A child’s attention span begins to wane after forty minutes of intense instruction. “Recess provides children a chance to refocus,” according to study’s author, Catherine L. Ramstetter, a doctoral candidate at the University of Cincinnati.
A comprehensive review of published literature on recess throughout the United States showed that recess breaks as short as 10 minutes improve children’s learning efficiency and the teacher’s aptitude during the other 50 minutes of a school hour.
The study is one of many indicating that recess breaks are important and enhance concentration and a child's ability to focus during instructional periods.
