The best study breaks get you away from the screen and, ideally, moving: a short walk, some stretching, refilling your water, a snack, or a few minutes looking out of a window. Keep short breaks to 5 or 10 minutes, and save anything absorbing (your phone, videos, games) for when you’re done, because breaks spent on a phone tend to leave people less recovered than when they started.
Below are 15 ideas sorted by how long they take, plus what to avoid and how to make sure a break actually ends.
What makes a good study break? #
A good break has three things going for it. It’s different from studying, so another screen of text doesn’t count. It’s easy to stop. And it ends on time.
The research behind this is fairly consistent:
- Short breaks help. A 2022 meta-analysis of micro-breaks (Albulescu and colleagues) found small but reliable increases in energy and reductions in fatigue from breaks of 10 minutes or less.
- Phone breaks don’t help much. In a 414-person experiment, Kang and Kurtzberg (2019) found people who used their phone during a break were slower and less accurate afterwards than those who took a break on paper or a computer.
- Nature helps attention. In a 2008 study, Berman, Jonides and Kaplan found that a walk in a park improved performance on attention tests more than a walk along city streets. Even looking at pictures of nature helped.
- Movement gives a small lift. A 2012 meta-analysis of 79 studies (Chang and colleagues) found a small positive effect of a bout of exercise on thinking performance, both during and after exercise.
5-minute study break ideas #
These fit a standard Pomodoro break.
- Walk to another room and back. Or up and down a flight of stairs. Getting out of your chair is the whole point.
- Stretch. Neck, shoulders, wrists, back. Studying hunched over a desk gets tight fast.
- Refill your water. You’ll drink more, and it forces you to stand up.
- Look at something far away. A window is ideal. Your eyes have been focused at arm’s length for half an hour.
- Tidy your desk. Clear away what you’ve finished and set out what you need for the next block. It makes the restart quicker.
- Breathe slowly for a minute or two. Nothing fancy. Longer breaths out than in, eyes closed if you like.
- Make a tea or coffee. The ritual works as a break on its own, and it has a natural ending.
10 to 15-minute study break ideas #
These fit longer breaks, after a 50-minute block or every couple of pomodoros.
- Walk outside, preferably somewhere green. A lap of the block, a park, a tree-lined street. This is the break with the best evidence behind it.
- Do a short bit of exercise. Push-ups, squats, skipping, a quick yoga routine. Keep it light enough that you don’t need a shower.
- Eat a proper snack. Fruit, yoghurt, nuts, toast. Being hungry makes focus harder than almost anything else.
- Talk to someone in person. A few minutes of conversation with a flatmate or family member is restful in a way that texting isn’t.
- Do a small chore. Washing up, hanging laundry, watering plants. Your hands are busy and your mind gets a break from the task.
- Listen to one song, eyes closed. One, not a playlist. Choose it before the break starts.
Longer breaks of 30 minutes or more #
After two or three hours of studying, take a real break.
- Have a meal away from your desk. Eating while you read your notes isn’t a break, and you’ll remember neither the food nor the notes.
- Go to the gym, a class or a longer walk. Longer study days go better with a proper change of scene in the middle. We cover planning those days in how to study for long hours.
What should you avoid on a study break? #
Anything designed to be hard to stop:
- Social media. Feeds are built to keep you scrolling, and five minutes becomes twenty without you noticing.
- Videos with autoplay. Same problem, with a “next episode” countdown attached.
- Games without a natural end. One more round is always one more round.
- Group chats. A conversation you start on a break follows you back into the next session.
- Starting a new series. Save it for the evening.
If you really want your phone on a break, save it for a long break, set a timer, and don’t take it back to your desk.
How long should a study break be? #
| After studying for | Take a break of | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 25 minutes | 5 minutes | Classic Pomodoro |
| 45-50 minutes | 10 minutes | Problem sets, reading |
| 90 minutes | 15-20 minutes | Essays, past papers |
| About 2 hours total | 20-30 minutes | A walk or a meal |
Don’t feel guilty about longer breaks. The same micro-break meta-analysis found that longer breaks were linked to better performance afterwards. Some people prefer long breaks less often; the 52/17 rule is one example.
How do you make sure a study break actually ends? #
Time your breaks the same way you time your study. Decide what the break is for before it starts (“walk to the shop and back”) so it has a built-in ending. Leave your next task open and ready on the desk so that restarting takes one step.
Work Capy handles the timing with a “Take 5” button that appears when a focus session ends. It runs a five-minute break countdown with no stakes attached, then offers “Straight into another” so the next session is one tap away. The app plays no sound at all, and if you need an unplanned break mid-session, pausing is free and doesn’t count against you.
Frequently asked questions #
Is it OK to use my phone on a study break? #
On a short break, it’s better not to. Research on break types found phone breaks left people slower and less accurate afterwards than other kinds of break. If you want your phone, save it for a longer break and set a timer so it doesn’t take over.
How often should I take study breaks? #
A good default is a 5-minute break every 25 to 30 minutes, or a 10-minute break every 50, with a longer break of 20 to 30 minutes every couple of hours. Adjust based on how you feel. If you’re rereading the same paragraph, you’re overdue.
Should I skip a break if I’m in the zone? #
Sometimes. If you’re mid-sentence or mid-problem, finish the thought and then stop. Regularly skipping breaks usually catches up with you in the second half of the day, when fatigue sets in and focus drops.
What’s the best thing to do during a 5-minute break? #
Stand up and move, even if it’s just to another room and back, and look at something far away. It gets you out of your chair, rests your eyes, and is easy to stop when the five minutes are up.