When exam season is here, it’s helpful to remember the importance of taking those much-needed study breaks. It might sound obvious, but it can be tempting for them to go into last-minute cramming mode. And some teens feel that the longer they study, the better prepped they’ll be.
With burnout on the rise and young people feeling more pressure than ever to succeed, they really need to schedule in plenty of breaks and downtime to balance out their hard work.
According to Cornell University, taking purposeful breaks from studying – anywhere from 5-60 minutes – helps to refresh your brain and body, and increases your productivity and ability to focus.
Unsurprisingly, social media doesn’t count as a ‘purposeful break,’ as scrolling their socials doesn’t actually give them a mental refresh. Instead, encourage them to try activities that give their mind a proper break – whether it’s allowing them to breathe, laugh, move their body or properly zone out.
If they still need persuading, here are 5 surprising benefits of taking study breaks.
1. They energise you
Study breaks are a chance for your teen to get away from their desk and re-energise their brains and bodies. Getting fresh air, a change of scenery and moving their body is the ultimate refresh and will help them be more productive when they get back to studying.
2. They help to reduce stress
While your teen may get stressed at the thought of taking a study break, it can be helpful to explain that breaks actually have the opposite effect.
Taking time away from work can help to calm their central nervous system. The nervous system helps us respond to threats and stressors by putting our body into fight or flight mode.
But, if your teen is constantly in this mode, it can lead to burnout. Harvard University researchers suggest doing a calming activity during breaks to help the body recalibrate – meditation, exercising and breathwork can all help.
3. They help you master new skills quicker
A recent National Institutes of Health study showed that taking short breaks may help our brains learn new things more effectively. Researchers mapped out what happens in our brain when we learn new things like playing a new song on the piano or learning new vocabulary.
They discovered that during rest, our brain rapidly and repeatedly replayed faster versions of the activity seen. Results showed that rest plays just as important a role as practice in learning new things – as this is when our brains compress and consolidate memories of what we just learned.
4. They help you feel more positive
One study found that taking micro-breaks has a positive impact on your mood and performance. Micro-breaks are short breaks like standing up to stretch or making a quick snack. Researchers found that those who took lots of micro-breaks throughout the day were more engaged with their studies and had a more positive attitude.
5. They improve your overall health
Active rest and sleep both have a positive effect on the immune system. Taking time out helps to reduce inflammation and decreases the risk of certain diseases. Study breaks also help to curb mental fatigue, replenish you mentally and improve your overall wellbeing. And we can’t argue with that!
If your teen could do with more revision tips and tricks, our tutors are study experts who did the same exams as them in the past few years. Find the right tutor for them here.