Active Recovery for the Mind

Your muscles aren’t the only things that need time to rest. Your brain performs better with a little active recovery—but some forms of r&r are better than others.

Last year, research published by scientists including Dr. Andrew Bennett, who has studied management techniques and employee wellbeing, found that even 10 minutes of intense concentration was enough to induce mild fatigue and diminish attention. The good news is that breaks as short as one to nine minutes provided a significant reboot. The better news is that breaks that engaged the brain —that involved active recovery were more restorative than ones that didn't. “Attention and focus are finite resources that need to be replenished at regular intervals,” says Bennett. “If you want to reenergize your brain, it's helpful to do something mildly engaging. And do it frequently, he says.

The cerebral powerhouse between your ears needs restorative strategies throughout the day, not just every once in a while. Without them, you're putting yourself at risk of exhaustion, burnout and a decrease in cognitive firepower. Mental fatigue makes you less efficient and more distractable, irritable and prone to errors. Brain drain impairs you physically, too, reducing endurance and performance in anyone from boxers and footballers to swimmers and cyclists.

To feel more engaged and productive at work and have enough mojo for the gym when you're done—you have to know how to do'mental active recovery. Try a few of these science-based tactics.