Health & Medicine, Australia (Commonwealth Union) – Recent research shows that an unstructured 5-minute break can assist in restoring attention.
Researchers from the University of Sydney conducted a study to explore the effectiveness of common attention-enhancing strategies. Their findings revealed that a brief five-minute break from cognitive tasks is all it takes to regain focus and restore attention, negating the necessity of engaging in elaborate activities such as strolling beside a river or immersing oneself in a lengthy video showcasing bamboo forests swaying in the wind (although such experiences can certainly be enjoyable). Instead, a simple and unstructured five-minute break can do the trick.
In recent times, the significance of rest for performance, well-being, and learning has gained increasing recognition. Whether it involves embarking on a two-week vacation, enjoying a restful night’s sleep, spending an hour walking in a park, or taking a few minutes away from the desk to grab a cup of coffee, rest breaks manifest in various forms and durations. Within workplaces and study environments, techniques like the Pomodoro Technique have gained popularity as they involve setting a timer to prompt a brief five-minute break after 25 minutes of focused work, serving as a reminder to recharge.
Numerous studies conducted since the 1980s have indicated that spending time in nature can effectively restore attention. However, for many individuals, taking breaks to engage in activities like “forest bathing” may not be readily feasible while in the midst of writing an essay or learning a new skill at work. Fortunately, research suggests that simply watching a video depicting a natural scene can offer the same rejuvenating effect, providing a viable alternative for restoring attention.
In a recent investigation conducted at the University of Sydney, researchers aimed to determine the efficacy of various attention-boosting techniques. Their findings revealed that a mere five-minute respite from cognitive activities is sufficient to restore concentration. This means that one does not necessarily have to take a leisurely stroll along a river or indulge in an extended video showcasing the graceful movements of bamboo forests in the wind (though such experiences can be enjoyable). Instead, a concise five-minute break is all it takes to regain focus.
Associate Professor Paul Ginns, who is an expert in educational psychology at University of Sydney indicated that to give work or study an increased productivity, there is a requirement to form a simple 5 minute break for doing nothing.
“You need to be doing something different for five minutes. Move away from your computer or device, do some breathing or just sit quietly to rest your brain from the task. Scrolling through social media does not count as rest – you need to take a break from devices,” he said.
Associate Professor Ginns also indicated that there is a requirement for us to utilize our brain to form attention so we have the ability to learn or work out problems, however attention is finite and can be rapidly removed.
In a research study published in the journal Educational and Developmental Psychologist, a group of 72 Australian university students participated to explore the effects of different interventions on attention. The initial phase of the experiment involved subjecting the students to a challenging mental mathematics pre-test conducted under time pressure. The aim was to deplete the participants’ attentional resources, and this segment of the experiment lasted approximately 20 minutes.
Following the pre-test, the students in the control group proceeded directly to study a concise lesson on mentally multiplying two two-digit numbers (e.g., 34 x 67), without any intervening rest period. In contrast, the second group of students enjoyed a five-minute unstructured break, during which a computer screen displayed a countdown to indicate the remaining duration of the break. The third group, meanwhile, experienced a “nature-based rest” by watching a first-person perspective video featuring a walk through an Australian rainforest. Although this method of rest simply entailed watching a video, it was labeled as “nature-based rest” in the study.
