![]() ![]() Similarly, a task or problem that feels unsolvable may suddenly seem obvious after some time away. You may have experienced this before if you've been unable to recall a name or fact, but it popped into your head later when you were relaxing. When we engage in a variety of activities that require more and less focus, our brain can spend time in the different states, which helps it function and allows us to be creative, to problem-solve and to store information,” Kocian says. “The idea is we need to spend time in different brain states. When the brain is active it produces beta waves when resting, alpha waves daydreaming, theta waves and sleeping, delta waves. Your brain gets a boost from rest and breaks because you have different electrochemical brain states based on what your brain is doing. You should feel refreshed and better after the break than you did before.” “The goal of any sort of rest or break is it should feel relaxing. “I view rest as intentionally slowing down or stepping away from an activity, while taking a break can be more active, like going on a walk or stretching,” Artherholt says. This is slightly different from taking a break where you move or socialize - though there are benefits to taking breaks in that way as well. “What we’re learning is some of the same consolidation activities that happen in our brains when we’re asleep also occur when we rest,” says Samantha Artherholt, a psychologist and clinical associate professor in the UW School of Medicine Department of Rehabilitation.Īllowing yourself downtime with minimal stimuli helps replenish your brain’s capacity for attention, focus and creativity, and it allows you to process new information you’ve learned and tie it to other ideas, she explains. Just as you need sleep to learn and build long-term memories, you need rest to promote brain function. So, what can you do now to take a break and help yourself feel better? What happens to your brain when you take breaks to rest? Making these changes in society takes time, and many of us need rest in our day-to-day lives right now. Kocian notes advocating for a living wage along with changes to family leave policies, vacation time, sick leave and even the four-day work week can all help people access rest, prioritize their well-being and live healthier lives. The way society is set up, we treat rest as a privilege, not a right,” says Julia Kocian, a licensed clinical social worker and UW Medicine Graduate Medical Education mental health counselor. ![]() “Many people don’t often have a choice in how much rest is available to them. After a walk, time in nature or a few minutes without to-dos, you just feel better.įinding the time to take breaks, however, is a whole other story. You likely have an intuitive sense that taking breaks from work and life responsibilities to rest is good for your health. ![]()
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