In praise of idleness
Doing nothing is difficult. We should do more of it.
Whatever happened to the leisurely bath? Meandering between steam room and lounger, soaking in a mineral pool until the skin wrinkles, dozing off swaddled in towels. Jane Withers is a devout believer in bathing as a space to daydream and do nothing.
The current fascination with holding business meetings in the sauna should ring loud warning bells. On a recent trip to New York, I got to try one of the iconic new bathhouses. The seductive lighting didn’t quite disguise how relaxation is programmed to the last breath. In London, it’s worse. A new kid on the bathing block, offers 30 min sauna and plunge sessions that promise to bring ‘physical and mental wellbeing to new heights.’ Hydrotherapy meets circuit training. Are we turning bathing into a fast-food fad when it ought to be a leisurely feast for the mind and senses?
‘The mechanical world of objective time - seconds, minutes, hours - is irrelevant here. Taking a bath properly requires being able to guiltlessly linger, hang out and/or do nothing whatsoever’.
Leonard Koren
While trend articles might infer that regimented performance-orientated sessions are the acme of modern bathing, many of us still delight in a languid soak just as bathers have done for thousands of years before us. Evidence of the benefits of a leisurely bath isn’t just anecdotal. Recent studies have confirmed the creativity-boosting powers of boredom, and neuroscience is finally catching up with what we bathers instinctively know to be true – doing nothing is good for you.
Here’s our compass for the slow bather.
Get lost
Part of the appeal of the bathhouse is that it inhabits a different time zone from everyday life. As bath master Leonard Koren writes in Undesigning the Bath (a new edition by Blunk Books), ‘The mechanical world of objective time - seconds, minutes, hours - is irrelevant here. Taking a bath properly requires being able to guiltlessly linger, hang out and/or do nothing whatsoever.’
Yudedako!
There is something about the extreme physical sensations of hot and cold in bathing that calms the body and quiets mental chatter. The Japanese have a wonderful word for it: yudedako. Literally translated as boiled octopus, it describes that nirvana moment of blissful relaxation after a long, hot soak. Though I doubt the octopus feels the same way.
Idling the Roman way
The Romans took idleness seriously and their palatial thermae were shrines to unhurried bathing. They called it ‘otium’. The opposite to ‘negotium’ or business, otium is usually translated as ‘productive idleness’, but that doesn’t quite do it justice. Consciously idling is physically and mentally rejuvenating in the same way that meditation stills and fortifies the mind. But doing nothing is notoriously difficult, so what better place to try it than in the baths where heat melts anxieties and expectations. According to Seneca, ‘Only those who devote their time to wisdom know idleness.’
Baijiu soak
The historian Siegfried Giedion said tell me how you bathe, and I’ll tell you who you are, or words to that effect. As power shower addicts, we probably wouldn’t come off too well compared with the more languid balneary habits of our ancestors. The contrast between the efficiency of Western-style bathing and the enchanted pace of a family-run bathhouse where long soaks are sustained by sips of rice wine is the subject of the Chinese film Shower. But when the young generation finally succumbs to the slow charms of the old-school bathhouse, it’s already too late and the historic institution is demolished to make way for a mall.
Eureka!
Archimedes famously had his eureka moment in the bath, and many of us instinctively understand the connection between idling and ideas. But it took a while for neuroscience to catch up. It used to be thought that when we did nothing, the brain did nothing. But the discovery of the resting state network (RSN) in 2001 blew this theory away. The RSN fires up when we are daydreaming. According to Andrew Smart, author of Autopilot: The Art & Science of Doing Nothing, perceptions, memories, associations and thoughts may need a resting mind in order to make their way through our brain and form new connections. Apparently, those ‘aha’ moments occur more often in people who allow the brain’s resting state networks time to reverberate. Yet another good reason for a lazy steam.
R&R
When people talk about sauna and baths, they rarely mention the time devoted to rest, but this is just as important a part of the bathing cycle as the steam or plunge. The space to cool down and rest has different names in different cultures. In the hamam, it’s called the camekan. In the banya, bathers retire to the predbannik to socialise and drink vodka. Wherever it takes place, unhurried rest is critical to gently reviving the body and avoiding fatigue. Properly speaking the cooldown period after bathing should be as long as the time spent in the heat.
Jane Withers @janewithers.london
Our favorite places to bathe idly
Széchenyi Thermal Bath
Budapest’s most palatial baths built in the 1880s are still going strong. Regulars while away the day playing chess in outdoor thermal pools.
Kabuki Hot Springs
A Japanese-inspired San Francisco bathing institution that’s been around since 1968, its roots are infused with the calm of the sento.
Hamam de la Grande Mosquée de Paris
A hamam attached to the oldest mosque in Paris, built in the 1920s in Hispano-Moorish style. Since the recent renovation it’s women-only. On Sundays it resembles an Ingres-esque scene with bodies sprawled across every surface. Sip mint tea in the courtyard afterwards.
Big Towel Spa
Two clock-free wood-fired mobile saunas traveling to locations around the Hudson Valley. A series of events with artists and chefs bring the community together.
Bathing in the news
Lots of news this week from idleness to fashion trends and a bathhouse profile:
The Wallpaper* wellness report: thermal bathing is an ancient art set to rise in 2025
Wallpaper*, March 11, 2025
Can a Finnish Sauna Improve Society?
New York Times, March 4, 2025
Othership, the soulcycle of spas
New Yorker, March 7, 2025
‘Will saunas be the antidote to our disconnected, dopamine-addicted worlds – forcing us to be present, weaning us off booze and screens and social media notifications?’ Forget The Pub, Saunas Are The New Place To Socialise
Vogue UK, January 14, 2025
One last thing
Hailing from Finland, the home of sauna, Moomins are experts in idleness.
We’d love to hear from you - please send a DM, or email hello@cultureofbathing.com
Thank you for highlighting the importance of the after-nap. In America, it's difficult to find bathing experiences where there is space dedicated to the nap - when that is the best part. (Giant Korean mall-like spas are the exception. Plenty of space to doze off there). The absence of the cooling room always makes me think to myself, "amateurs," and wish I could advertise myself as some sort of bathing consultant. Hire me. I'll go through your bathing services and tell you what's missing! In our fast-paced society where we treat all wellness like a pill to be swallowed, 9 times out of ten, what's missing is the nap.
I love this substack feed. Thank you for creating a wonderful niche to read about, and reflect.