📘 Part 3: Relaxing

This episode's vocabulary

To make up something (phrasal verb) - to form a particular thing, amount, or number as a whole.

Relaxin (noun) - a reproductive hormone produced by your ovaries and the placenta.

To relieve (verb) - to make an unpleasant feeling, such as pain or worry, less strong.

Tension (noun) - anxiety and worry.

To unwind (verb) - if you unwind something that is wrapped around an object, you unfasten it, and if it unwinds, it becomes unfastened.

Costly (adverb) - expensive, especially too expensive.

Boundary (noun) - a real or imagined line that marks the edge or limit of something.

Off the top of my head (idiom) - from the knowledge you have in your memory.

To tailor (verb) - to adjust something to suit a particular need or situation.

Committee (noun) - a small group of people chosen to represent a larger organization and either make decisions or collect information for it.

Panel (noun) - a small group of people chosen to give advice, make a decision, or publicly discuss their opinions as entertainment.

Questions and Answers

M: Do people have enough places to relax in your country?

R: I would say so. Our country makes up about a third of the UK's landmass but only has a fraction of the population. So there's lots of space to move. In fact, I asked someone what they liked about Scotland the most recently, and they said the space. So there must be something to that. We have national parks, huge gardens, big libraries. So there's a lot of space.

M: And where do people relax?

R: Other than the places I described? I think a lot of people relax in their homes too. I mean, if I think about my home, it's got quite high ceilings and lots of space to move. So that's quite relaxing for people.

M: What do people often do to relax?

R: Anything that helps them release the relaxation hormones in their heads. Actually, I think women actually have a specific one called relaxin, which is a pretty funny name when you think about it. To give you more specific examples, people usually do something quiet, like lying down, reading a book or getting a massage. I think all those things help relieve tension.

M: Do you think spending too much time on the screen is good for relaxing?

R: Well, too much of anything is probably not good for you. But if you mean a lot of time, I think it would be good for that purpose, if not necessarily other more positive ones. As long as you have access to screen time and the things you want to watch, then you should be fine.

M: Do people have to spend a lot of money on relaxing?

R: I don't think so. But it might depend on what you need to relax. If it's just reading or lying down, you can pretty much do that for free. If you need to drink to help you unwind, then that might be a little bit more costly.

M: How can people achieve a balance between work and relaxation?

R: Having things like fixed work times. So there is a time in the day when you just stop working, and no more is getting done until later. And sticking to that is probably the most important thing. And of course, you decide where that boundary is. So that there's a balance between these things. I can't think of another way that would be more effective, to be honest. At least not off the top of my head, sorry.

M: How has technology affected the way people relax in the modern world?

R: I suppose it's given them more options. So whereas before, you just had the choice of socializing or being by yourself in a quiet space. Now you can do all kinds of things like watch TV, read a book, listen to a book or watch videos. And, of course, that's all in the comfort of your home. It's also expanded the possibilities for socializing because you can meet people randomly now with the aid of certain apps. So it's had a huge influence.

M: What do you think will be the future trends in the relaxation and leisure activities?

R: Well, it's like with everything, there's more personalization than ever before. So you can expect people to tailor or, well, they should tailor the experiences or have them tailored for their specific preferences by specialist companies and applications. If I'm asked to think of a specific example, I think there is a service that offers you guided meditation and relaxation services. But it's targeted to your specific preferences to make it more effective. And so this is one example of this personalization in practice.

M: Should governments play a role in ensuring their citizens have enough time to relax?

R: I mean, they could set limits on work, or working hours, to make sure that people have this time. But having enough time to relax is a very personal thing. I don't know if that's something that can be decided by some sort of central committee or government panel, because they could give an average but then there will be people that need more, and how are they supposed to get that without the government protection, and there will be people who need less and by not having the chance to fill their life with work if they want to do that, because these rules might be in place, then they've actually managed to stress more people out than relax them. If you see what I mean. So that's a problem.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your answers!