When you are in big periods of study or stress breaks can feel inefficient or distracting, taking you away from your ‘study flow’ and leading you astray. But they are actually incredibly helpful tools to give your brain a break, helping you stay focused in the long run and absorb the information you are studying better. They key to a good break is not just taking them, but taking them well.

The first important thing to remember is timing your breaks intentionally. Techniques like the Pomodoro method can help burnout before it starts, working in 25-minute sessions split up with 5-minute breaks, allowing you to reset your brain.

Next, it is helpful to step away from your environment. Take some time out of your chair to stretch your legs and physically move, even if it is just to another room. Even just standing up and giving your body a shake can improve blood flow to the brain, improving cognitive functions like memory, focus, and alertness.

Lastly, I know it’s tempting to spend your break on your phone, but this may hinder your studying rather than help. Periods of passive scrolling might feel relaxing, but in reality they overload your brain with more stimulation, meaning that you might actually feel more tired than before your break. Instead, try closing your eyes and giving your brain a break from all the visual stimulation, listen to some relaxing music or just sit in the silence and take a few minutes to breathe.

It can be easy to feel guilty about resting. Breaks aren’t a reward you give yourself for completing work, but rather an instrumental tool in actually doing the work itself. You might find that you actually finish your homework faster when you are optimising your use of break times. Your brain needs the downtime to consolidate your study and retain information for that important exam coming up!

Emma Georgopoulos