when staying at home becomes trendy

Are you one of those people who prefers Netflix & Chill parties to social gatherings and dinners? Good thing, spending your free time at home has never been so trendy and even has a name: nesting.

Let’s be honest. Who has never waved a ready-made excuse on Monday in the office when faced with the inevitable question "What did you do this weekend?" ? It's hard to assume that we spent Saturday evening in pajamas, with a plate of shells, in front of The Voice. And yet the cozy evenings have nothing to envy the parties until dawn. Refusing an outing to stay quietly at home now has a name: nesting, and it's even trendy.

Nesting & chill, when staying at home becomes cool

A few years ago, being a homebody wasn't really the personality trait that was loud and clear. To be seen as a cool person, you had to organize outings, exhibitions, brunches and evenings every Saturday at all costs. We found ourselves having to invent false excuses to have a moment of respite "Damn, I already have a birthday that night … Too bad", while we were running a bubble bath, a clay mask on the face in front of the replay of Koh-Lanta. Fortunately, this period is well and truly over. Today we can largely claim to have done nothing over the weekend.

Nesting comes from the English word "nest", which means "nest". Basically, stay in your cozy nest. Our lifestyles at 100 per hour are not for nothing in this era of "slow life" and "hygge". But the Covid-19 pandemic and the confinement have reinforced the need to feel good at home. The house has become a workspace, a school, a gym … The company Beko, one of the leading household appliance brands in the European market, recently published a report on the long-term impact of Covid-19 on the house, and predicts, by 2030, the peak of nesting. Because nesting goes beyond a simple trend of personal development: it is also about refocusing on yourself and recharging the batteries by putting your well-being above all.

Nesting to take care of yourself

Taking time for yourself would be beneficial for our vital energy. It is Dr Vicente Saavedra, doctor from Barcelona who says so. Asked by El Pais, he thus states: "Our cells and organs need rest to regenerate. Entertainment from time to time is necessary, but if entertainment becomes a way of life it is terribly harmful, physically and mentally (…) Each person has their own point of balance ".

Like JOMO ("Joy of Missing Out" or the joy of missing everything), nesting invites you to put your mental and physical health in the foreground. "To find it, self-knowledge is necessary, but today's society (with increasingly alienating and materialistic values, consumerism and haste) does not lead us to develop our own responsibility for our health. We are unhappy and anxious ", explains the doctor. We all need rest to regenerate ourselves. Our daily life generates stress and leads to the formation of a hormone: cortisol. Produced for too long or in too large a quantity, this hormone will harm general health and cause side effects: obesity, hypertension, acidity in the stomach, fatigue, reduced immune defenses, etc.

Many studies show that calm activities such as reading, gardening, sewing or baking have anti-stress properties. Philosophers even extol the merits of boredom as favorable to creativity. In the Netherlands, this art of doing nothing even has a name: the niksen.

The nesting trend, a question of balance

Of course, like many things in life, it's all about balance. Nesting is not about living completely secluded from the world at home. Going out, seeing friends, doing activities … All of this contributes to having a rich social life that is a source of pleasure. Nesting relieves people who need their moments of calm and rest. It's up to everyone to find the right balance between going out and nesting!

See also: 5 creative and anti-stress activities that make us feel good

Video by Clemence Chevallet