Back-to-back tasks, without any breaks, can be draining and tiring. There comes a time in our work week when we forgo the need for rest in exchange for more productivity and more finished tasks.
Alternatively, some have no choice but to sit through meeting after meeting because of their schedules. While that seems to be a low-key task at first, spending a long period of time socializing, thinking, and brainstorming with your peers still takes a lot of your brain power and energy.
A 2021 research by experts at Microsoft’s Human Factors Lab found what exactly happens to our brains when we go to consecutive office meetings. They recruited 14 people to do video calls while wearing equipment that monitored the activity in their brains.
They found out that the stress levels in the brains of those who got no breaks increased. Additionally, the researchers discovered that the participants anticipating the next call also caused a spike in beta wave activity, which is associated with stress. These people also were more mentally withdrawn during breaks while those who had breaks in between were more energetic and engaged.
Image credit: Anna Shvets