Studying without breaks is counterproductive for anyone! Read about how you can help your child better focus on their studies by encouraging them to take scheduled breaks where necessary.
You’ve probably heard this already, but one of the best exam preparation tips is to take breaks. It seems counterintuitive but it works!
This is because studying without breaks for long periods doesn't necessarily ensure productivity. In fact, it can lead to low energy and poor retention.
Encouraging your child to incorporate frequent breaks into their study routine is crucial. And in case you’re wondering, even the smartest students study or prepare for an exam by taking regular study breaks. Taking breaks increases a person’s level of focus, among other things!
Indeed, well-timed and purposeful study breaks can greatly enhance studying effectiveness and performance. Read on to find out why study breaks are a recognised and valuable strategy for better exam preparation.
You’ve probably heard this already, but one of the best exam preparation tips is to take breaks. It seems counterintuitive but it works!
This is because studying without breaks for long periods doesn't necessarily ensure productivity. In fact, it can lead to low energy and poor retention.
Encouraging your child to incorporate frequent breaks into their study routine is crucial. And in case you’re wondering, even the smartest students study or prepare for an exam by taking regular study breaks. Taking breaks increases a person’s level of focus, among other things!
Indeed, well-timed and purposeful study breaks can greatly enhance studying effectiveness and performance. Read on to find out why study breaks are a recognised and valuable strategy for better exam preparation.
Short breaks between study sessions help maintain and improve focus. It’s important to remember that focus is a cognitive activity. Like most activities, it takes effort.
Compelling a child to focus on study for extended periods can easily drain their mental resources over time. It’s better to tell them to take a break every now and then so they can recharge after expending effort.
After a break, your child is refreshed and thus more likely to return with renewed attention and concentration.
Our brains have a limited capacity for processing and retaining info all at once. Usually, data that’s crammed in them and left floating about messily isn’t recalled with ease – it’s a bit similar to the way the hardest books to find in a library are the ones not in the proper shelves.
The brain needs time to process data by sorting it into categories it understands. It needs time to organise the information, come up with ways to access it again in recall, and so on.
Having breaks can help here because they allow time for the brain to consolidate learned material, processing it in a way that makes it easier to remember.
Encouraging your child to take scheduled breaks fosters good time management habits.
Among other things, it teaches them not to overburden themselves. Structuring your study sessions around planned breaks also encourages discipline and prevents procrastination.
This can be a useful ability in more ways than one. After all, if they learn how to manage time more effectively now, they can better manage their time in other things later on, which can contribute to long-term success in academics and beyond.
Long periods of continuous studying can lead to a burnout, which is when a child’s ability to concentrate diminishes to the point where they can no longer focus on or take in further information. Obviously, that’s not good for studying!
Regular breaks help prevent that by allowing the brain to rest and recharge before it hits that critical limit. Brain break activities can also help with stress and anxiety, both of which can be bad for the child’s mental as well as emotional health.
Short and frequent breaks help to maintain a child’s interest and motivation. In fact, the anticipation of a break can also act as a reward to a child if they plan to engage in activities they enjoy.
This breaks up the monotony and gives them something to look forward to with each chunk of study time. Studying suddenly becomes less of a constant slog, making it much more tolerable.
So we’re more or less agreed that study breaks are good. But how do you effectively use them to ensure that they help your child?
First off, try to set break intervals to match the length of the study periods they fall between. For example, if a child studies 50 minutes, a 10-minute study break may be in order. If the child studies 90 minutes, a 30-minute study break may be better.
Next, try to encourage the child to use the study break in a way that recharges their mental resources. Instead of doing something that can be draining, they can take an easy walk, stretch, or even watch something laid-back for a little while.
Finally, don’t forget the importance of good nutrition! If your child feels like having a little snack during a study break, give them something nutritious so they have the energy to carry on afterwards!
If you think your child needs a little more assistance with their study sessions, we can help. Our teachers at Aspire Hub have ample experience guiding students through study sessions and can even offer personalised tuition and coaching.
We also have small class sizes and programmes for nearly all levels. Simply reach out to us to learn more!
Or, if you want to learn more about how to improve your child’s concentration and focus while they study, check out our article on the topic today.
