Slow living: What it is and how the trend can benefit you

Slow living may sound like just another social media trend, but the influencers preaching it might be onto something.

Although people often reduce the idea to quitting your job to bake sourdough and take nature walks, it actually revolves around creating small, intentional pauses in a world that never stops moving.

Unsurprisingly, adopting a slow living lifestyle can offer numerous benefits.

What is the slow living movement?

The idea of slow living is simple: to move through daily life at a more intentional pace. Instead of rushing through the day, it encourages you to take your time, pay more attention to moments that usually pass in a blur and build meaningful connections with the people around you. 

There’s no doubt that social media helps popularise this lifestyle, particularly during the pandemic. Before it became a TikTok aesthetic, it actually started as a protest. You can trace its roots back to the Slow Food movement founded by Carlo Petrini and a group of activists in the 1980s, which defended Italian food tradition in response to the opening of a McDonald’s in Rome. The movement focused on how local, traditional and high-quality fare is better for people than fast food.

Slow living follows that same philosophy. Its popularity likely grew out of a response to rapid technological change, which reshaped how you work, communicate and spend your days, often leaving your wellbeing trailing behind. 

How it can benefit you

Modern life is overwhelming. The pressure to “have it all” – excelling in careers, maintaining a beautiful appearance, having the perfect relationship and being a nurturing caregiver at home – causes many women around the world to experience emotional burnout. Other factors, like dealing with toxic friendships and endless scrolling, also lead to anxiety, which affects approximately 40 million people.

Various surveys suggest that there’s a steady rise in mental health problems among women. One study shows that the number of women and girls struggling with depression and anxiety has increased from 56 to 63 per 1000 over the past 30 years. 

Slow living offers the perfect antidote to modern worries. Harvard Health notes that this lifestyle can help you lower your stress levels and blood pressure. This means you’re more likely to feel calmer, happier and a lot more content in your day-to-day life.

There are also cognitive benefits to slow living. Paying more attention helps you focus better, which makes it a great way to fight the ‘brain rot’ caused by constant scrolling and internet dependence. You may even notice that you stop being forgetful as you become more mindful during the day. Since it pushes you to be aware of your surroundings, you can avoid making mistakes that lead to injuries.

Your social life can improve, too. Adopting a slow living lifestyle means giving your loved ones your full attention, so you listen more and talk less. The result of doing this is deeper connections and stronger bonds.

How to adopt slow living

There are numerous misconceptions about slow living. Some people think that it means quitting your job to live in the middle of nowhere. Others believe you need to delete all social media and cook all your meals at home. However, adopting this lifestyle is much simpler than that. You can make it part of your daily routine, rather than creating drastic change in your life.

Here are some ways you can adopt it:

• Pay attention to your meals: Nowadays, many people feel the need to watch something on a screen while eating. If that’s you, try to make meal times something you actually enjoy by focusing on your food.
• Take breaks from screens: You don’t have to ditch technology forever, but taking time to disconnect can give your mind a break from the constant stress of being online. Swap your usual doomscrolling time for a hobby you like, such as reading or exercising.
• Be mindful of your daily tasks: Don’t do things on autopilot mode. When you’re doing simple daily tasks like brushing your teeth and washing the dishes, try to do them slowly and intentionally. You’ll notice you start feeling calmer as you do this.
• Take walks in nature: Walking is a great way to slow down and relax. When you walk, don’t focus only on getting somewhere. Look around and notice the sounds, the light, the weather and all the small details you normally miss. It can help reset your mind.

Begin your journey to a slower, more meaningful life

There’s no strict rule as to what slow living looks like, so it can be different for everybody. The whole point is to avoid rushing through your life. Start small, and before you know it, slow living will become second nature.