<p>The ability to do nothing — truly nothing, without guilt or restlessness — has become a clinical skill. Researchers at the University of Virginia found that people preferred to give themselves mild electric shocks rather than sit alone with their thoughts for 15 minutes.</p><p>The Tuscan retreats that understand this do not fill their programmes with activities. They provide the conditions: a chair in the sun, a view of olive groves, a meal that takes two hours and is not rushed. They trust the landscape to do the work.</p><p>Recovery from productivity addiction is not a metaphor. The neurological pathways that make stillness feel threatening are real, and they can be rewired. It takes, at minimum, three days. More often, five to seven.</p>
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