Give Me a Break

Let’s be honest; how many of us have been in a class, in a meeting, or in church and had our eyes glaze over within a few minutes? I certainly have been the recipient of and, more often than not, the source of the brain fog. We somehow have bought into the myth that we need to go full tilt as long as possible to be able to learn the most content or to accomplish the most work. Research in neuroscience tells us a different story.

In a recent blog post in Edutopia by Youki Terada, he emphasizes that the brain must get a break regularly to be able to process information. Our minds are constantly sorting, filtering, and trying to make sense of incoming data. Research shows that for young children, 10 – 15 minute intervals of concentration are optimum. For older students, 20 – 30 minutes. The same is true for adults. If we take a short stretch break, a quick walk across the room, or just stop and take long breaths for a few seconds regularly, we allow our brains to avoid fatigue and focus more effectively on the material or task at hand. When partnered with sufficient sleep each night and days off regularly, we allow the brain to maximize its efficiency and therefore our success.

Basically, what we know now is that cramming the night before an exam, listening to long lectures, or staying on a task for hours are not as beneficial as we once believed. Taking breaks is not an indicator of laziness. Instead, doing so is essential to our overall well-being. An interesting example is the 20 20 20 rule for eye strain. If we are working on a computer, playing a video game, or binge-watching shows, it is recommended that every 20 minutes we should take 20 seconds and focus on something 20 feet away. Doing so provides an opportunity to give the body the balance it needs to be more efficient.

As we learn more about how the human machine works, we have a choice to use that knowledge to enhance our lives. Or we can continue to do things that minimize our productivity and capacity. Maybe we need to take a quick break and reflect on what would be the better path.