Pacing and Rest: Why Rest Isn’t “Lazy”, It's Performance Enhancing

Maddie Cherry - Exercise Physiologist

Move Sports Physiotherapy & Pilates Geelong

Stress isn’t always a bad thing, in fact, some stress is normal and important. It helps us to be motivated, adapt, grow stronger, and get through everyday life. Stress can come from many sources such as exercise, work, poor sleep, relationships, or even pain. But when stress becomes constant and the body doesn’t get enough recovery to create a positive change,  adding more stress by “pushing through” can start to become a problem. This is where pacing and rest becomes incredibly important.

Cup theory image-  “Allostatic load”

The “Boom-Bust” Cycle

Many people with persistent pain, fatigue, injury, or chronic health conditions tend to fall into a “boom-bust” cycle. 

On a good day, they try to catch up on everything at once and end up overdoing it (“boom”), only to crash afterwards with increased pain, fatigue, or low energy (“bust”). 

Over time, this can add to your overall allostatic load and make it harder for the body to build consistency and tolerance. Pacing aims to find a more sustainable balance, so you can build your capacity and move in the right direction

Boom-bust image:

Pacing Is Not “Doing Nothing”

One of the biggest misconceptions about pacing is that it means doing nothing or resting all day. 

Pacing is actually about finding a sustainable balance between overdoing it and completely stopping. Think of your energy like a phone battery: if you constantly run on low charge, eventually it shuts off. 

Pacing involves breaking tasks into smaller chunks, taking regular recovery breaks, and building tolerance gradually over time. Often, consistency is more helpful than intensity. 

This can apply to any activity that places stress on the body or brain

– e.g. work, socialising, parenting etc.

Rest Is Productive

In a culture that values being busy and productive, rest is often seen as lazy, but recovery is actually where the body adapts and heals. Muscles repair, the nervous system calms down, and stress levels reduce during recovery. Without enough rest, the body can stay stuck in “survival mode.” 

Rest is important for recovery, but it isn’t always about lying on the couch or doing nothing. Different situations call for different types of rest; physical, mental, emotional, or social. The key is choosing the type of rest your body and mind actually need at the time. 

Types of rest image:

Listening To The Early Warning Signs

Often the body gives subtle signs before a full flare-up or “bust” occurs. Things like:

• Increased irritability

• Poor sleep

• Brain fog

• Reduced motivation

• Feeling emotionally overwhelmed

• Increased muscle tension

• Small increases in pain or fatigue

These can be signals that your “stress cup” is getting close to overflowing. Rather than waiting until your body forces you to stop, pacing encourages you to respond earlier.

The Goal Isn’t Perfection

There will still be stressful weeks, poor sleep, and pain flare-ups! That’s part of life. The goal isn’t to remove stress completely, but to build enough recovery and support around stress and intensity so your body can handle it better = become more resilient. 

Sometimes the best thing you can do for your health isn’t pushing harder, but slowing down long enough to recover. 

Key Takeaway

You don’t need to earn rest.

Pacing and recovery aren’t signs of weakness. If anything it’s a sign of strength, showing you have good self-awareness to know that recovery will improve your performance, and actually help the body and nervous system manage stress better in the long run.

Rest isn’t something to squeeze in when you’re exhausted, it’s something you plan and program into your life on purpose for long-term health and wellbeing.

To learn more about how to get the best out of yourself, and break the boom/bust cycle - check in with one of our friendly clinicians.

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References:

Cup theory:

McEwen, B. S. (1998). Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators. New England Journal of Medicine. → Foundational paper on allostatic load and chronic stress physiology.

McEwen, B. S. (2007). Physiology and neurobiology of stress and adaptation: Central role of the brain. Physiological Reviews. → Expands on how stress accumulates over time in the body.

Sterling, P., & Eyer, J. (1988). Allostasis: A new paradigm to explain arousal pathology. → Introduces the concept of allostasis (basis of modern stress models).

Pacing:

NICE Guideline NG193 (2021). Chronic pain (primary and secondary) in over 16s.

→ Recommends graded activity and pacing strategies as part of management.

Vlaeyen, J. W. S., & Linton, S. J. (2000). Fear-avoidance and its consequences in chronic musculoskeletal pain.

→ Explains how over- and under-activity cycles develop.

Andrews, N. E., et al. (2012). Physical activity and chronic pain: a systematic review.

→ Supports graded exposure and activity regulation.

Fordyce, W. E. (1976). Behavioral methods for chronic pain and illness.

→ Foundational work on activity pacing and reinforcement patterns.

Allostatic load:

McEwen, B. S. (2004). Protection and damage from stress: allostasis and allostatic load.

Juster, R. P., McEwen, B. S., & Lupien, S. J. (2010). Allostatic load biomarkers of chronic stress.Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.

Types of rest:

Dalton-Smith, S. (2017). Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity.

TEDx Talk: “The real reason we are tired and what to do about it” – Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith

Importance of sleep/recovery:

→ Walker, M. (2017). Why We Sleep.