You know how a workday goes on this island.

Coffee before you’ve even opened your laptop. Emails piling up faster than you can delete them. A string of calls that runs right through lunch. And somehow, it’s 5pm and you’ve been welded to your chair all day, your brain fizzing like an overworked socket.

Then you go home and work some more – because, hey, Cyprus has the second highest share in the entire EU of people working long hours! (In case you’re interested, Greece ranks first.)

But here’s the thing: your brain isn’t built for non-stop slog. It’s more like a smartphone – powerful, yes, but only if you give it a chance to recharge. And science says tiny, regular pauses work better than pushing through until you’re exhausted.

Take the ultradian rhythm – our natural 90-minute cycle of alertness followed by a dip. Researchers at Florida State University found that people who worked in focused bursts and then stepped away briefly were more productive and made fewer mistakes than those who powered through. Another 2022 study from the University of Melbourne showed that even 40-second ‘green’ micro-breaks – just looking at nature images – improved concentration and reduced mental fatigue. (This is why hospital patients with a view often recover more quickly than those without.)

Now, a micro-break doesn’t have to be dramatic – your overbearing boss doesn’t need to see you practising yoga atop the photocopier, or staging an interpretative dance round the office plants!

Simply fill your water glass, walk to the balcony, stretch your shoulders, step outside and feel the sun for a minute. If you can’t get into the fresh air, just look up from the screen and gaze at something green – a plant on your desk, a tree across the street. And if neither of those are possible, have a stealthy look at the photo at the top of this article – the forests of Troodos offer a virtual breath of pine-scented mountain air!

The whole point here is to reset your mental circuitry before it fries. Which it will, if you keep on pushing through.

And before you protest: no, you’re not slacking. The World Health Organisation now lists burnout as an “occupational phenomenon” – and prevention beats cure every time. So, taking breaks isn’t indulgence, it’s smart brain maintenance.

Tomorrow, try sprinkling in a few two-minute pauses: after a tough email, before the next call, when your focus slips. Walk to the kitchen, look out the window, roll your neck. You’ll return clearer, calmer and less likely to crash mid-afternoon.

Feeling good at work isn’t about grinding harder – it’s about working smarter. Tap that pause button. Your brain (and maybe your boss) will thank you.