Don’t tell the boss! Breaks are bad for your work

TAKING short breaks at work do not help you keep focus or stay awake, a study shows.

Researchers gave 18 men aged 23 to 29 office-like work in a simulated environment over seven hours, with ten-minute breaks given every 50 minutes.

They took blood and did brain scans to examined cognitive function, motivation, mood, and central nervous system activity.

They found regular short breaks induced mental exhaustion, the International Journal of

Psychophysiology reports. This harmed participants’ ability to focus and affected attention, learning and visual recognition.

Lead author Marius Brazaitis, from the Lithuanian Sports University, said: ‘Contrary to popular belief, our findings show that taking short breaks during the work day does not improve cognitive function or prevent fatigue.’