Regular breaks between meetings are more than just a breather. They're a secret antidote to stress, a boost for performance, and a shield against divided attention. In 2021, Microsoft's Human Factors Lab conducted a study with 14 participants over two days of video meetings. - Day 1 featured four consecutive meetings with no breaks. - Day 2 had the same number of meetings but included short intervals between each. Participants wore EEG caps to monitor brain activity. The study showed back-to-back meetings caused stress levels to steadily rise. Anticipation of the next meeting further heightened stress. Conversely, short breaks allowed brains to reset, preventing stress accumulation. Back-to-back meetings resulted in negative frontal alpha symmetry, linked to reduced engagement. Short breaks produced positive symmetry, indicating improved performance. The study concluded, regular breaks are crucial and short intervals: - Reduce stress buildup - Enhance performance - Minimize divided attention's impact #WellBeing #Meetings #Performance
BayOne Solutions’ Post
More Relevant Posts
-
Body transformation coach to entrepreneurs. On a mission to help 1 million people transform their bodies by 2027. Follow me for posts on high performance & health optimization.
This is your brain on back-to-back meetings. Microsoft human factors lab did a study where they did EEG's to find out what happens to the brain on back-to-back meetings. In the back-to-back meetings, participants felt a spike in stress while the anticipation of another meeting increased this stress response. When participants had breaks their stress response remained stable and the breaks reset their brains, which allowed them to start the meeting more relaxed. This reminds me of lifting: After every set you need to let your body recover to get back to full strength. The same goes for your mind: Give yourself the rest you need to try to give yourself a buffer between meetings for your best performance. ✍🏼 Agree or disagree? ♻️ Reshare if this was helpful. - Dan Ps. If you liked this you'll like my newsletter. Every week I share tips on how optimize your brain and body for its best performance. Join 230,000+ subscribers here: https://lnkd.in/gehZk5aJ
To view or add a comment, sign in
-
-
Fascinating insights from Microsoft's human factors lab reveal the tangible impact of back-to-back meetings on our brains, akin to the stress and recovery cycle in physical exercise. Just as our muscles need rest between sets to regain strength, our minds require breaks to reset and perform optimally. This study highlights the importance of scheduling buffers between meetings, not just for managing stress but for enhancing overall performance. It's a crucial reminder in today's fast-paced work environment to prioritize mental rest just as we do physical recovery. Do you incorporate breaks into your meeting schedules? How do you manage the mental load of back-to-back engagements? Let's share strategies and insights. Reshare if you find this approach to workday scheduling helpful!
Body transformation coach to entrepreneurs. On a mission to help 1 million people transform their bodies by 2027. Follow me for posts on high performance & health optimization.
This is your brain on back-to-back meetings. Microsoft human factors lab did a study where they did EEG's to find out what happens to the brain on back-to-back meetings. In the back-to-back meetings, participants felt a spike in stress while the anticipation of another meeting increased this stress response. When participants had breaks their stress response remained stable and the breaks reset their brains, which allowed them to start the meeting more relaxed. This reminds me of lifting: After every set you need to let your body recover to get back to full strength. The same goes for your mind: Give yourself the rest you need to try to give yourself a buffer between meetings for your best performance. ✍🏼 Agree or disagree? ♻️ Reshare if this was helpful. - Dan Ps. If you liked this you'll like my newsletter. Every week I share tips on how optimize your brain and body for its best performance. Join 230,000+ subscribers here: https://lnkd.in/gehZk5aJ
To view or add a comment, sign in
-
-
Owner at Mojoco Facilitator & Innovation Specialist - Helping people and teams collaborate, create, and innovate
Are you suffering from meeting fatigue? Love them or loathe them, they have become a cornerstone of how every organisation does business and yet we still seem to be struggling with making them work for us. I'd love to hear your thoughts: ❓ What are your pet peeves when in comes to meetings? ❓ If it was up to you, what would you like to see change? ❓ What have you done to reinvent your meetings? Lets shine a light on the topic and start a conversation to see how we can make them work better for everyone. #meetings #meetingsmatter #meetingfatigue
