Were We Made to Be Lazy?
Ever feel more inclined to veg out on the sofa than hit the gym? If so, you’re not alone. What’s more, "laziness" might be a perfectly normal part of being human — it may be in our biology.
Our ancestors likely had to spend a good part of their days foraging and hunting for food, so they became programmed to rest whenever they could to save energy. That programming appears to persist in modern humans. Many of us have free access to as many calories as we need, making that innate drive to conserve energy both outdated and detrimental to our health, but no less a part of our biology.
It’s All About the Brain
We humans have a lot of advantages but our big, intelligent brains can be a mixed bag sometimes. It takes a lot of energy to be so smart — roughly a quarter of our daily calories go to keeping our brains going. Some researchers believe the invention of cooked food, which takes less energy to digest, may have allowed our brains to get so big but no matter how we got here, here we are — big-brained energy-consuming creatures.
Before the evolution of these bigger brains, early humans had to save their resources for necessary activities like obtaining food and staying safe from predators, so they rested whenever they had the chance. And in many ways, our bodies still want to do that. Our brains think we should rest to conserve energy, in case that brain needs more at some point.
A recent study shows we’re still wired to avoid activity as much as possible. In fact, it seems that it takes considerable brainpower (energy) to resist sedentary behaviors. So here we are — readily available calories, hardly any chances to run from predators, and a streak of energy-conservation that makes it hard to get up and get going.
We're of two minds here at Wellness. Sometimes, it seems like we're too apt to run around and go-go-go all day with no rest. And this isn't healthy. We were made to rest. And we need to tend to our needs in this way. But on the other hand, if we have a propensity to laze around a lot...well, too many calories and too little movement will have inevitable detrimental effects on our health.
Being Human in a Modern World
We may all be wired to avoid activity whenever possible, but that doesn’t mean laziness has to dictate our lives. But conversely, we need to know that we were wired to rest and we can't let activity dictate our every moment lest we fall to burnout.
The beautiful thing about having such high intelligence is we’ve become exceptional at reasoning and problem-solving. And, ideally, we're capable of a little bit of introspection. We’re also adaptable. We can use strategy to overcome the behaviors that no longer serve us.
Harvard Business Review recommends taking three steps to claim your motivation even when all you want to do is sit on the sofa and binge-watch Netflix:
- Make tasks meaningful. Remind yourself of the results you’re looking forward to rather than mulling over the mundane or tedious aspects of the act itself. Having something positive to look forward to attaches a reward to the goal, which might give you the drive you need to keep pushing forward.
- Have a strategy. To find and gain momentum, prioritize tasks and leave activities that might sidetrack you, like checking your email, for after you’ve completed your work. Dedicate a small chunk of time each week toward planning, and set reasonable time limits for everything you need to get done.
- Add something fun. Find ways to turn the boring and tedious into opportunities for emotional or artistic release. Listen to your favorite music while you take that dreaded jog. Sing a song while you wash the dishes. Find a way to make someone smile at work. A little fun can go a long way.
Here, Scientific American discusses the Importance of downtime for that energy hg of a brain of ours. Here are tips to incorporate more rest and downtime into daily life if it's become too busy:
- Schedule mental rest. From an extra half-an-hour spent laying in bed before sleep to gazing out the window, finding time to let our minds wander and dream is one of the healthiest habits we can cultivate. Add it to your schedule to make sure it gets done. Consider this mental-health time, because it is.
- Meditate. Everyone seems to be meditating these days, but they are often doing it for the performance benefits. What if you spent some time in quiet meditation without trying to gain anything besides the quiet space to let the mind rest?
- Lay in a hammock. When was the last time you laid down and watched the trees sway around you? The discoveries our minds make when we let them drift can be extraordinary. It is in this space that we are better able to solve problems, conquer our fears, and organize our ideas for better performance later.
We might all be driven to laziness by our genes, a product of our ancestors’ biology, but we also have the means to work around it. And we may be pushed into increasing (sometimes detrimental) over-productivity by our culture, but we do have the means to resist. With some thoughtful planning, we can balance our lives to include rest without letting it take over, and we can strive for productivity without burnout. Thanks to that big brain.
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