Rest: Its Use and Abuse in the Aged†

Rest is essential, even though its exact physiologic functions and quantitative requirements are far from clear. Sleep appears to be the primary and most imperative form of rest. The nature, the role, and the necessity for rest as simple relaxation and leisure are elusive and poorly defined. The rejuvenating effects of leisure and diversion are apparent, over and above the pleasure and enjoyment they bring to life. Absolute rest has in the past been an important component of therapy for disease and injury. Relatively recent evidence that bed rest may prolong invalidism and contribute to complications, combined with the development of more specific therapies, has reduced both the necessity and prescription for bed rest. However, it should be emphasized that the data are incomplete, and in some situations such as myocardial disease or hepatitis, there is no final proof that early activity does not have late effects. This article presents a perspective and a classification that can serve as a more precise and restrictive context in which the concept of rest can be used and prescribed. Further study is necessary to establish whether rest which is not sleep, not diversion, nor a discredited prescription of immobility, is physiologically or psychologically valid, and to determine a more precise measure of required “dosage.”