Why Physicians Struggle to Rest (And How to Make It Sustainable) | Ep34
What if the reason true rest feels uncomfortable, guilty, or even wrong isn't that you're lazy, but that you've spent your entire life earning your worth through constant output, so doing 'nothing' feels like you're failing at being you?
In this episode of Better Physician Life Podcast, host Dr. Michael Hersh tackles the paradox many physicians face: we say we want more rest, but when the opportunity arrives, we resist it, reaching for our phones, feeling restless, guilty, or unproductive. Drawing from his own failed attempt to do "nothing" for a full month, he explains how medical training wires us to override fatigue, postpone rest indefinitely, and link our value to output, making true stillness feel wrong or unearned.
He reframes rest as a learnable skill (not a reward), distinguishes passive rest (sitting still) from active rest (purposeful movement without goals), and shares why starting with active rest often unlocks easier passive rest. Dr. Hersh emphasizes small, consistent practice over big overhauls, five minutes of intentional pause, doing things "restfully" without optimizing, and dropping guilt, because rest with guilt isn't rest. He highlights the commute/home transition as the ideal entry point and re-introduces the free Five Minute Commute Reset as a repeatable tool to downshift and leave work behind.
This episode is for physicians who feel wired to keep going, struggles to unplug without agitation, or comes back from time off still tense, offering compassion, science-backed insight (diastole analogy), and realistic steps to make rest sustainable.
Free 5-Minute Commute Reset for Physicians:Â betterphysicianlife.com/commuteresetÂ
About the Show:
Created for physicians who want more than clinical competence, Better Physician Life is a space for honest reflection, reinvention, and reclaiming purpose beyond the pager.
Hosted by Dr. Michael Hersh, each episode dives into the questions we didn’t learn to ask in training, offering tools and conversations to help you live and lead with intention.
Top 3 Takeaways:Â
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Rest Is a Skill, Not a Switch: Years of pushing through fatigue condition us to find stillness unsettling, brain scans for tasks, guilt kicks in, phone gets reached for. Rest isn't automatic; it must be practiced in small, imperfect reps. Start with 5 minutes phone-free to begin building the skill.
- Active Rest Often Comes First: For high-achievers, passive rest (sitting on the couch, reading for pleasure) can feel agitating. Try starting with active rest—gym without PRs, walks without tracking steps, yard work without a to-do list. Movement burns off stored tension, quiets mental noise, and makes true stillness more accessible afterward.
- Drop the "Earned" Mindset: Rest isn't a prize for finishing everything (the work never finishes). It's a requirement for sustainable performance, like diastole for the heart. Guilt turns rest into tension; reframe it as essential fuel. Small transitions like the commute reset are powerful places to practice without overhauling life.
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