NEST IT OUT
As Emma Watson brings ‘nesting’ — staying at home instead of clubbing — back to fashion, we get experts to talk about its health benefits
PHollywood actor Emma Watson (below right), too, talked about how she enjoys staying home more than partying out, which has brought focus to this rising lifestyle trend.
As per this trend, the habit of clubbing or generally heading out to have a good time is being highly replaced with plans to stay in or as they call it now — ‘nesting’.
City-based life coach and psychotherapist Neeta V Shetty, explains, “Nowadays, our day-to-day activities, work pressure and commuting leave us only with weekends to relax, chill, de-stress or socialise, party, etc. If a person chooses to sit at home in their own pad and zone, being what they want to be, doing just what they want to do, without getting out of the house or socialising is called nesting.”
The plans may vary — reading a book in your bathtub, having coffee while watching your favourite TV show or just enjoying a cup of coffee with a loved one.
“Downtime or taking time off has become an important part of wellness and recovery. With our brains and energetic bodies being overloaded with technology and socialising, nesting allows us to recover and recuperate within the walls of our own homes. It slows life down and gives us a chance to come into our own,” says Prameet Kotak, wellness expert.
A COPING MECHANISM
According to experts, nesting is a way to reach out to our inner needs. It is about making oneself comfortable in his or her own space, where one chooses to indulge in simple activities, ranging from self-care techniques such as meditating or doing yoga at home to having house parties rather than clubbing. With the increasing levels of stress, there are also ways of coping with it and nesting is one of them. It tends to have benefits similar to psychotherapy.
“With growing technology everything is available at the tip of the finger. People’s lifestyles, work methods, etc, everything has changed extensively in the past decade. So, in this fast-paced life, a calm and composed mind is the only factor that determines true happiness and success,” says Namrata Dagia, clinical psychologist.
BENEFITS OF NESTING
Nesting is not only beneficial to the pocket, but also for the mind. It helps to de-stress, relax and calm down. It also helps us promote the feel good hormone oxytocin in our body and in reducing the cortisol levels, thus improving our immunity and mental health. It may also give us time to introspect which can make us more productive. Nesting also allows us some me time, which is important for self-care and self-love. It, in turn, boosts our psychological and physiological health. It may also help us to maintain a healthy diet, which goes for a toss when we are partying.
WRONG WAY TO GO ABOUT NESTING
Experts say that balancing your time between socialising and nesting is important. Sometimes being alone may make us feel in control of our If a person consistently feels like not socialising and finds it difficult executing day-to-day activities may also be depressed. So, we need to look at it from a different perspective as well, keeping our eyes open for signs such as mood swings, change of appetite, sleep patterns, lethargy, fatigue, irritability, sadness, etc. This may also happen in case of chronic stress and exhaustion. Only if this is not the case, and the person is happy with a few sessions of nesting can it be considered healthy. lives and we start preferring being alone rather than in company. Thus, it’s important that we don’t overdo anything. While on one hand nesting helps us de-stress, on the other hand socialising is important for networking, to give us a sense of belonging, and in slowing down of cognitive degeneration, which is one of the reasons for Alzheimer’s and dementia.