Do you deal a lot with the topic of learning? Then you certainly know that breaks are important for learning success. However, it was only in June 2021 that an exciting experiment investigated brain waves during learning to question this thesis. We summarize what the results mean for training and coaching in the article.

The Spacing Effect: Learning with Breaks

Almost every trainer knows: breaks are important. During breaks, our brain continues to work without us noticing it. Therefore, good further education is structured in such a way that learning takes place in short sections. Especially when learning skills, the rule is: Practice – Break – Practice – Break.

Perhaps you also know the Spacing Effect (or interval effect): This states that we tend to forget things and events the longer they are in the past. Therefore, we should incorporate repetitions into our learning, ideally at increasingly larger intervals. In between, breaks should always occur.

It was only recently proven in a study by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke from the USA that actual learning through repetition takes place in the brain during these learning breaks. The study is open access, so you can read it completely here (in English) as a PDF. The title of the study is: Consolidation of human skill linked to waking hippocampo-neocortical replay.

If you want to shorten it: We explain the study in German and summarize what the results mean for trainers and coaches.

Summary of the Study

In the experiment, subjects were asked to type the digits 41324 on a keyboard as quickly and accurately as possible with one hand. For this, they had 10 seconds of practice time followed by 10 seconds of breaks repeatedly. You can imagine that this is a typical task that you get better at through practice. The question now is: What happens in the brains of the subjects during the break time?

To answer this, brain waves (in the hippocampus and neocortex) were measured throughout the entire time. The authors of the study presented the results in this very illustrative graphic:

Graphic open access, taken from cell.com: Summary of the study by Ethan R.Buch et al. (June 2021)

In the graphic, you can see that during the 10-second breaks, so-called “Micro-offline gains” occur: Although – or rather because – we do not practice during this time, our skill level increases significantly more during this break time than during the actual practice time! The brain imaging shows that some areas are working hard during the break and repeating what has been learned (“Waking replay”).

One more note: The term is “Waking replay”, meaning repetition in the waking state. It is known that we process experiences and learn during sleep, which can be found in other studies than the one mentioned here. This study explicitly focuses on breaks in the waking state.

Ideally, we should therefore utilize both daytime breaks and nighttime sleep to consolidate what we have learned.

What We Can Learn from the Study for Training

How can you use the results of the study in your everyday life, especially as a trainer and organizer of training or coaching? On the one hand, you should examine your training again specifically for breaks: How short are your learning units? How many breaks do your participants have? A rough rule of thumb is: The more breaks, the better! This applies to both in-person events as well as online training.

You can make particularly good use of the study's findings with microlearning: With this learning method, breaks are almost programmed in. Because the aforementioned principle “Practice – Break – Practice – Break” fits perfectly with the microlearning idea of learning in small chunks.

On the other hand, this study is again evidence that blended learning is better than pure in-person learning or pure online learning. Here, too, breaks are an essential part of the learning concept: Instead of an 8-hour day seminar, you divide your learning content into in-person parts and e-learning content. This automatically incorporates breaks between the learning segments.

The most fitting blended learning model is the Springer, combined with micro-learning units. With this model, you ensure as many breaks as possible and learning over a longer period. It looks something like this:

The Blended Learning Model "Springer": Alternating in-person and online content.

Conclusion: The mix of short learning units, breaks, and learning distributed over a longer period is the most effective method in practice and in science. Our tip: Take the time to consciously examine your existing training on these three points and adjust if necessary. This way, your participants will achieve the best possible learning success!