Meeting fatigue can be debilitating but there is hope! Recognize the symptoms, find the help and support you deserve. 🍗 Restless Leg (and Mind) Syndrome Symptoms: Fidgeting accompanied by frequent episodes of wandering thoughts (‘what shall I make for dinner’, ‘What if I pressed the fire alarm’) often accompanied by a glazed-over look, a yearning for excitement and someone to just wrap it up. 🧠 Temporal Tedium Disorder Symptoms: An altered perception of time resulting in meetings feeling like time has hit a slow-motion button, making each second feel like an endless hour. 🤒 Agenda Predictability Syndrome: Symptoms: Excessive eye-rolling due to the déjà vu induced by the same meeting agenda week after week. Resulting in a dip in enthusiasm levels, akin to a deflating balloon 😷 Chatterbox Infection: Symptoms: As ‘that person’ unleashes their verbal Olympics and make an attempt at winning the gold medal for talking you slowly loose the will to live. 💡 Creativity Withdrawal Syndrome Symptoms: The creative muse has hit snooze, and ideas are in deep slumber during meetings, leaving your brainstorming brain feeling as lively as a snoozing sloth. Don’t suffer in silence, there is hope. Here at mojoco our skilled and experienced facilitators are on a mission to banish dull and fatigue inducing meetings. With a large dose of an energy boosting facilitation we sprinkle interactive elements to keep attention on track. We bring our special infusion of mojoco magic to banish the tedium, defuse the conversation dominators and inject just the right amount of stimulus to reignite your creative juices. Mojoco Ltd provide a range of skilled and experienced facilitation practitioners who design and deliver meaningful meeting experiences. #facilitators #moderator #meetings #meetingfatigue #meetingfacilitation #meetingsmeanbusiness
To view or add a comment, sign in
-
-
Building High-Performing, Adaptive Leadership Teams for Startups ⚪ Executive Mental Trainer ⚪ Team Effectiveness Coach & Consultant ⚪ Accredited Growth Mindset Practitioner
😫 Feeling overwhelmed by back-to-back meetings? It's easy to slip into the meeting fatigue when we're rushing from one meeting to the next, with no or little air space. When we show up to a meeting with a scattered mind and a flustered nervous system, it’s harder to connect, be creative, and contribute meaningfully. Here are two examples of practices I like to incorporate when working with teams that encourage slowing down to boost effectiveness: 1️⃣ A one-minute pause to check-in with ourselves. ➡ Pause: Direct attention inward and sense how your body feels. ➡ Reflect: Ask, “How can I bring my intention to this meeting?” and “What personal needs can this group help me meet?” ➡ Re-center: Return mentally to the meeting space. 2️⃣ A check-in question (e.g., “What has your attention today”) to help team members slow down and engage fully. Each participant answers the question at a time. This practice primes a team to take turns and include all voices in all discussions. By incorporating these exercises, you can reduce "attention residue," improve collaboration, and create a work environment that supports creativity and growth. 💡 Let's bring our best selves to the 'table' and make every meeting counts! 🌟 P.S. Watch the space for tips to reduce meeting fatigue. #Pause #Focus #HighPerformance #TeamEffectiveness #TeamCoaching
To view or add a comment, sign in
-
-
Senior Director Digital Marketing | Performance Marketing | Digital Innovation | Strategic Digital Planning & Consulting
🚀 Rethink Your Meeting Strategy! Did you know continuous video meetings hike up stress levels? 💡 In 2021, Microsoft's Human Factors Lab uncovered a startling truth: powering through back-to-back meetings is less productive than we think. The study revealed key findings: 1️⃣ Back-to-back meetings without breaks significantly increase beta wave activity—markers of stress. 2️⃣ Short breaks, like meditation, significantly reduce stress and improve focus. 3️⃣ Without breaks, our ability to engage and concentrate in meetings diminishes. Many of us view breaks as a luxury, not a necessity. Well, we're wrong! 🧠 Why does this matter? In our remote and hybrid work era, finding ways to maintain our well-being and productivity is crucial. And we have a simple yet powerful tool: breaks. Not just any breaks, but strategic pauses that reset our brain and improve our engagement in the next meeting. Microsoft has taken this to heart, introducing settings in Outlook that automatically shorten the duration of meetings, so you can easily carve out those crucial break times. Imagine a world where your meetings end 5, 10, or even 15 minutes earlier, allowing you to reset and recharge. It's not just about reducing screen time; it's about enhancing our work quality and mental health. ❓ So, how do you incorporate breaks into your busy schedule? How can organizations encourage this practice? In my next post, I will share some tips on how to enhance the efficiency of your meetings. Link to the study here: https://lnkd.in/e37RKRPx #ProductivityTips #WorkWellbeing #MeetingStrategies
