10-minute break

Personally, I have always had the habit of taking a short break whenever I've been presented with something new, especially something challenging, such as when a colleague gives me 20-minute mind dump on some new topic.

I can usually tell when I need to do so, because my brain will reach a saturation point and demand a cessation to the input! I never thought about it very much. It just seemed like the right thing to do, even if I did feel a little lazy doing it.

PsyBlog to the rescue:

They found that even after 7 days people's memory was enhanced when they took a 10-minute break after reading the story. In fact, 7 days later people who'd taken a break were as good as those trying to recall the story just 15-30 minutes later, but without the break.