I believe it's designed the way it is (allowing frequent rests) because a lot of the plot progression is tied to the camp.
That's why there's only one short rest and the combat's on the more difficult side. It's all structured to encourage you to go to camp frequently. That in turn moves a lot of these plot elements forward.
We'll have even more party members in the final game, so they'll want us to juggle our team around frequently (and moving their plots forward in camp) before we settle on our final 3 teammates.
