A good break leaves you more able to focus than before it; a bad one just passes time. The difference is mostly about what you do: breaks that get you moving, outside, or doing something unlike your work restore attention, while scrolling a phone mostly doesn't. Here's what research says, and how to take breaks that work.
Why breaks matter
Concentrating is effortful, and performance on demanding tasks declines over time. Breaks reset it. A 2022 meta-analysis by Patricia Albulescu and colleagues, pooling studies of short “micro-breaks” of up to ten minutes, found they reliably improved people's energy and reduced fatigue. Effects on performance were smaller, and larger for routine tasks than for creative ones, which suggests longer breaks for harder work.
What makes a break restorative
Nature, or at least a window
Attention restoration theory, developed by Rachel and Stephen Kaplan, holds that natural settings rest the kind of effortful attention work demands. In one experiment by Marc Berman and colleagues, a walk in a park improved performance on an attention task more than a walk along busy streets.
Movement
Standing, stretching or a short walk clears sleepiness, gets blood moving and changes your posture after long sitting. Even a lap of the building helps.
Something unlike the work
If your work is screens and words, a break of screens and words is more of the same. Talk to someone, make tea, look out of the window, do a few minutes of slow breathing.
Not your phone
Phone breaks feel restful but keep your attention busy, and research comparing break types has found them less restorative than breaks without a phone. They also tend to run long.
A break menu
| Time | Try |
|---|---|
| 1 minute | Look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds; stretch your neck and shoulders |
| 5 minutes | Refill water, stand at a window, a few rounds of box breathing |
| 15–20 minutes | A walk outside, a snack, a chat that isn't about work |
| 20 minutes, after lunch | A power nap, if you're short on sleep |
The first line is the 20-20-20 rule eye-care professionals suggest for screen work: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
How often to break
It depends on the work. The Pomodoro Technique breaks every 25 minutes, the 52/17 rule every 52, and some people work in 90-minute blocks. A useful rule: the longer and harder the session, the longer and more complete the break. And take the break before you're exhausted; the last session of the day should be nearly as good as the first.
Make the break automatic
Breaks get skipped when nothing marks them. A timer fixes that: the Pomodoro timer chimes for each one. In Flight, the break comes when your plane lands: get up, stretch your legs, and pick your next destination when you're ready.