It may be just taking a break. As simple as it may sound, taking a rest can be some sort of superhuman power to maintain energy for work.
A study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign tested this on four groups of people who worked on a very intensive task for 50 minutes. They found out on the research that the group that has the highest mental stamina was that group that took more breaks than others.
Keeping your mind away from your study is important as it improves your productivity, focus, efficiency, and creativity—enough for you to survive college life.
But, how often should you take breaks? How do you take a break? And what should you do during breaks?
How often should you take study breaks?
An average person’s attention span is short. Based on scientific studies and measurements, an average American only has an eight-second attention span. Meanwhile, a goldfish has a one-second edge, with an attention span of nine seconds.
That is why staying productive can be hard at times. So, it is advised to take breaks every 50 to 90 minutes to retain your efficiency, as per productivity experts.
The US Army Research Institute learned that ultradian rhythms have cycles consisting of 90 minutes. Adjust it if it seems hard, try taking a break every 50 minutes instead. Find your rhythm to maintain concentration.
How long should study breaks be?
Take breaks for as long as 15 up to 20 minutes. This is the ideal length, once you take longer than this, it may be considered procrastinating. Lunch breaks are fine to have longer breaks.
Remember that the length of the break is crucial, too. Do break activities that will keep you productive still.
What exactly is that perfect time for a study break? Here are a few key suggestions:
- The Pomodoro technique is a time management method that lets you take a break for five minutes for every 25 minutes of work. This is an effective way of making your brain focused and not easily distracted. Four 25-minute work in Pomodoro rewards you with a 15-minute study break.
- Peretz Lavie studied ultradian rhythms and learned that it takes 20-minute troughs in an ultradian waveform. Thus, a 20-minute break is a reasonable and scientific span.
- DeskTime, a time-tracking app, found out that their 40,000 users averages on taking a 17-minute break for every 52 minutes spent on working.
Find the time to take breaks after a long meeting as well. Understand that people have a short attention span and they need to breathe a different kind of air even for a short while.
After your break, get right on to your study. Then, take a break again. But not too long.
College is complex, continuous learning. Learn more tips about college and study destinations like study in USA, UK and Canada by checking MSM Unify out.
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