Refresh Your Brain: The Neuroscience Behind Taking Better Breaks for Improved Well-being

Neuroscience for better well being. Here’s the biggest reason that your breaks don’t feel that refreshing. You’re taking in too much information. According to neuroscience, your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. So whether you are watching, reading or working on your break, that becomes your focus instead of your own experience. The information that’s coming in requires your attention and your brain is processing all of that instead of simply allowing yourself to rest and relieve stress from your body, to take better breaks, start limiting information in, even if it’s just for a few minutes. That could be things like going for a walk for 10 minutes with just music in the background before putting on your professional development podcast, journaling or drawing for five minutes without checking emails or having the TV on at the same time. Even just a few deep breaths before picking up your phone on a break gives you a chance to let some tension out of your body. You deserve a real break. Give yourself a break from information, from the work that you’re doing and let the tension out.