# Taking short breaks may improve your learning process A study conducted at the NIH Clinical Center had volunteers learn to type a five-digit code with their left hands. They were asked to type it out as many times as possible for 10 seconds and then to take a 10 second break, repeating the cycle for a total of 35 times. The analysis of the volunteers' brain activity showed that most of the speed gains happened during the rest periods; more precisely, the brain replayed an accelerated version of its typing activity many times per rest period. Those gains were actually greater than those made after a night's sleep, and the frequency of the replays were a good predictor of the increase in performance. --- ## 📚 References [“Study Shows How Taking Short Breaks May Help Our Brains Learn New Skills.”](https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/study-shows-how-taking-short-breaks-may-help-our-brains-learn-new-skills) _National Institutes of Health (NIH)_, 8 June 2021.