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http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20170925-the-surprising-tricks-to-help-you-focus-at-work

By Caroline Williams卡洛琳·威廉姆斯

25 September 2017

停止工作

當你面臨困難時，停下來休息一下或許是最後的選擇。但有很多證據表明，這的確可以幫助你完成更多工作。難點在於找准休息的時機、時長和休息時所做的事情。

Stop working

When you’re up against it, taking a break might be the last thing on your mind. But there is a huge amount of evidence to suggest it can actually help you get more done.  The challenge is working out when to take a break, for how long, and what to do with that downtime.

一些可以追溯到20世紀90年代的研究表明，由於我們的警覺週期裡存在很多自然變異，所以集中精力的時間不到90分鐘就應該休息15分鐘。

Some studies dating from the 1990s suggest that due to natural variations in our cycle of alertness, we can concentrate for no longer than 90 minutes before needing a 15-minute break.

還有研究表明，即便是短短幾秒鐘的休息也可以起到作用，只要這一過程能夠完全分散精力即可——在許多研究中，人們會進行幾秒鐘的心算，所以你或許應該做一些更加激烈的事情，而不是簡單地看看窗外。

Other studies have found that even a micro-break of a few seconds will work, provided it is a total distraction – in the studies, people did a few seconds of mental arithmetic, so you may have to do something more  intense than staring out of the window.

休息時間很適合用來鍛煉身體，因為這似乎可以加快大腦運轉速度。這項研究表明，這麼做可以讓大腦進入更好的狀態，從而做好回去工作的準備，尤其是在鍛煉之後喝一杯含有咖啡因的飲料。戶外鍛煉可以進一步提升效果——人們一直都猜測，與大自然親密接觸可以提升人的專注力。

Exercise is a good thing to do in with your break, as it seems to rev up the brain, putting it into a better state to knuckle back down, particularly, according to this study, if you follow it with a caffeinated drink. Take your exercise outdoors and get a further boost – spending time in nature has long been suspected to improve people’s ability to focus.

冥想也是個不錯的選擇。越來越多的證據表明，有經驗的冥想者比不冥想的人更能控制自己的注意力，也更擅長發現什麼時候應該休息。

Meditation is another option. There is growing evidence that experienced meditators have better control over their attention resources than non-meditators and are much better at noticing when it’s time for a break.

如果這些聽起來有點耗費時間，還有一個好消息可以告訴你：無論是否鍛煉，只要喝點咖啡因都能在短期內提升記憶力、反應速度和注意力。所以，無論你選擇在休息時幹什麼，都應該在回到辦公桌的時候燒一壺熱水。

If that all sounds a bit time-consuming, the good news is that, with or without exercise, a quick dose of caffeine improves memory, reaction time and attention in the short term. So however you choose to take your break, always stop to put the kettle on as you make your way back to your desk.