How often & how long should you take study breaks? What to avoid during break?

Adolescent part 16

 *RECHARGE YOURSELF*

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What happens when you don't recharge your cell phone? You turn down screen brightness, stop using the internet when the battery is low. And just like your cell phone, we don't perform to our best of our ability if we are not fully recharged.

 *In short...* Take time to recharge yourself, you do it for all electronic devices why not do it for yourself

🟣 *How to recharge yourself?* 

Exam is near, so much to do, so little time. There are always good reasons not to take time to recharge yourself. Remember it's not luxury, it's a necessity.

❇️ Exercise

❇️ Rest during day

❇ Sleep

❇️ Intermittent Holiday

 *In short...* Rest is as important as working hard for your goal

❇ Exercise

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🔹 Make sure you do a daily exercise as it release hormone which recharge you

🔹 If education allows you, do it for 1 hour daily. You can play any sports with your friends in your college or colony, join a sports group or fitness center.

🔹 If education does not allow, do for at least 15 minutes by doing at home or hostel like Jumba, few sets of functional exercise, Cycling or Yoga. It can be created by reducing time spent on TV or social media.

 *In short...* To enjoy quality of life, you must do daily exercise

🔳 Benefits of exercise

🔹 Increase logical & critical thinking. When you play in a match, you start making strategies to beat the opponent thus using logical and critical thinking.

🔹 Make you feel happier.

Sharing fun fosters empathy, compassion and overall well-being.

🔹 Reduces stress

Playing is fun and trigger release of endorphins which promote overall sense of well-being and reduce stress

🔹 Social benefit

Having fun with others brings a lot of students close to each other.

🔹Help in good sleep

Play helps to release more endorphins and consequently better sleep.

🔹 Control weight

 *In short...* Exercise is the most powerful antidepressants and it's free

❇️ Why to take rest during study?

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Reviewing class lessons taught today, doing revision of old chapters and studying for upcoming exams takes a lot of time and hard work. It's important to make sure students take proper study breaks.

A break is a brief cessation of work. You decided to rest for your body and mind with the intention of getting back to your task within a reasonable amount of time.

🔳 Benefits of intermittent break

Your brain can only focus for a minimum 50 minutes to maximize 90 minutes before it needs a break due to fatigue of mind. Experiment yourself with the amount of time within this range to find out what works best for you. 

🔹 Help in keep going

Break keeps us from getting bored. Also, it will actually help you to stay focused on your task.

🔹 Increase creativity

Working for a long stretch without taking a break leads to exhaustion and stress. Taking a break refreshes the mind, replenishes your mentally and helps to become more creative.

🔹 Restore motivation

When we work hard, our brain takes every effort to help us to execute our goal. Researchers had proven that briefly taking mind off the goal can renew and strengthen our motivation later on.

 *In short.....* You have to recharge yourself to flourish

🔳 How should I take a break while working harder?

The length of break may also vary from student to student but 10 to 20 minutes break is good enough. Avoid long breaks of more than 20 minutes. 

🔹 Plan your tomorrow schedule (difficult but achievable task) just before falling asleep. Also sit down at the beginning of each day and detail exactly what you want to achieve that day. 

🔹 Take frequent short breaks instead of one or two long breaks. Try to stick to schedule.

🔹 Short break.... Study for 50 minutes and 10 minutes break. You can stop a little early or late depending upon when you reach the end of the topic or subtopic. Remember not to stop too early or too late. 

Study for 3 or 4 sessions before long break

🔹 Long break should be between 30 to 60 minutes. Research has proven that changing subject or assignment after a long break is more beneficial as it stimulates different brain pathways. 

🔹 During long break... Complete one task like eating, bathing or watching TV

 *In short....* Recharge yourself as much as you recharge mobile

🔳 What to do during short break?

Sometimes small study turns out to be a perfect case of procrastination. Due to easy availability of the Internet or TV, a 10 minutes break becomes half a break. Here are some tips on how to have a good study break so that you can get refreshed. 

Remember... Time every break using a timer so that you can get back to studying as scheduled.

🔹 Meditation helps me feel calm & relaxed.

🔹 Physical activity

Try to do a little exercise like a few sets of Surya Namaskar. 

🔹 Short motivational or enjoyable video unrelated to studies. 

🔹 Clean your study space. Research has proven that A clean study place makes a clear mind. Take advantage of break time to clean your desk at least If not, room. 

