The Value of Taking a Break

Take a break 

The first couple weeks of school can be really challenging as students have to get used to completing school work again. Over the summer, study routines are forgotten, and it can feel like no progress is being made when working. One thing that can be very helpful is taking regular short breaks. 

Taking a break when doing school work can make you more productive than just working straight through. While this may seem counterintuitive, the general scientific consensus is that taking breaks improves your focus, increases recall, and reduces stress. However, not all breaks were made equally, and certain types of breaks will not help. 

Cornell Health says:

“Research shows that taking purposeful breaks (anywhere from 5–60 minutes) from studying to refresh your brain and body increases your energy, productivity, and ability to focus.”

There are many methods on how to incorporate these purposeful breaks into a schedule. Someone who likes to plan ahead could use the pomodoro technique to structure their work. If you’re more type b, an altered version of the pomodoro technique could be used where you don’t plan exactly what you are going to do but still do the 25 minute chunks. There are many more methods if this one does not work the best.

Most students probably already take breaks but they might not be designed in a way to help them succeed. Often the go to for a break is to grab a phone and scroll. However, research shows that does not help your brain reset. 

 Research from the Journal of Behavioral Addictions says that taking a break on a cellphone, even if you are not going on social media, has the same effect as not taking a break. Meanwhile, taking a break on a computer or on paper has a positive effect on productivity and focus. 

“The results show that using a cell phone for a break did not allow the brain to recharge as effectively as the other types of breaks, both in terms of being able to perform quickly and efficiently in the second half of the task.., and in terms of performance…”

When progress on a task has stagnated, absolutely take a break, but do not reach for a phone. That being said, what are good ideas for breaks? 

Northern Illinois University has a great list that has four types of breaks: creative, movement, nourishing, and social. These types of breaks are further broken down into specific ideas. Some of them include taking a 20 minute walk, calling a friend, daydreaming, and having a healthy snack. The entire list can be accessed here.

While breaks are essential to productive learning, it is very important to make sure that they are mindful breaks that will actually recharge the brain. This can be hard to do, but it is totally possible, and the benefits will make the struggle worth it.