Why breaks are good

Particularly for younger students, regular breaks throughout the school day can be an effective way to reduce disruptive behavior. Both students and teachers benefit from using unstructured breaks to reduce stress. The APA recommends frequent breaks, in addition to other activities such as exercise and mediation.

Exercise breaks—whether short activities in the classroom or recess—help promote physical fitness, which in turn boosts brain health.

At the time, less than half of U. Bringing together experts across a range of fields, the report made the case for why regular exercise crucially belongs in schools: It not only provides physical health benefits to students but also enhances their cognitive functioning, leading to higher academic performance. How does exercise improve learning? Engaging in physical activity increases blood flow and oxygenation in the brain, boosting neural connectivity and stimulating nerve cell growth in the hippocampus, the center of learning and memory.

So exercise actually changes the structure of our brains , with a number of benefits : improved attention and memory, increased brain activity and cognitive function, and enhanced mood and ability to cope with stress. Rest and sleep have been shown to have a positive impact on your immune system.

It also reduces inflammation and decreases the risk of heart disease. Therefore, take advantage of the weekends when you may have more time to exercise and recover some sleep.

Sometimes, new creative approaches to problems may arise when doing different activities. Hopefully, when you're back to your work, you will have come up with some new ideas. Read more similar articles. Return to UCLcares homepage. Double click the feed URL above to edit. Find out more about who we are and what we do. Tweets by UCLcares. Linda Wasmer Andrews of Psychology Today notes four particularly helpful times to meditate: first thing in the morning, during a midday break, at the end of the work-day, or whenever you feel stress.

On the other hand, you should refrain from meditating up to an hour before bedtime; otherwise the wakeful, refreshed feeling you'll get from meditation could counteract your body's ability to relax and prepare for sleep.

While exercise and meditation improve our personal health and reduce stress, a study conducted by researchers at Case Western Reserve University and Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital found that a daily, or minute nap can significantly increase productivity and academic focus.

The study also found that minute naps boost creativity and emotion-driven memories; and since an hour and a half represents a full sleep cycle, the effects of inertia upon waking will be much less prominent.

For this reason, it's important for every learner to determine the best schedule to suit their own needs. It can be tough to step away from important assignments or materials for an important exam, but studies have shown that regular breaks will actually increase our potential for success. Your body and mind will thank you for it. Studying With and Without a Break In , University of Illinois psychology professor Alejandro Lleras led a study to determine the effectiveness of prolonged work or study periods without a break.

Eighty-four subjects were divided into four groups that all performed the same repetitive, computerized task for 50 minutes: The control group was asked to work non-stop for the minute duration The switch group and the non-switch group memorized four numbers before the work period began, and both groups were told to inform the research team if any of these digits appeared on their computer screen during the minute duration. The numbers appeared twice on the computer screens of those in the switch group , but they never appeared on the screens of those in the non-switch group.

The digit-ignored group was also shown the same set of numbers, but told to simply disregard them if they appeared on their screens. One group read through the list five times; each participant earned a perfect score no more than once. The other group read through the list 10 times; in this case, each participant scored perfectly at least three times. But when the remaining participants were re-tested four weeks later, there was little difference in scores between members of either group.

Survey respondents were divided into two groups: Those who actively engage in social media, and those who do not.