Introduction

If you work all the time, it can take a toll on your mind and put you in a state of constant fatigue. Something similar happened to my friend, Matthew Davies. He was a workaholic who didn’t know when to stop. As a result, he suffered from severe tiredness and discomfort all the time. Luckily, it was not too late for him to realize that working constantly can have a negative impact on the brain. So, he became more sensible and started taking breaks in between doing his work.

Our brain is like a machine. Every once in a while, you need to put it in a standby mode in order to keep it in good condition. In fact, if you don’t relax or sleep, you can suffer from serious health consequences. Enjoying some idle time will also help you to experience some positive effects such as stress relief and increased energy.

The Reasons

Here are some benefits of giving your brain some idle time -

1. It may help to strengthen the existing neural connections in your brain - Neuroscientists have found that the resting state activity in your brain can be very similar to when you are actively involved in doing a task. This is a really interesting phenomenon as scientists are not really sure why it is so.

One of the theories they have come up with is that while we are resting, our brain is arranging all the stimuli received before the resting period in a more coherent manner. This means it is processing new information in order to strengthen the existing neural connections in your brain. As a result, you can respond to future stimuli more efficiently.

Thus, even when you think that you are resting, your brain is passively processing old information in order to become more efficient.

2. It can prevent brain fatigue - Brain fatigue is real. If you have ever worked for a long period of time without any rest, you know what I’m talking about. Indeed, the more we work, the more we spend our energy. As a result, we get fatigued both mentally and physically. It is impossible to work properly in this state of mind. Your brain may feel foggy and you may feel like you cannot process information optimally.

However, just by taking a power nap or taking a break, you can feel like you have recovered your lost energy. It will also help you to get back in the game and perform more efficiently than when you were tired.

3. It can give you creative insight - When we devote all our attention into performing a task, we only use our conscious mind. Our conscious mind is a great tool and without it, it is not possible to process logical information. However, it is still limited in its resources.

When you take a break from doing a certain work, you allow your subconscious to take over. The subconscious mind is a vessel of creativity. It can help you to look at things from a different perspective and look at the big picture. As a result, you can instantly come up with solutions to problems that you previously deemed impossible to solve.

Conclusion

If you don’t want to suffer like my friend, Matthew Davies, be sure to spend some idle time every day.