To view or add a comment, sign in
-
-
Drowsiness during virtual meetings results from lack of stimulation, not mental overload New research suggests sleepiness during virtual meetings is caused by mental underload and boredom. Earlier studies suggested that fatigue from virtual meetings stems from mental overload, but new research shows that sleepiness during virtual meetings might actually be a result of mental underload and boredom. https://lnkd.in/dE89-7sf
To view or add a comment, sign in
-
-
Burn out? Overwhelm? Stress? Brain fog? More meetings might be the problem. It's about the quality of connection, not the quantity! In this Zoom reality, we often back-to-back our meetings to optimize time, but we're actually impeding our impact. Try scheduling meetings for 50mins instead of an hour to allow your team time and space to refresh and recharge before they jump into their next session. This isn't simply about being more humane, it's about supporting them in bringing their best to each table, and driving impact through increased cognition and productivity. Less meetings means more quality work, according to the science. #BetterTogether #ConnectWithIntent #TeamDeveleopment #wellbeingatwork #takeabreak #leadershipdevelopment
To view or add a comment, sign in
-
-
Here is research proof that back-to-back meetings are stressful and reduce your brain's performance. So, what do you need to do to overcome it? See below... In the latest study of brain wave activity from Microsoft, researchers confirmed what many people sense from experience: Back-to-back virtual meetings are stressful. However, the research also points to a simple remedy—short breaks. “Our research shows breaks are important, not just to make us less exhausted by the end of the day, but to improve our ability to focus and engage while in those meetings,” says Michael Bohan, senior director of Microsoft’s Human Factors Engineering group, who oversaw the project. The research showed three main takeaways. 1. Breaks between meetings allow the brain to “reset,” reducing a cumulative buildup of stress across meetings. 2. Back-to-back meetings can decrease your ability to focus and engage. 3. Transitioning between meetings can be a source of high stress. So you need to take a break, and here are research-backed strategies for doing just that. 1. Shift your mindset. 2. Find break activities that calm your mind. 3. Create even more time for breaks by considering other modes of communication. 4. Make meetings more intentional. 5. Keep participants engaged and energised. Read the full article at the link below. https://lnkd.in/epfqX9xA
To view or add a comment, sign in
-
-
Day 5. LinkedIn Challenge Posting Everyday. Research Proves Your Brain Needs Breaks Microsoft's research shows breaks are important, not just to make us less exhausted by the end of the day, but to actually improve our ability to focus and engage while in those meetings. The research showed three main takeaways. 1. Breaks between meetings allow the brain to “reset,” reducing a cumulative buildup of stress across meetings. 2. Back-to-back meetings can decrease your ability to focus and engage. 3. Transitioning between meetings can be a source of high stress. Digital overload has become an urgent issue in the new era of remote and hybrid work. Strategies for making breaks successful: - Shift your mindset. - Find break activities that calm your mind. - Create even more time for breaks by considering other modes of communication. - Make meetings more intentional. - Keep participants engaged and energized. https://lnkd.in/eRgzRX6q #mind #stress #management #mindset #office #meetings #communication #brain
To view or add a comment, sign in
-
-
The Four Distractions - Hidden In Plain Sight - That Reduce Productivity Optimizing the workflow isn't always as straightforward as it seems. Every business strives to make its processes as efficient as possible. However, there are various distractions in the workplace that can be unavoidable. Some can be potentially lurking in the background - hidden in plain sight, if you will - making it harder to control them. While it's impossible to completely remove all distractions, being aware of them will allow you to make a negative impact on productivity minimal. Here’s a list of unlikely distractions that kill productivity. Distraction #1. Work Environment Distraction #2. Succumbing to Perfectionism Distraction #3. Monotonous Tasks Distraction #4. Unproductive Meetings Check out the full blog post here: https://lnkd.in/e-Zh6-3v #distractions #productivity #blog
To view or add a comment, sign in
-
Senior Quality Assurance Analyst | QA Engineer | Driving Excellence in Software Quality Across Industries | Leader & Mentor | Music Production Enthusiast | AI
1moYes! a 5-minute walk or a stretch will do magic!