The power of taking breaks
by Laili Sadr, Imperial SCHMAS
What happens when we don’t take a break?
Focusing or hyper-focusing on a topic or a problem can be a double-edged sword. Although spending hours in the library reading and researching can make us feel as though we’re working hard, actually our brain can start switching off and we might stop processing the information in front of us. This is due to “cognitive overload” (Neurolaunch, 2024), which is when the working memory – where we retain and manipulate information in real time – is overflooded. This affects the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in our brain and results in mental chatter, stress, inability to make decisions, impaired memory and/or an inability to focus.
But why? 
The simple explanation is this: (more…)