Claudia Hammond Books

Every relationship with money begins in childhood. In our families, we first learn what money means—not only its practical use but its emotional power. I discuss studies showing that children absorb attitudes toward spending and saving long before they earn their first coins. If your parents argued ...

From Mind Over Money: The Psychology of Money and How to Use It Better

When it comes to money, our brains are far from rational calculators—they are emotional machines that use shortcuts. In this section, I examine fundamental biases such as loss aversion, anchoring, and mental accounting. Loss aversion explains why losing £10 feels far more painful than gaining £10 fe...

From Mind Over Money: The Psychology of Money and How to Use It Better

One of the book’s most important insights is that rest and sleep are not the same thing. Many people hear the word “rest” and immediately think of bedtime, exhaustion, or catching up after a demanding week. But Hammond shows that rest also includes conscious experiences that replenish us while we ar...

From The Art of Rest: How to Find Respite in a Busy World

When thousands of people across the world are asked what makes them feel truly rested, their answers expose something profound: beneath differences in age, nationality, and lifestyle, human beings share a deep need for respite. Hammond’s Rest Test, involving more than 18,000 participants from over a...

From The Art of Rest: How to Find Respite in a Busy World

A busy mind often feels productive, but Hammond makes clear that nonstop mental activity comes at a cost. Rest is not empty time; it is biologically useful time. Research in psychology and neuroscience suggests that periods of quiet wakefulness help the brain consolidate memories, regulate emotions,...

From The Art of Rest: How to Find Respite in a Busy World

One of Hammond’s sharpest observations is that many people do not merely lack rest; they mistrust it. In cultures that prize productivity, visibility, and constant responsiveness, rest can feel morally suspect. We learn to admire being busy, to equate speed with importance, and to treat downtime as ...

From The Art of Rest: How to Find Respite in a Busy World