Taking short periodic breaks from your daytime work routine has proven to be largely beneficial in more ways than you might immediately think. Research has shown that it is counter-productive for workers to continuously work without taking some small time-outs every now and then.

Initially, you may think that the collective time of all these mini breaks adds up to much time that could be spent completing assignments. However, studies have discovered that the quality of work of an employee who has been working non-stop is significantly less than that of an employee who has been working hard, but takes occasional minute breaks. This is because the brain is not designed to focus on one specific thing for hours on end. It needs variety and other stimuli in order to productively continue with the tasks it is required to accomplish.

These small breaks have even been recommended to university and college students to improve and peek their ability to absorb information and retain it. It is said that the brain can fully concentrate on a specific item for approximately 15 minutes. After which, it needs a change. These changes of topics can continue for a few rotations, however, after a few rotations, the brain needs a mini break. This does not mean getting up and having a half an hour chat with your neighbouring co-worker, it simply means taking a mental time-out for a minute, allowing your brain to rest and recharge, and then proceeding with your tasks at hand. This is the most efficient way to perform your work and duties with optimal quality as you can be sure that your brain is working at its full potential.

Besides taking mental breaks, allowing your body to take a quick physical break proves to be beneficial also. According to new research out of Australia, taking periodic breaks where you might even do minimal activities such as standing and stretching have shown to have considerable benefit. In the study, 168 healthy adults were asked to monitor their waking hours by wearing accelerometers. The results showed that the more breaks workers took from sedentary action, the lower their waist measurements, triglycerides, and 2-plasma glucose scores were.

This is not to say that you should be getting up every five minutes to stretch and stand, but the concept of taking these episodic mental and physical breaks should be adopted and applied to the work environment in an appropriate fashion.