Taking Breaks

We all intuitively know that taking breaks is important to our mental health. On May 11, 2026 the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) updated its policy statement on school recess. Much can be learned by healthcare professionals from studies in children. The following is excerpted from the AAP’s statement:

Breaks from classroom learning can encompass many experiences (team activities, one-on-one games, solitary play, and nonactive social interactions) within diverse settings and for varying periods. The AAP and others have expressed concern about the encroachment of adult-driven, adult-managed games and sports that impede the creativity of youth in terms of play chosen and directed by children.

Recess represents a temporary suspension of cognitive effort, which helps to maintain efficiency and concentration while managing stress. The importance of regular restorative breaks during an adult’s workday is unquestioned.

Three Core Benefits of Recess

Social and Emotional Benefits

Citing over 100 years of research, pediatricians have stressed the vital role of play and peer relationships in the social and emotional development of youth. Recess affords a unique time for peer-to-peer engagement. Through give-and-take play, students master social integration. In navigating peer activities at recess as well as the school environment, children and adolescents hone skills that augment academic learning, such as emotional self-control, perseverance, cooperation, communication, conflict resolution, and leadership. Such skills provide a counterbalance to stress. Educational settings, including recess that promote social competence and a sense of connectedness help protect against victimization, substance use, and poor mental health outcomes.

Physical Benefits

Concerns about rising sedentary time, weight gain, and declining physical fitness have fueled efforts to promote more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Increasing the duration and/or frequency of breaks is a simple strategy to encourage greater MVPA during school hours.

Although the intensity may vary, opportunities for movement accumulate throughout the day to counter sedentary hours. Recess offers time for students to engage in physical activities of their choosing “for the sheer joy of it,” which translates to enjoyment of physical activity in adulthood. Beyond the benefits of activity on physical health, physically active play has positive impacts on cognitive processing and development of executive functions.

Cognitive/Academic Benefits

Two areas of research support taking breaks during the school day to enhance academic learning. One examines the effect of “wakeful rest” as a critical first step for successful information storage. The other explores the positive effects of physical movement on the retention of newly acquired information.

Wakeful Rest and Learning

Learning is the capacity to acquire, store, and recover new information. Newly acquired information is represented by a fragile memory trace in which several neurons fire together. During sleep, repeated firing of the memory trace completes the consolidation process, preparing the memory for transfer to long-term storage within the frontal cortex. Stabilization of a new memory trace occurs immediately after learning, provided that additional cognitive demands on working memory are suspended. This pause has been termed “wakeful rest,” a hiatus after learning that allows the neurons comprising the memory trace to be reactivated, primarily within the hippocampus. Competing cognitive information acts as interference, preventing reactivation of the original memory trace, functionally erasing it.

Wakeful rest is an “offline” state, characterized as daydreaming or mind wandering. Studies on the benefits of wakeful rest typically utilize eyes-closed, immobile relaxation for 5 to 20 minutes. However, other types of nondemanding activities have shown efficacy, including mindfulness meditation, listening to music, engaging in quiet social interactions, doing simple tasks, and/or drawing.

How can this information benefit medical imaging professionals and those we serve?

I frequently hear radiologists complain that their group lacks the social togetherness that was the hallmark of radiology groups in the past. In today’s busy radiology practice, it seems there is no time for breaks for team activities required to foster mental health, effective conflict resolution, and the development of leaders. One solution could be routinely scheduled group learning activities automated by the PACS. Imagine your PACS prompting you to take a break and discuss your top case of the day with your colleagues for 15 minutes every day. Imagine technology developed to allow you to read in a mental state of flow.

A PACS designed to benefit imaging healthcare professionals could also provide scheduled breaks, learning sessions, “wakeful rest” guidance, meditation, or music breaks. To make time for breaks, the reading system must be efficient and eliminate all non-value added, error prone, and distracting processes in the reading workflow.

Murray A. Reicher, MD, FACR

CEO Synthesis Health