds of rest. Physical, Mental, Spiritual, Social.
November 14, 2021
Tried 3 times to get through it, but too zen-Biddhism for me.
November 19, 2010
It was good and logical.
This is one of the things that stayed with me (and I use it with friends as well, except for #4). I am glad that someone was able to quantify this.
1. Partner: someone who is aligned with your value and appreciates the meaning of compromised.
2. Friend: when you are friends with your significant other, you genuinely enjoy your downtime together.
3. Companion: the difference between a companion and a friend is that a companion is physically there to participate in events and life moments with you, while a friend is more of an emotional presence, there to provide support through events and life moments, not necessarily to attend them with you.
4. Lover: I think that is self-explanatory.
This is one of the things that stayed with me (and I use it with friends as well, except for #4). I am glad that someone was able to quantify this.
1. Partner: someone who is aligned with your value and appreciates the meaning of compromised.
2. Friend: when you are friends with your significant other, you genuinely enjoy your downtime together.
3. Companion: the difference between a companion and a friend is that a companion is physically there to participate in events and life moments with you, while a friend is more of an emotional presence, there to provide support through events and life moments, not necessarily to attend them with you.
4. Lover: I think that is self-explanatory.
July 7, 2013
Interesting concepts about how rest can be in different forms than just sleep but the book was slow and a "chore" to read. The "FAR food-activity-rest" technique reminded me of the "EASY" technique used for babies (eat-activity-sleep-yourtime). I was hoping some of the concepts would stay with me during my down time at home and work but so far I haven't tried any of them (except to show my coworkers the gravity pose on the floor at work for fun).
March 31, 2016
I enjoyed the first part of the book, appreciated the information on how important sleep is to our health, and it helped me understand some of the challenges I face with lack of sleep. But when it came to getting me rest, forget it. Other than tiring me by the extreme litany of breathing exercises, it felt worthless.
November 12, 2018
The author recommends getting your life into a kind of regular, musical rhythm; pay attention to activities that put you into a flow state and energize you.
The irony - which the author admits - is reading about sleep puts you to sleep, so depending on your own rhythms, this either is or isn't the right book to read before bed!
The irony - which the author admits - is reading about sleep puts you to sleep, so depending on your own rhythms, this either is or isn't the right book to read before bed!
June 29, 2011
There is some good information in here and he explores types of rest you usually wouldn't think about (Mental and Emotional Rest) and getting it in non-typical ways. Good ideas for those of us in modern, fast-paced lives that probably don't get enough rest of any kind.
October 9, 2010
Nice program laid out very well. It is hard not to skip ahead and read the next section though.
February 3, 2011
I'm reading this for FBG homework. Interesting so far.
March 10, 2013
Great! I've started doing some of the techniques and I feel super rested and productive! I recommend it to anyone and everyone.
April 4, 2017
A great book. Rest is stigmatized in many cultures. Somehow I've come to believe that, if I'm not working and producing constantly, I'm not worthy. But this book debunks that myth and teaches that rest in its many forms is just as important to health as what we eat and how much exercise we get. It's good for us to take care of ourselves, to restore and take a breather to do what we enjoy. Not only does it feel good but it's scientifically proven that, those who have a flow between rest and activity in their lives are more productive, creative and fulfilled. This book gives an explanation of the different kinds of rest and many different techniques to incorporate them into one's life. I highly recommend this book, especially to those people like me who have held on to the philosophy of busyness and overachieving as a status symbol. Once we understand even a little about how our body is designed we can get more done in less time, achieve wildly different peak experiences, and make our sometimes scattered, too often exhausted lives rhythmic and musical.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews