Lie down, sit still, take a break: Your brain needs a rest

Breaks as short as 10 minutes can boost vigour and reduce fatigue, one analysis found. Downtime is a necessary part of life. Science shows it helps us to be healthier , more focused, more productive and more creative.

Yet, somehow, we often lose sight of this. “ Downtime is important for our health and our body, but also for our minds,” says Elissa Epel, a professor in the psychiatry department at the School of Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco. Epel and others acknowledge that many of us feel as though we’re wasting time if we aren’t getting things done, but research points to the costs of always being “on” and the importance of giving our brains a break.



Our brains aren’t built to handle constant activity. Even the briefest moments of idle time, or pauses, are important, says Robert Poynton, author of Do Pause: You Are Not a To-Do List ..