IELTS Speaking Part 3: Having a rest, doing exercise
8 Part 3 discussion questions on having a rest, doing exercise, with developed sample answers of the kind Part 3 expects.
Why is it difficult for some people to relax?
For many, relaxing is difficult because they have internalised the belief that productivity equals worth – any moment not “doing something” feels like failure. Modern work culture, with its constant emails and performance metrics, blurs the boundary between work and rest, making guilt-free relaxation nearly impossible. Anxiety disorders, perfectionism, or a history of overwork can train the brain to remain in a hyper-aroused state, where resting feels unsafe. For parents of young children or caregivers, the sheer logistics of life may leave no real time to rest, only brief gaps between tasks. Social media and entertainment apps also hijack relaxation time, offering dopamine hits but not true rest – scrolling is not the same as restoration. Some people literally do not know how to relax because they never learned; they were always shuttled from one activity to another as children. Overcoming this requires both structural changes (boundaries at work) and personal practice (learning to be still without guilt).
Do you think there should be classes for training young people and children how to relax?
Yes, absolutely – relaxation is a skill, not just an absence of activity, and many children never learn it. Classes could teach techniques like deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, mindful observation, and the difference between active rest (walking, stretching) and passive rest (sleep, lying down). They could also address the specific pressures young people face: academic stress, social media comparison, and performance anxiety. A relaxation class might include guided imagery, art therapy, or simple yoga poses tailored to different age groups. Importantly, it should not become another performance – the goal is not to get an A in relaxing, but to give children permission and tools to slow down. Schools already teach “how to study” but rarely “how to recover,” which is a profound omission. Given rising rates of anxiety and burnout among young people, such classes would be a cost-effective preventive health measure.
Which is more important, mental relaxation or physical relaxation?
They are deeply interconnected, so separating them is somewhat artificial – chronic mental tension leads to muscle tightness, and physical exhaustion impairs cognitive recovery. That said, if forced to choose, mental relaxation might be slightly more foundational because your mind can generate stress even when your body is still. You can lie on a comfortable couch (physically relaxed) while mentally replaying an argument or worrying about a deadline – that is not true relaxation. Conversely, physical relaxation often triggers mental relaxation because the body sends “safety” signals to the brain via the parasympathetic nervous system. The most effective practices, like meditation, yoga nidra, or a slow walk in nature, work on both simultaneously. So rather than rank them, it is better to recognise that chronic stress typically manifests in both domains, and recovery interventions should address both. For acute situations, starting with physical relaxation (breathing exercises, warm bath) can be a gateway to mental stillness.
Do people in your country exercise after work?
It is common among urban professionals, particularly those aged 25-40, but far from universal. Gyms see peak traffic between 5 pm and 8 pm, as people stop on their way home from work. Running in parks, group fitness classes, and home workout apps have all grown in popularity. However, many people, especially those with long commutes or physically demanding jobs, are too tired to exercise after work. There is also a gender divide: men are more likely to go to a gym after work, while women often prefer morning workouts or home routines due to safety or family scheduling concerns. The pandemic shifted many to home workouts, and some have stuck with that. In smaller towns and rural areas, after-work exercise is less formal – people might garden, play with children, or walk dogs, which counts as physical activity but is not framed as “exercise.” Overall, there is a growing health consciousness, but long working hours remain a barrier.
What are the benefits of doing exercise?
The benefits span physical, mental, and social domains. Physically, regular exercise reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and osteoporosis. It also improves sleep quality, immune function, and weight management. Mentally, exercise releases endorphins (natural mood lifters), reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression, and improves cognitive functions like memory and executive control. Even a single bout of moderate exercise can sharpen focus for hours. Socially, team or group exercise provides community, accountability, and fun – loneliness is a health risk, and exercise can mitigate it. Long-term, exercise is one of the most effective interventions for healthy aging, maintaining mobility, and preventing falls. It also builds resilience to stress, as the physiological response to exercise (elevated heart rate, sweating) trains the body to handle and recover from challenges. In short, exercise is the closest thing we have to a miracle drug – and it is free.
What is the place where people spend most of their time in their home?
In modern homes, the living room (or the open-plan kitchen-living area) tends to be where people spend most of their waking leisure time. This is where families watch television, eat meals, socialise, and often work on laptops or phones. During the pandemic, many people also converted living rooms into home offices or workout spaces, increasing time spent there. For people living alone, the bedroom often rivals the living room, especially if they have a desk or comfortable chair there. In cultures where multi-generational living is common, the main communal room (often the kitchen) is the hub. Interestingly, the bathroom has become a place where people spend more time than in the past, using it as a private retreat for reading or scrolling. But overall, the living area remains the functional heart of most homes, even as we increasingly retreat to individual bedrooms for privacy. The design of a home – open vs. compartmentalised – strongly influences these patterns.
*What is the difference between rest and leisure? (added)
Rest is about recovery from fatigue or stress; it is often passive (sleep, lying down, doing nothing) and necessary for health. Leisure, by contrast, is freely chosen, intrinsically motivated activity that may be active (hiking, painting, playing sports) and does not necessarily reduce fatigue. You can have a leisure activity that is actually tiring, like a long bike ride, but it is still enjoyable. Rest is restorative; leisure is meaningful and fun. They overlap: a good nap is both rest and leisure if you choose it and enjoy it. But you can also have rest without leisure (falling asleep from exhaustion after work – not fun) and leisure without rest (playing an intense video game for hours – enjoyable but not physically restorative). A balanced life needs both: rest to recharge your batteries, and leisure to make the batteries worth recharging. Modern life tends to confuse the two, treating all non-work time as “free time” without distinguishing passive recovery from active engagement.
*Why do some people feel guilty when resting? (added)
Guilt about resting often stems from a Protestant work ethic or similar cultural values that equate idleness with moral failure. Many people internalise the message that every moment should be productive, and rest is a “waste” rather than a necessary input to productivity. Social comparison amplifies this – seeing others’ highlight reels of busyness and achievement on social media makes rest feel like laziness. Parents, especially mothers, often feel guilty resting because caregiving tasks are never truly finished; there is always something more they could be doing. In competitive workplaces, visible rest can be misinterpreted as lack of ambition, so people fake busyness even when they have nothing to do. The irony is that chronic guilt-ridden rest is not restorative – you lie there stressed about lying there. Breaking this cycle requires reframing rest as a performance-enhancing tool, like sharpening an axe, not as an absence of work. Organisational culture change and personal boundary-setting both matter.
Reading a model answer is not the same as saying one. The sample above shows what a strong Part 3 answer sounds like. What it cannot tell you is how yours sounds — whether you hesitate, repeat the question back, or run out of things to say at forty seconds.
You can record an answer to this exact question and get it marked on fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and pronunciation — the same four criteria the examiner uses.
Common questions
How is Part 3 different from Part 1?
Part 1 is about you; Part 3 is about people in general. The questions move to society, causes and consequences, and the answers are expected to be longer and more developed — an opinion plus a reason plus an example.
What if I have no opinion on the question?
You are not marked on the opinion, so pick one and support it. Saying you have never thought about it and stopping there leaves the examiner nothing to assess.
How long does Part 3 last?
Four to five minutes. The topics develop out of your Part 2 card, so the discussion is usually connected to what you just described.
Model answers written and reviewed by The English All-in-One IELTS team. They are teaching models showing what each band looks like, not real candidate scripts.