Where Did This Idea Come From? (Spoiler Alert: Men 🙋🏼‍♂️)

Rest was never supposed to be a privilege—it’s a biological need. But somewhere along the way, society decided that being useful was more important than being human.

So where did that start? Let’s break it down:

🌕 Capitalism & The Exploitation of Labor

Before industrialization, people worked with the natural rhythms of their environment. There were seasons of intense labor and seasons of rest. But when factory work took over, the human body was expected to operate like a machine—12, 14, even 16-hour shifts, six or seven days a week.

Bosses didn’t care about the well-being of their workers; they cared about output. Productivity. Profit.

And we still carry those values today. The 9-5 workday? Invented for efficiency, not human wellness.

(Source: E.P. Thompson, “Time, Work-Discipline, and Industrial Capitalism”—an analysis of how capitalism changed our relationship with time and labor.)

🌕 Slavery & The Denial of Rest

The forced labor of enslaved people was foundational to Western economies. Their ability to rest was deliberately taken away.

Historian Dr. Tricia Hersey, founder of The Nap Ministry, points out that sleep deprivation was a tool of control—enslaved people were forced to work under conditions where exhaustion kept them from rebelling, from thinking freely, from existing as full human beings.

That legacy of “work until you break” didn’t disappear. It was absorbed into labor systems that still push people beyond their limits today, especially the most vulnerable—Black women, single mothers, working-class laborers.

(Source: Tricia Hersey, “Rest is Resistance”—a modern take on how rest is a tool of liberation.)

🌕 Patriarchy & The Unpaid Labor of Women

Women’s work has never been properly valued. Ever.

For most of history, women were legally considered property—first of their fathers, then of their husbands. Their job? To birth children, raise families, clean, cook, manage households, take care of aging parents—all without pay, without recognition, without rest.

And guess what? Society still expects women, especially mothers, to give everything without needing time to recover.

🪫 Why are women called “lazy” for taking breaks, but men are “recharging”?

🪫 Why do mothers feel guilt when they rest, but fathers are praised just for “babysitting” their own kids?

🪫 Why do we have to justify needing a nap?

(Source: Silvia Federici, “Caliban and the Witch”—on the historical oppression of women’s labor.)

The Myth of the “Perfect Schedule” (AKA, Why Kids Don’t Need Factory Schedules)

One of the biggest lies we’re told is that there’s one “correct” way to structure life.

📐 The right bedtime.

📐 The right wake-up time.

📐 The right work hours.

📐 The right way to raise a child.

But none of that is universal. It’s all cultural. And much of it was shaped by industrial-era school systems meant to train kids to become obedient factory workers.

☀ Some people thrive in the morning. Some at night.

🤸🏻‍♀️ Some kids need more structure. Some need freedom to explore.

🛌 Some days your body needs to do less. And that’s OK.

Resting is not “breaking the rules”—it’s breaking free from rules that were never designed for your well-being in the first place.

(Source: Alfie Kohn, “Punished by Rewards”—on how rigid structures in schools and workplaces strip away natural human rhythms.)

How to Unlearn Productivity Guilt

You don’t have to justify why you’re tired. You don’t owe anyone an explanation for needing rest. But we know that guilt runs deep, so here’s what to remind yourself:

🌗 “Rest is not a reward—it’s a requirement.”

🌘 “My body deserves care, not punishment.”

🌑 “I refuse to measure my worth by how much I produce.”

🌒 “Just because others push themselves to exhaustion doesn’t mean I have to.”

🌓 “I am a human being, not a machine.”

And if someone tries to shame you for taking care of yourself?

Try this:

🩷 “I trust my body more than I trust hustle culture.”

💜 “If rest makes you uncomfortable, ask yourself why.”

🩵 “Your need to see me ‘busy’ is about you, not me.”

Rest is a radical act.

And radical acts change the world.

Final Thoughts: Rest is Resistance

If we all stopped seeing exhaustion as a badge of honor, the entire system would collapse. And that’s why they want us tired—because tired people don’t have the energy to fight back.

But rested people?

Rested people make change.

Rested people dream, create, imagine better futures.

Rested mothers raise children who know their worth.

Rested workers challenge the systems that exploit them.

🕯️ Choosing to rest is choosing to resist.

🕊️ And you deserve that freedom.

Are You Ready to Take Back Your Time?

I’d love to hear from you:

🌀 Where in your life have you struggled with productivity guilt?

🌀 How did you start unlearning it?

Drop your thoughts in the comments. Let’s talk.