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&lt;p&gt;We&#39;re not suggesting you build a sleep center under your desk, a la George Costanza. But planning—and taking!—breaks throughout the day can be ask key to staying productive as your actual work.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Feeling guilty about your blog habit or some under the desk texting? Don&#39;t! As long as you&#39;re toggling back to your work, those mental breaks can keep your energy up, your work high-quality, and your focus sharp. Here&#39;s why:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1. Your attention stays sharper&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Just like sights and smells tend to fade the longer you&#39;re exposed to them, trying to hold on to a thought or repeat a difficult task can put your brain in screensaver mode. Your brain assumes it can save energy by tuning out—but, while that&#39;s all well and good for your brain, it&#39;s not ideal for a deadline.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Catch yourself day dreaming? Breezing through a task you should probably be focusing a little harder on? It&#39;s time to get up and take a break. Switch gears with your work, or physically get up and change your scenery. When you sit down, it will be easier to see the finer points of the task.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2. Breaks up a bad-for-you sedentary day&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We all know a sedentary lifestyle is bad news (for example, there&#39;s actually a &quot;Sedentary Death Syndrome&quot;—eek!). According to the American Heart Association, inactive people have between 1.5 and 2.4 times the risk for developing coronary heart disease. Those numbers are comparable to risk factors you&#39;d consider much more dangerous, like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and smoking.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Luckily, moving you’re a few times a day isn&#39;t difficult. Set a time to get up—try once every hour or so—and take a few laps around the office, the block, or even just to the water cooler.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You&#39;ll reap the mental benefits of resetting your focus, but also get some blood flowing and loosen your limbs. Ahh.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3. New stimuli can kick off a breakthrough&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It&#39;s hard to imagine a more receptive place for an idea than a blank canvas. But if you&#39;ve been staring at an empty word document to no avail, it&#39;s time to try something else.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;When you&#39;re at a loss for original ideas, try &quot;responding&quot; to existing ones. Get into a state of engagement: invite a coworker out to lunch and discuss your problem (you might talk yourself in a solution, even without input), listen to a podcast on a related topic, or just ask yourself questions about your work. Immersing yourself in &quot;ideas&quot; while taking the pressure off yourself to have them can kick start your thoughts.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4. You&#39;re recharging your resources&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Thinking is similar to physical exercise—you have to do it in &quot;reps,&quot; or the quality of performance drops.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Just as with exercise though, it&#39;s best not to cease all activity while recovering—you need to keep the muscles warm!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;When you catch your attention drifting, try switching over to a game (Words with Friends, anyone?), skimming a favorite blog, or listening to music. You&#39;ll keep those creative and critical juices flowing, while taking a rest from the heavy lifting.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Got any tricks for reviving your brain? Favorite lunch break activities or snacks for mind-power? Share in the comments below!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;--Cathy Vandewater, Vault.com&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Read More:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/jobs/take-breaks-regularly-to-stay-on-schedule-workstation.html?src=me&amp;amp;ref=general&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;To Stay on Schedule, Take a Break&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/blog/workplace-issues/dont-stress-it-tips-for-dealing-with-workplace-stress/&quot;&gt;Don’t Stress It! Tips for Dealing with Workplace Stress&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/blog/workplace-issues/5-creativity-myths/&quot;&gt;5 Myths About Creativity&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Cathy Vandewater

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