How to give my brain a short refreshing break?
April 15, 2013 1:18 PM

Between my job and an LSAT study class, my brain is working pretty hard right now. I'm finding that occasionally after a couple of hours of homework (or work work) my brain needs a nap. Are there tips, tricks, or activities that you've found, that let the part of the brain focused on logical reasoning and understanding intense minute details, "take a break" so that after 15 minutes I can return to homework or work feeling refreshed?

I work 40-50 hours a week, at a job focused on legal details, and I'm intensely studying for the LSATs. Every once in a while, I feel like I need a brain break, although I'm not necessarily physically tired enough for a nap. I am trying to break things up with a 30 minute run at least once a day, as well as some short intense walks. I also get up for meal breaks, quick phone calls or texts, the standard stuff. However, sometimes when I'm leaving class, or in the middle of a couple of hours of logical reasoning homework, I'm looking for a way to give the overactive reasoning part of my brain a break. Anyone have any suggestions??
Ideally, it would be something that actually forced my brain to focus on something else, thus drowning out the logical constructs floating around in my brain. And it would not be more than 10-15 minutes, and not require a lot of resources. I find that if I watch a tv show, I get drawn in and want my break to last longer. Similarly, if I run an errand, I often find 4 other things to do, that are not homework.
If this question is not clear enough, let me know, as I don't seem to be thinking clearly right now, and I'm hoping to find techniques that will help me emerge from this fog!!
posted by thankyouforyourconsideration to Grab Bag (18 answers total) 19 users marked this as a favorite
Brew some tea or coffee. Drink it for about five minutes. Go lay down. Tell yourself that you are closing your eyes for 15 minutes. Look at the clock and calculate 15 minutes and tell yourself you will wake up at that time. Close your eyes and relax. Whenever you feel your mind wander, do a little math problem -- calculate that 15 minutes and your end time. Right about the 15 minute mark, your caffeine will kick in and your brain will go, "Hey, I bet the 15 minutes is up!" Get up, stretch and then drink a tall, ice-cold glass of water. Return to your coffee or tea if necessary.
posted by amanda at 1:28 PM on April 15, 2013


For something that is not a nap -- I think some protein and fruit is a good idea. Get in the habit of buying a couple wedges of nice cheese. Sit down with a chunk of cheese, some bread and fruit. An apple is fine. Cut up your cheese and fruit as you eat it. Let your mind wander. Then! Stretch and have an ice-cold glass of water!
posted by amanda at 1:29 PM on April 15, 2013


It's called meditation. Here's my technique. Lie down on your back -- if possible -- with arms at your side. If not, just sit, lean your head back and...CLOSE YOUR EYES. Then breath white light into your body, starting with either left or right foot, and moving limb by limb up your body. By the time you get to your head, relax your jaw, then your ears, then relax the brain -- first the back, then the front, then each side with each breath (or in whatever order feels intuitive). At this point you will have relaxed your body and hopefully your brain enough to where you can slip into a brief (5 minute or so) meditation. This is the space between your thoughts, where your mind just simply rests. What happens to me is after a period of time of seemingly random thoughts popping into my brain intermittently with states of unconsciousness, I realize I have "slipped away," and then open my eyes and go for whatever activity faces me. Completely rested. Completely focused.
posted by zagyzebra at 1:31 PM on April 15, 2013


When I'm looking to let my brain calm down, I read crap. Some random genre novel that I'll enjoy but won't tax my reasoning capabilities too much -- in college, it was the Deathlands series (truly terrible action novels about a post-apocalyptic world); nowadays it's something like Simon R. Green's Nightside books or Carl Hiaasen's comic mysteries.
posted by Etrigan at 1:34 PM on April 15, 2013


I went online and found the most peaceful images I could find. For me, they are images of lush woodland forests with water elements and underwater ocean scenes. I lie down, and rotate them on my screen saver and watch them until I can close my eyes and imagine them in my mind. Pretty much works every time to transition my brain from logical/laptop, to bliss/my body.
posted by anitanita at 1:55 PM on April 15, 2013


Meditation, yes-- I would suggest starting with some simple guided programs, UCLA has some mp3s to start with.

