Longer Breaks Might Help You Study Better

Researchers in Germany have found that taking long breaks while studying may actually help us remember things better the next day.

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology found that mice were better able to complete a memory task a day later when given 60-minute breaks while they learned.

The mice were put into a maze with a piece of chocolate hidden inside it. They were sent through the maze three times, with some having longer breaks between each trip and some having shorter breaks. Some mice waited just 30 seconds between trips, while others waited 10 minutes, 30 minutes or 60 minutes.

The mice got better at finding the chocolate each time, showing that they had learned where it was and how to find it. In fact, while learning, the mice that waited 30 seconds between trips soon became the best at finding the chocolate, while those that waited an hour improved the least.

But things were different 24 hours later, when the mice were tested on what they could still remember. Now, the mice that had taken 60-minute breaks while learning were the best at finding the chocolate, and the mice that had waited only 30 seconds were the worst.

The researchers found that the brains of the mice that were given longer breaks used the same neurons each time they looked for the chocolate. But the mice given shorter breaks actually used different neurons each time.

The researchers say this suggests that taking long breaks helps to strengthen connections between the brain's neurons while learning, which makes it easier to remember things the next day.

Questions

1. How many times were the mice sent through the maze on the first day of the study?

2. Which group of mice were better at finding the chocolate on the first day?

3. Why does taking long breaks when studying make it easier to remember things the next day, according to the researchers?

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