Take a break from any intense work, period of study, or repetitive task. Even a short delay before an unpleasant obligation is met or a punishment is carried out of a minute or two will refresh your mind. Improve your ability to concentrate and focus when you return to your work, and reduce the potential for error.
Researchers at the University of Illinois tested the ability of subjects to focus on a repetitive computer task for about an hour. They found the performance of most participants declined significantly over the course of the task—with the exception of those who changed their focus of attention during two brief breaks.
"It was amazing that performance seemed to be unimpaired by time, while for the other groups performance was so clearly dropping off," said psychology professor Alejandro Lleras, whose findings were reported in the journal Cognition.
The study is consistent with the idea the brain is built to detect and respond to change, he said, and suggests that prolonged attention to a single task actually hinders performance.
Get physically active
Try jumping up and down, climbing stairs, jump roping, or twirling a hula-hoop around your waist. Elementary children who engaged in such activities from three to five minutes in length throughout their day experienced a significant improvement in their academics, participation, and ability to stay on task, according to a University of Missouri study.
The study was meant to show kids the importance of physical activity and nutrition, but it also resulted in a reduction of chronic discipline problems.
Tap into nature
Take a quick walk in the park. Researchers at the University of Michigan studied the effect of taking a walk in a park versus an urban setting following a task designed to challenge memory and attention. When they repeated the task after the walk, those who walked in the park greatly improved their performance while those who walked in the urban setting did not.
And if you can't connect with nature outdoors, simply take a minute to view nature photographs. A second experiment of participants viewing nature photographs versus city scenes showed the same results. The authors suggest the more coherent, aesthetic nature images offered a more restful experience, which had a restorative effect on mental abilities.
Take five to meditate
Meditation has shown to alleviate stress and pain, promote sleep, and improve cognitive mental function. Meditation literally transforms the density of grey matter in your brain while enhancing your focus and concentration.
