As an entrepreneur, website designer, and cycling coach, my days are spent staring at a screen. Many professionals are on screens all day from work, school, meetings, to social media. To unwind or take a ‘break’ from work, you may find yourself engaging in social media and flipping through the apps on your phone. In order to fully give that brain its needed recovery from a load of stimulus, we have to put a focused effort into taking breaks. Until I suffered from a brain injury this past year, I had no idea how much stress we put on our brains from screen time. I found that by taking frequent breaks from screen time, my brain was able to work more efficiently and by the end of the day, I was feeling much more level-headed.

When you are working on a project, it’s easy to get in the ‘zone’ and lose track of time. You may have a proposal due, or a project deadline, and taking a short break seems counterproductive. However, do you find yourself slowing down or feeling ‘cross-eyed’? Does your stress level rise? Let’s work more efficiently so you can still meet those deadlines with confidence and have an increase in your brainpower for that project.

When I first implemented this strategy of taking screen-time breaks, I set a timer for every 30 minutes. When the timer went off, I would stop and close my eyes for just a couple of minutes. The results for me were staggering! I went from being a cranky mom at the end of the day to a more laid-back mom. Think of how your muscles function – can you do 3 sets of 10 squats easier than 30 squats in a row? Of course, you can! Or have you ever overworked a muscle to the point of cramping? That is our brains on screen time!

Respect your brain just like you would a muscle by giving it frequent breaks. You should find yourself functioning better, feeling less stressed, more level-headed, and overall more efficient in your productivity.