🔹 Close your eyes and relax. Take a nap for 10 to 20 minutes. 

🔹 Listen music as it help in the release of feel good chemical Dopamine which can make you comfortable and even motivated. 

🔹 Talk to someone who loves you like any friend or relative staying far away from you as it breaks up the monotony of quiet studying. Just make sure you're able to stop conversation once time is over. 

🔹 Help other like helping mother in kitchen

🔹 Snack healthy food like fruit or handful of nuts or seeds. 

🔹 Make sure you are not disturbing anyone during break while studying in library 

 *In short ....*  Unplug and do what suits you

🔳 Avoiding negative study break activities 

🔹 Unhealthy junk food 

 Avoid cooked or fast food as it might shift you into sleepy mood

🔹 Avoid taking nap more than 20 minutes otherwise you might find yourself spending more time dreaming about doing well in exam than actually doing well in exam. 

🔹 Avoid social media or TV 

These activities can decrease your productivity and make you feel tired. Also, your short break may turn into a long break. 

🔹 Stop thinking about your studies during short break. You won't be able to recharge your mind if you still continue to focus on your study material or timetable. 

 *In short...* Avoid problems, And you'll be the one who overcomes them

❇️ Sleep 

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Sleep not only improve cognitive function of brain, it restores energy, increases focus & attention span. Also, when we are asleep, our brain is busy consolidating and storing what we have learned during day. If students don't sleep well, they don't get to process everything that they have learned during day, so they suffer academically. Remember our brain is like Smartphone so, it's important to recharge daily for 6 to 8 hours by sleeping in night.

 *In short....* Enough sleep is just for good health as important as nutrition and exercise

🔳 Why sleep is important? 

🔹 Increase concentration 

🔹 Increase memory

🔹 Maximize logical and critical thinking 

🔹 Improves immune system 

🔹 Improve overall health 

 *In short...* Sleep is the best meditation 

🔳 Am I getting enough sleep? 

🔹 Difficult in getting up early morning 

🔹 Inability to concentrate 

🔹 Falling asleep during lecture 

🔹 Feeling tired 

🔹 Feeling irritable 

 *In short...* Minimum 6 to 8 hours of sleep is required 

🔳 How to improve sleep? 

There are two factors that affect daytime alertness: sleep quality & sleep quantity.

🔹 Try to sleep and wake up at the consistent time 

🔹 Optimize bedroom environment 

Use the bedroom for sleeping purposes, not for studies, in order to strengthen the association between bed & sleep.

🔹 Do, 's

▪️ Comfortable mattress and pillow are key 

▪️ Good ventilation as per your routine habit.,

️No noise in the bedroom. If not possible to avoid noise, use ear plugs

▪️Switch off light. If it is not possible to avoid light, use an eye pad.

🔹 Don't 

▪️ No mobile or TV in bedroom

▪️ Avoid coffee or tea before sleep *Remember....* If you are living in sharing room with another student, make timetable to switch off noise and light

🔳 I Am not able to sleep

🔹 Include physical activity in a daily routine

🔹 Avoid or decreased daytime nap

🔹 Eat at least 3 hours before sleep 

🔹 Take relaxing bath or shower

🔹 If you are not asleep after 20 minutes, get out of the bed and try following things

▪️ Listen to soft music

▪️ Reading a book not related to your studies

▪️ Deep breathing exercise

▪️ Eat healthy snack or light desert

Try out different methods and find out what works best for you.

🔹 Avoid following things

▪️ No mobile

▪️ No study

 *In short....* Sleep is investment in energy which needed tomorrow 

❇️ Holiday 

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Do you think if you take a day off, the education or your dream will fall apart? You are on a wrong track as holiday is important for physical and mental well-being. It is time when our body and mind disconnect from stress.

🔹 If you are busy with your task like preparation of NEET or IIT or exam time, take half day off on Sunday 

🔹 If you are not busy, take full day off on Sunday 

🔹Take 2 to 5 day vacation every 6 month or at least 7 to 10 days off in a year 

🔹 If possible, go out of town during vacation 

 *In short...*  A holiday is journey within 

🙏🏻🙏🏻 *If* *you* *like* *this* *blog* , *please* *share with other friends and classmates* 

Remember..... Take a break.... Let the mind have the dream and let your body have the peace it deserves.

Dr Ashish Agrawal, Pediatrician and expert in child behavior, education and developmental problems.

Ph: 8888126037, 7057551985

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