The most productive people don’t spend endless hours per day of consistent work. In fact, they take 17 minutes breaks about once per hour.
The science is in, and the human brain does not function best when drowning in work. Just like your muscles need a break to grow, so does your brain. That’s why you need to make time to reboot your brain during big projects.
Your brain is shooting off thousands of neurotransmitters while you work. This can be exhausting for the organ. Try these five activities before you get back to work.
1. Do Some Exercise
Exercise is a great way to get your blood flowing. This helps reset your brain.
You don’t need to do vigorous exercise to reboot your brain. Anything from Vinyasa yoga to a simple walk outside will do the trick. It’s about helping your brain break out of the stressful work thought cycle.
Outdoor exercise is even better as you can get the fresh air your brain needs to perform its best.
2. Take a Power Nap
A power nap is a delicate balance between light and deep sleep. It can be difficult to learn how to wake up before hitting slow-wave sleep. Thankfully, it can be easily mastered with a bit of practice.
A power nap should never be more than 20 minutes or you won’t experiencer its benefits. If you constantly feel tired throughout the day, consider revising your sleep schedule.
3. Drink Cold Water
Most people don’t drink as much water per day as they should. This means most people experience dehydration. This condition can negatively affect your brain function.
Try drinking some water during your brain breaks. Cold water works even better as the temperature change can help wake up and revitalize your body.
4. Eat Something Healthy
What’s a better reason to take a break than to eat? Of course, make sure to stick to healthy foods that benefit your cognitive function.
The right foods can stabilize your blood sugar and help your body create more energy. Foods with protein or carbohydrates are best.
5. Spend Time in Nature
Spending time in a natural environment promotes something known as “effortless attention.” It’s much different from the stressful and chaotic attention that city life demands.
Noticing the beauty of the natural world, or of wildlife, helps your restore itself. It gives your brain a much-needed break.
Not only will spending time in nature help your brain but so will getting out in general. Try something new, like Breakout’s escape rooms, to get your creative juices flowing.
Reboot Your Brain
When trying to reboot your brain, make sure not to talk or think about work. Stay away from your emails,computer, and even your phone. Let your brain relax without the stressful influence of a screen.
Appearing productive and busy is something that is drilled into all of us. However, your best work can only be done after you take care of yourself.
If you found this article helpful, check out our piece on the health benefits of kratom.