# Rest - How Taking a Break Can Boost Your Brain Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/change-your-mind-with-new-scientist-7861716/rest-how-taking-a-break-can-boost-your-brain Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/change-your-mind-with-new-scientist-7861716/rest-how-taking-a-break-can-boost-your-brain.md Podcast: [Change Your Mind with New Scientist](https://stenobird.com/podcast/change-your-mind-with-new-scientist-7861716) Published: 2026-08-13T05:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML8272776061.mp3 Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML8272776061.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/change-your-mind-with-new-scientist-7861716/episodes/rest-how-taking-a-break-can-boost-your-brain Duration seconds: 2601 ## Resource Are you getting enough rest?  In this episode of Change Your Mind, health journalists Helen Thomson and Cat de Lange dive into the psychology and neuroscience of rest to find out how we can make the most of our downtime.  They’re joined by Claudia Hammond, broadcaster, author, and visiting professor at the University of Sussex, to unpack the surprising ways your brain lights up when you switch off.   If you’ve ever wondered whether scrolling on your sofa really counts as rest, how much rest you actually need, or what kinds of activities are most restorative, this episode might just change how you think about doing nothing. Produced by Emily Bird  We want to hear your thoughts, leave a comment or send in your ideas for future episodes to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠changeyourmind@newscientist.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find out more about Rest at New Scientist: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2508430-low-on-energy-a-new-understanding-of-rest-could-help-revitalise-you/ ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/change-your-mind-with-new-scientist-7861716/episodes/rest-how-taking-a-break-can-boost-your-brain/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/change-your-mind-with-new-scientist-7861716/rest-how-taking-a-break-can-boost-your-brain.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.