By www.iHeartToby.com Jun 10, 2021 Learning a new skill is a great way to enrich your life, challenge oneself, and keep the mind sharp. Of course, perfecting a new craft is almost always easier said than done. We’ve all given up on a project or new hobby out of sheer frustration at some point. If you’ve been struggling to master a certain activity, researchers from the National Institutes of Health recommend taking some short breaks to recharge the mind. A team from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) mapped out the flow of neural activity within the mind while someone is learning a new skill. Along the way, they discovered that a few short breaks while practicing and learning a skill can go a long way toward retention. Why? While taking a break, the participants’ brains showed the exact same activity patterns as when they were learning and practicing a new code, only much faster and continuously in a rapid fashion. The more a volunteer’s mind replayed this neural activity the better they ended up performing during later practice sessions.