Do you often takeaway your lunch and then eat it at your desk? If you’re guilty of doing it like 4 to 5 times a week, you’re more likely more stressed out and less creative.
Researchers at Humboldt University in Berlin explored how lunchtime eating circumstances can affect thinking and emotional states. Out of 32 female test participants, half of them area alone in an office, while the other went out for a leisurely sit-down meal with others.
The meals were eaten in completely different contexts: The lunch consumed in the bland office environment was eaten alone in a short period of time, whereas at the restaurant, subjects were given time to select and consume the meal in the company of others. The restaurant meal also concluded with a short walk back to the lab.
After their meals, the researchers measured semantic memory, cognitive control and error processing, and soon found that people who enjoyed the restaurant meal reported increased feelings of relaxation, and reduced cognitive control, allowing them to better process facial expressions, which in return increases their creativity and connection to there.
So, while taking a lunch break may seem like a productivity killer, taking some time out will help your brain relax and before you know it, you’ll be able to commit yourself to getting more work done.
Take it from someone who skips lunch every day of the week.