That, and cat videos.
posted by Erasmouse at 1:56 PM on April 15, 2013


Meditation? No! Imugr!
posted by DarlingBri at 2:16 PM on April 15, 2013


What about a silly, 15-minute web video series? Something like "The Guild," which had short episodes?
posted by xingcat at 2:40 PM on April 15, 2013


I look at plants-- landscape, a tree, a house plant, a leaf-- whichever I can get access to.
posted by travertina at 2:49 PM on April 15, 2013


This is a great question! I love reading these suggestions.

A few things I do:

- Dumb television shows. Work for 45 minutes, watch a 25 minute stupid show, rinse and repeat. The stupider the better.

- Stretching and yoga. Downward dog, hanging upside down, handstands... anything that changes blood flow.

- Comic books, and other primarily visual stories.

- Prepare food to eat for your next round of studying -- something low calorie that is a bit involved: salad, popcorn, miso soup, etc.
posted by 3491again at 2:52 PM on April 15, 2013


This is what I use Metafilter for. :)
posted by blurker at 3:11 PM on April 15, 2013


Thanks All!! Please keep more answers coming, I marked some that will work best for me, but hopefully this can be a resource for others as well.
posted by thankyouforyourconsideration at 3:54 PM on April 15, 2013


If you're on your computer or a screen for most of the day, it's important to let your eyes relax too. Watching fun videos can relax your brain a bit, but it's not a break for your eyes or the brain processing vision. Better to look away to something new, get outside into a new light environment, or close your eyes entirely.
posted by barnone at 8:43 PM on April 15, 2013


Definitely yoga!!! Hula hooping is also good. I often find that when I've been intensely concentrating on something for awhile I don't breathe properly, so even just focusing on my breath and posture and consciously making sure that I fully inhale and exhale for a few minutes makes me feel way more alert and functional. Same goes for drinking a couple glasses of water (I tend to get dehydrated without realizing it).

Washing the dishes is a nice mindless task to clear your head. I also like to apply Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque; it really perks me up and makes me feel invigorated.
posted by désoeuvrée at 1:41 AM on April 16, 2013


Nthing reading crap. That is my current method.

But I also enjoy making little sketches, for this. When slogging through some gnarly math, I sketched famous Mathematicians from their photos in my various textbooks and gave them all silly punk rocker haircuts.

Since I was often in the library, sometimes I would get up and wander over to the children's section and spend some time reading children's books. It was fun to re-experience those books that had been so enthralling to me as a child, and the beautiful illustrations were also pleasant for my overworked brain.

This is a great thread, I have this same problem and these are some wonderful suggestions.
posted by ZeroDivides at 4:40 AM on April 16, 2013


For some reason, the thing that occurred to me was juggling. It's mildly active, forces you to concentrate on something that isn't just intellectual, and is a good break. OTOH, if you don't already know how to juggle, trying to learn would just be one more stress. Ditto origami, which is the other thing that occurred to me. Or playing a few rounds of a fairly mindless online game (though this is less good if you are trying to avoid staring at screens or something).

Otherwise, I also agree with the yoga, and dishes. Dishes also very useful to do!
posted by Athanassiel at 5:06 AM on April 16, 2013


When I'm studying something mentally taxing, I find cooking really refreshing--you want an activity that's familiar enough that it doesn't take a lot of concentration or thinking, but engrossing enough to keep you from thinking about the stuff you're studying. Housework can have the same effect and has the benefit of improving your space and giving you a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Taking a walk with my honey is another thing that gets my mind off it, gets the blood moving, and lets my brain rest.
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 9:22 AM on April 16, 2013




« Older 52" Men's Burgundy Chinos under $75?   |   Cross-country move... how does it work? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.