. Earth Science News .
ABOUT US
Study: Brief breaks improve performance

disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only
by Staff Writers
Champaign, Ill. (UPI) Feb 9, 2011
Taking a break from a task requiring sustained attention can dramatically improve the ability to focus on the task for prolonged periods, U.S. researchers say.

The study by University of Illinois researchers overturns a long-held theory about the nature of attention and the phenomenon of decreasing focus and performance during long tasks, a university release said Tuesday.

Some researchers have believed this so-called vigilance decrement is the result of a drop in one's "attentional resources."

However, UI psychology Professor Alejandro Lleras says the new study contradicts that.

"For 40 or 50 years, most papers published on the vigilance decrement treated attention as a limited resource that would get used up over time, and I believe that to be wrong," Lleras says. "You start performing poorly on a task because you've stopped paying attention to it. But you are always paying attention to something. Attention is not the problem."

In the study, Lleras tested participants' ability to focus on a repetitive computerized task for about an hour under various conditions.

One group, allowed to take two brief breaks from the task, was able to stay focused during the entire experiment, while other groups not allowed breaks tended to lose focus.

The study reinforces the idea the brain is built to detect and respond to change, Lleras says, and suggests that prolonged attention to a single task actually hinders performance.

"From a practical standpoint, our research suggests that, when faced with long tasks (such as studying before a final exam or doing your taxes), it is best to impose brief breaks on yourself," Lleras says. "Brief mental breaks will actually help you stay focused on your task."



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
All About Human Beings and How We Got To Be Here



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


ABOUT US
Study warns of climate-driven migration
New Delhi (UPI) Feb 8, 2011
Climate-triggered migration will accelerate in the coming decades in the Asia-Pacific region, says a forthcoming Asian Development Bank report. Typhoons, cyclones, floods and drought have already caused temporary or long-term dislocation of millions of people in countries such as Malaysia, Pakistan, China and the Philippines, ADB said. "This process is set to accelerate in coming ... read more







ABOUT US
Australia flags taxpayer levy for floods

Australian MPs weep for disaster victims

Disasters could reverse growth: Australia

Australia sends in troops after mega-cyclone

ABOUT US
Smartphones seen driving travel bookings: Abacus

Bookstores feeling pain from digital technologies

Portable devices linked to US pedestrian death spike

NEC, Lenovo in talks on joint venture: report

ABOUT US
Suez, Transfield win Adelaide water contract

Drilling may kill Mediterranean ecosystem: WWF

Thailand closes dive spots due to reef damage

China earmarks $303 bn for safe water: report

ABOUT US
Russia, Norway sign Barents agreement

VIMS Team Glides Into Polar Research

Norwegian house ratifies Arctic border agreement with Russia

Greens: Alaska oil delay a win for polar bears

ABOUT US
China to spur rice output as drought shrivels wheat

Argentina admits to malnutrition deaths

Philippines rice 2010 farm output hit by weather

Toward Controlling Fungus That Caused Irish Potato Famine

ABOUT US
UN's Sri Lanka flood appeal falling short

Sri Lankan floods pile on misery: UN

Sri Lankan floods return, death toll rises to 17

Torrential downpours pile misery on Australia

ABOUT US
CORRECTED: China's foreign minister visits Zimbabwe to bolster bonds

Guinean arrested in Mali for suspected arms smuggling

Arms seized in Nigeria were for Gambia: Iran ambassador

China's finance minister visits Zimbabwe to bolster bonds

ABOUT US
Study: Brief breaks improve performance

First French 'designer baby' born

Study warns of climate-driven migration

Mathematical Model Explains How Complex Societies Emerge And Collapse


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement