The Importance of Taking Breaks at Work

Everyone who has held a job at some point should be familiar with the concept of breaks at work. Whether they are short, 15-minute breaks to stretch your legs, 30-minute lunches, or longer, breaks offer a small respite from the continuous workday. 

There are plenty of different activities that constitute breaks – for example: 

• A casual conversation with co-workers 

• Checking your phone and/or social media for non-work content

• Taking a walk outside or around the office 

• Having a snack or meal 

But are breaks at work important, or even necessary? 

Why you should take breaks at work

There are many reasons why taking breaks at work is important, each of them providing multiple benefits. Let’s take a look at three of these reasons. 

1. Your prefrontal cortex (PFC) needs a break! The PFC is the part of your brain that keeps you focused on your goals and allows you to keep thinking logically. If you’re not taking breaks at work for yourself, at least do it for your PFC. 

Taking a short break allows your PFC a brief respite, which in turn allows you to come back to your tasks with renewed vigor. Breaks at work help keep you focused on your goals and tasks at hand, which keeps productivity up. They can also help to increase motivation and creativity. 

2. Moving around throughout the day is crucial for physical and emotional health. Getting a little bit of exercise throughout the day – even if it’s just walking around for a few minutes – is very important. 

Even walking for five minutes during your breaks at work is enough to help reduce the chances of heart disease, depression, obesity, and more. Being healthy physically will help you to be healthy both mentally and emotionally as well. 

3. Processing of information intake and reflection of internal thought 

“Waking rest” – taking a break – helps memories form more readily, and also improves the brain’s ability to ingrain what it has learned. Read more about “waking rest” here. 

Note: If you are unable to take breaks at work – whether you’re short-staffed, it’s too busy, you have too much to do, etc. – you can try changing up your work environment instead. Focusing on a different task will use a slightly different part of your brain, and when you return to the original task, you’ll have a few of the benefits a true break would offer.