You may have noticed that when you are concentrating, after about an hour or so, you start to ‘zone out.’ When studying, students should be encouraged to take breaks every hour at the least. After that, students tend to lose focus and become less productive. When studying for long periods without break, it can actually be harder for the student to retain information, and the quality of work slips.

Ideally, students should aim to study for 45-50 minutes straight, and then budget for a 10 minute break, repeating this process until their homework is complete.

During the breaks, students can:

• check their email;
• quickly look something up online;
• or just take a quick walk and grab a drink of water. 

Of course, it is important not to let this break drag on past its allotted time, or work may not get done!

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