Many people believe the best time to take a break during the day is during the mid-afternoon lull, but new research shows a counterintuitive finding on workday breaks, according to The Washington Post.
New research from professors at Waco, Texas-based Baylor University found the mid-morning is the best time to take a short break.
Their research, which was recently published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, also revealed workers were more productive if what they did during their break was more enjoyable than their work.
Researchers Emily Hunter, PhD, and Cindy Wu, PhD, asked 95 administrative workers at a university to fill out surveys every time they took breaks over the course of a five-day work week. The surveys asked about workers' energy levels, motivation, eyestrain and job satisfaction. Dr. Hunter and Dr. Wu ended up with a total of 959 break surveys.
Their primary finding was that participants had more energy and concentration after mid-morning breaks than they did after afternoon breaks.
"We think we're like our cell phones, and we should deplete all the way to zero percent before we recharge back up," said Dr. Hunter. "But we have to charge more frequently."
Dr. Hunter and Dr. Wu did not find evidence that longer breaks had more positive effects. Instead, their research shows the value of taking regular short breaks throughout the day.