# Story 3: Short breaks boost learning - **Episode:** [172](https://agents.truthliesandwork.com/episodes/172.md) (2025-02-18) - **Type:** news-roundup - **Tags:** learning, breaks, productivity, research - **Time:** 14:27–19:25 (start 867s) - **Listen:** [https://truthliesandwork.com/172?t=867](https://truthliesandwork.com/172?t=867) --- [14:27] Al Elliott: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah [14:28] Leanne Elliott: And clearly it worked out quite well for David, but equally, this might not have been the best approach, Mr. Beckham Senior. So researchers have basically found that real improvements don't happen when you're practicing, They happen when you stop, and this is in terms of learning a new skill. So they put participants through a task where they had to learn a 5-digit typing sequence, practicing in short 10-second bursts and then 10-second breaks in between. And here's a really interesting bit: when they scanned their brains, they saw that during the breaks, their brains were replaying what they had just practiced 20 times faster. So like a mental fast-forward button. And the more the brain replayed the activity, the better they got in the next round. Now, in workplace psychology, we kind of known that breaks are a thing for for a little while in terms of focus and productivity and reducing burnout. But this type of research that is now possible because of the MRI technology we have is really kind of taking to the next level our understanding in terms of what happens in our brains when we when we take these breaks. So yeah. We should be encouraging people to take breaks. Fun fact, that's also where the whole ping pong table in the break room came from. Ever wondered why there's a ping pong table in the break room? Because it's meant to encourage taking breaks for productivity and such things. Not that anyone actually has that intentionality around it anymore. Um, but anyway, if you're feeling guilty about stepping away from your desk, taking a little break, um, worrying that it's lazy, or indeed if you're a manager that starts to question why people are taking so many breaks, don't. It could actually be very good in terms learning new skill, consolidating learning, and just being an all-round better human being. Al, thoughts? [16:03] Al Elliott: Give me the, like, the skinny on this again. So what was it? Practice doesn't make perfect. What should we be doing instead? [16:11] Leanne Elliott: Breaks allow us to consolidate the learning, which is ultimately more effective than just repetition [16:15] Al Elliott: Now I get it. So instead of— if we learn, like, we need to be learning Bosnian because we live here. So if we were learning Bosnian, then rather than just going over verbs for an hour over and over again. You'd go over verbs like once, then you'd take a 5-minute coffee break, then you come back, and the idea would be that you'd actually be absorbing that in your coffee break. Is that right? [16:36] Leanne Elliott: Yeah, exactly. So these researchers did it in kind of like, like sprints, right? So I think they did 10 seconds on, 10 seconds off. Um, so you might want to do like a minute on, a minute off, or indeed, yeah, a longer session and then take that break. But the whole point is, is that kind of relentless repetition, um, does not help us consolidate learning or learn new skills. better or more effectively. In fact, it's better just to put in that intensive practice and then walk away [17:00] Al Elliott: That makes perfect sense. As a little bit of an anecdote, when we were— but by the way, that's the end of the news roundup. I hope you enjoyed it. If you've got an article you'd like us to talk about, then check out the show notes because there's ways to get in touch there. And so far, only a couple of people have sent stuff in. So yeah, if you fancy us talking maybe about something, some research you've done, then send it in. Just a little anecdote before we go to the break. Um, I totally agree with this whole idea of taking a break from something. Um, this is what happened when I was, uh, we were building the studio and, uh, and Leanne was away when I was doing a lot of it. And there was some certain problems I'd come across and be like, oh, I don't know what to do. And I'd be like, well, I'll do this then. And I'd spend an hour and a half fixing a particular thing. Then I'd go and have a cup of coffee and I'd be like, huh, there's a much easier way of doing this. And that's happened 3 or 4 times. But anyway, I'm not sure I might keep that in. It seems a little bit superfluous. So after this very short break, we'll be back with this week's hot take from a woman who was invented a cool method to keep your energy up all day regardless of how long your to-do list is. So do not go anywhere [19:12] Anna Reddy: It can [19:19] Leanne Elliott: But come back [19:20] Al Elliott: Yeah, come back. Definitely come back because Nudge isn't as good as this [19:23] Anna Reddy: So come back [19:24] Leanne Elliott: I'll cut that out