Have you taken your break at work yet today? If not, you may want to leave your cell phone behind when you do after a new study revealed that people who are glued to their phones while on a break don't 'recharge' their brains as effectively as those who leave them behind for different distractions.
According to the study published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions, researchers gathered 414 college undergraduates and challenged them to solve a set of 20 word puzzles. Halfway through the challenge, some of the students were allowed to take a break using their cell phone, while others were given the choice between a paper, or a computer, while others were not allowed to take any breaks.
Surprisingly, participants who used their phone during the break experienced the highest levels of mental depletion and were the least capable of solving the word puzzle after their break. In fact, researchers found those who took a break with their cell phone showed the same efficiency and quickness to complete the word puzzle as those who did not take a break.
Participants who took the break on the cellphone needed 19% more time to complete the set of word puzzles and solved 22% fewer problems than those who took a break with computers, or paper. That indicates that scrolling through your phones is a higher mental than it might otherwise appear.
“The act of reaching for your phone between tasks, or mid-task, is becoming more commonplace. It is important to know the costs associated with reaching for this device during every spare minute. We assume it’s no different from any other break—but the phone may carry increasing levels of distraction that make it difficult to return focused attention to work tasks,” says coauthor Terri Kurtzberg, an associate professor of management and global business at the Rutgers University Business School.
“Cellphones may have this effect because even just seeing your phone activates thoughts of checking messages, connecting with people, access to ever-refilling information, and more, in ways that are different than how we use other screens like computers, and laptops,” she added.
So, if you're tackling a difficult project at work and need that extra brainpower to knock it out of the park, you're probably better off leaving your phone behind when you go get another cup of coffee from the breakroom.