When I was looking over the other blogs on the class page, I scrolled over the post “Are Study Breaks Beneficial” and was immediately drawn into reading it. As a college student with homework to finish and exams to study for, I found this topic extremely relevant to my own life and was inspired to do more research on it. The post covers that study breaks are indeed beneficial, but I wanted to know what type of study break is the most beneficial? Is there one or multiple? Should I sleep or go workout? Should I go on social media or eat food?
Many sources say that different methods work for different people. However, they all say that a person’s study break should involve an activity that does not make it difficult to transition back to studying. Some activities that are recommended are taking a walk, stretching, cleaning, calling a friend, showering, cooking, and meditating. Activities that people should avoid are snacking on junk food, taking a nap, watching television, drinking too much caffeine, and eating huge meals.
Taking a break helps our brain to recover from stress, strain, and boredom. In the blog post I read, it was said “MIT recommends that working for 50 minutes with a ten minute break is the most beneficial and efficient way for one to study.” In data I found, a productivity app known as Desktime measured the performance of workers and found that the highest performing employees worked for 52 minutes and then took a 17 minute break. The 17 minute break was not spent sitting down, but was spent away from the computer by either walking outside, doing exercises, or talking to other workers. The data showed that the most productive employees do not always work the longest hours at the office because most of them manage their energy efficiently.
Researchers Emily Hunter, Ph.D, and Cindy Wu, Ph.D also conducted a study to test what break activities work best to maximize brain recovery during work. In the study, they surveyed 95 employees that ranged in ages from 22 to 67. Over the course of one work week, each participant (employee) was asked to document their break time. In this study, the null hypothesis is that the workday break activities did nothing. The alternative hypothesis would be that workday break activities changed recovery. The results found that the most beneficial time to take a workday break is midmorning and that the better breaks incorporated activities that employees preferred.
Although there is no specific data yet that shows a specific type of break that works best, it is important to choose a break that increases energy, motivation, and concentration. It is also important to know the difference between ineffective and effective breaks. Social media increases stress and is therefore not a beneficial break. A study from Princeton University found that exercising is a great way to spend a break. The study found that people who exercise form more neurons that release GABA. The emission of this neurotransmitter calms the brain and reduces anxiety. A nap, which increases productivity and academic focus, is also a beneficial as long as it is only 10 to 20 minutes.
Overall, althought there is not a specific break that is best to take, it is important to take one that allows you to release stress and move around for about 10 minutes!
Sources
http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/09/10/not-all-work-breaks-are-created-equal/92068.html
http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/02/09/taking-breaks-found-to-improve-attention/23329.html
http://www.fastweb.com/student-life/articles/energizing-study-break-ideas-what-to-avoid
http://web.mit.edu/uaap/learning/study/breaks.html
http://www.onlineschools.org/science-of-study-breaks/
https://sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/10/16/are-study-breaks-beneficial/#comment-4911
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-study-sheds-light-on-exercises-impact-on-brain/
Study breaks are a necessity. There is no way one can study for hours on end and not take a break. If so, the studying is most likely not going as well as it could be. I know my form of a study break is to do push-ups every so often when I am doing homework or studying. I have two reasons for this. The first, it gives me an excuse not to go to the gym because I did push-ups. Second, it provides a great way to get rid of the stress of doing homework. I also feel as though it makes my brain more sharp and engaged because it wakes me up and gets my heart rate going. It makes me more focused when I get back to doing my work. This works for me but I think everyone should find something that works for them.
I also usually do not do all of my homework in one sitting. I however am split down the middle when it comes to what activity I am doing, whether that is going for a walk or watching Netflix. That is just the kind of person I am. But what intrigues me about the post is the study about the activities effects on brain recovery. I wonder if there is some kind of mechanism that explains why exercising is more beneficial than sitting around? Interesting Blog!
This was nice to read because I can never sit down and do all of my homework at once. It is just too overwhelming of a task. I love a nap in the middle of doing it, or going outside and throwing a football around. Anything to get my mind off of work and my eyes away from a computer screen or textbook. I really do think that study breaks are necessary for us to do our best work.