TAKE A BREAK!
It is ten o'clock on the night before a big test. You have not left your desk since lunch, and the same page has now passed in front of your eyes three times. Still, getting up feels wrong, since in your mind every minute away from your books is a minute lost. What many of us fail to realize is that our brain has stopped working well long before we finally give up, completely exhausted.(lines 1–4)
The idea of resting in the middle of the day is far from modern. For centuries, people in many countries around the Mediterranean have stopped work in the early afternoon, the hottest part of the day. Until recently, most shops in Spain shut their doors for two or three hours after lunch. In some Greek villages, you can still find older people taking a short nap at that hour.(lines 5–8)
Modern science supports this old habit. Researchers in Canada once gave two groups of students an hour of math problems. The first group worked straight through, while the second stopped halfway for a five-minute walk. When the answers were checked, the walkers had made far fewer mistakes. Another study, led by Dr. Anna Weber, looked at even shorter pauses. Her team discovered that resting for just one minute, for example by looking out of a window, helps people remember more of what they have learned.(lines 9–14)
Why should such a short rest make a difference? Weber's answer is that the brain does not stop working when we do. Health writer Tom Harris explains how this works. "Think of your brain as a busy librarian," he says. "While you rest, it goes through everything you have just studied and puts each piece of information on the right shelf. This is why a problem that seemed impossible an hour ago can suddenly make sense when you return to it. On top of that, a pause gives you fresh energy, so you sit down again ready to go on."(lines 15–20)
Not every break helps, though. "A break should refresh you, not tire you," says Harris. "Many students grab their phones as soon as they stop studying. But messages and videos keep your eyes and mind busy, so you come back as tired as before. My first suggestion is to get up and move: go outside for a few minutes, or just walk to the kitchen and back. My second is to rest your eyes by looking at something far away, like the sky or a tree. Both take only minutes, and they really work."(lines 21–26)