International Coach Federation

“Stop” is probably not something you frequently say to yourself and your clients. It is a dirty word and a radical concept in work cultures where ‘powering through’ is an expectation, a badge of honor, and in some cases, an addiction.

An opinion piece in a February issue of New York Times should be the spark of a work and lifestyle revolution that turns “stop” into our battle cry and marching orders. The article, Relax! You’ll Be More Productive by author and productivity expert Tony Schwartz, is packed with exciting data about the benefits of taking breaks in all shapes and sizes. Here’s a sampler of what got me break dancing:

• A 2012 study found that sleeping fewer than six hours per night is the best predictor of job burnout.
• Air traffic controllers who napped an average of just under 20 minutes were more vigilant and had better reaction time than their non-napping counterparts.
• Longer nappers who nodded off for 60-90 minutes did as well on memory tests as those who slept a full eight hours, according to a nap researcher at the University of California-Riverside.
• Here’s my favorite one: An internal Ernst & Young study last year found that, for each additional ten hours of vacation a staff member took, her or his end-of-year performance scores improved by 8%. This same study said that frequent vacation-takers were much more likely to remain with the company.
• Despite the above, in 2011, Americans did not use six of their vacation days, and in 2012, that number skyrocketed to 9, according to a Harris Interactive poll (EU readers are shaking their heads in disbelief right now).
• Better performers work in intervals of 90 minutes and never work for more than 4.5 hours per day, so say researchers at Florida State University. This may be due to daytime energy rhythms that have many of us cycling from alertness to fatigue every hour-and-a-half.

Brief breaks rock, too. Take this 3-minute time out with Jordan Friedman’s Quick Calm, deep-breathing exercise.