Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/oPpEHSrCrLs

 

Ok...be honest.  How often during the day do you take a break from report writing or tedious calculations by picking up your cellphone?  Management scientists at New Jersey’s Rutgers Business School are just out with new data that shows such cellphone breaks do not refresh your brain but just the opposite.

 

The investigators presented each of  more than 400 study participants with multiple word puzzles to solve.  Midway through the timed exercise, a break was offered during which they could use either their phones, a computer, or some paper.  Some took no break at all.

 

Those who used to break to play with their cellphones took 19% longer to complete the puzzles and solved 22% fewer puzzles than non-phone users who skipped the break entirely.  These “phone users” post break efficiency and cognitive power was only slightly better than those who passed up the break opportunity.

 

The lesson learned is that, when you want to give your brain a recharge during a particularly taxing session, leave your phone in your pocket and instead look at pictures or take a relaxing walk in nature.

 

Sanghoon Kang, Terri R. Kurtzberg. Reach for your cell phone at your own risk: The cognitive costs of media choice for breaks. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 2019; 1 DOI: 10.1556/2006.8.2019.21

#Cellphone #mentalrefresh #cognitivepower