10 Quick, Refreshing Brain Breaks Online for Moms
When it comes to taking a break, most encourage you to step away from the screen. Whether you’re helping your child with online homework or powering through a day of remote work, being on the computer can be draining. But taking a brain break online can be beneficial when done right! And by this I mean – don’t get lost! Take a 5-minute brain break online and see how it can improve your productivity.
10 Quick, Refreshing Brain Breaks Online for Moms
What can you accomplish in 5 minutes? Better focus and less stress, for starters, as well as better energy levels and elevated mood all day. You might be tempted to grab your phone and check out Youtube or TikTok, but those aren’t the best choices. It’s super easy to fall down a rabbit hole and spend the next hour looking at cat videos.
Instead, use these 10 simple, quick, brain-energizing breaks to refresh your mind and help you focus. You’ll see fewer cats, but you won’t spiral for hours beholden to Tiktok’s algorithm either.
Top Websites to Take a Break With
Online games vary widely from pointless clicking endeavors to actually training your brain. Lumosity falls into the latter category, with free exercises to help sharpen your mind. Taking a break here can help improve your focus and, over time, improve concentration and memory. It’s absolutely worth your time to check it out!
Do literally nothing for 2 minutes
We’re bombarded with suggestions to incorporate mindfulness into our daily lives, but it can be hard to simply remember. Meditation is one thing; the benefits can’t be argued against. But even a few minutes of quiet can reduce stress and improve our mood.
Thankfully, there’s a website for that! Do Nothing For 2 Minutes (yes, that’s actually the site) actually forces you to sit still for 2 minutes. If you even touch your mouse or keyboard, the timer resets. During the 2 minutes, you listen to the relaxing waves and close your eyes, or look at the beautiful ocean image on the page. Either way, you’re going to sit and relax for 2 full minutes and reap the rewards of quite literally doing nothing.
Get it off your chest
Talking with others is a fantastic way to work through your problems, but sometimes you just need to say something to anyone who will listen. Novni is an anonymous site that allows you to vent, and for strangers to give positive feedback. If you’re needing less support and feel like propping others up, you can instead comment and give advice on other posts.
Novni is a great way to spend 5 minutes helping others or getting some uplifting support yourself.
Learn how fast you read
Data that is specific to you, no matter how minor, can be fun to have. How Long To Read is a site that gives you a section of a book and measures how long it takes you to read it. From there, it gives you estimates as to how long it will take you to read full books. Their database includes over 12 million books, so it can help you plan break-time reading for decades to come.
Unwind with a classic
If you grew up in the 90s or 2000s, you probably played a lot of Minesweeper and solitaire on your computer (while you were supposed to be doing other stuff). Solitaire is a great game where you compete against yourself, essentially; it’s a great way to sharpen your mind while you take a break.
Taking a moment to play classic solitaire or variants like Klondike or Spider will challenge you while allowing your brain time to untangle from work. Solitaire.org also has a variety of logic puzzles like sudoku, and other classic games that challenge your intellect.
Get a boost of positivity
For a daily dose of good vibes and practical tools to more happiness, you can’t go wrong with Positivity Blog. This website offers up a daily post outlining strategies to live a more focused, happier version of yourself. Since each day presents a snapshot, you can use your break to go through an article and come back later for more if you’re inclined.
If you want to take a break from work, uplifting your spirits is a great place to start.
Learn a new language, one break at a time
Duolingo is one of the most accessible, easy-to-use methods to learn a new language. Their lessons are broken down into quick practice sessions that are fun, colorful, and effective. You can spend a few minutes each day going through a lesson or two, and in a few months, you’ll find yourself progressing towards mastery of a new language.
Make a cat song!
If you’ve ever wanted to craft a song with short clips of cat meows – and who hasn’t – then Cat Soundboard is your perfect destination. Each picture of a cat or kitten has a meow that you can mix and match to make a little tune. It’s fun, furry, and full of cats; pretty much the internet condensed down into a five-minute meow-filled jam session.
Just relax
Allolu is the perfect place to listen to the sounds of nature and just vibe. Choose from one of many daily photos that correspond to a natural sound and just let the stress melt away.
You might want to set an alarm, though, as you could get lost in the peaceful sounds and forget about your afternoon meeting!
Play some piano…with other people
Assuming you’re like most people, you’ve often wondered what it’s like to make a piano masterpiece with dozens of other pianists online. Oh, you say you haven’t? While maybe it’s only because you’ve never considered how awesome it would be.
Multiplayer Piano is a site that lets you bang on a keyboard while other people do, too. You can even record a snippet of it, capturing the chaotic beauty of many people playing piano simultaneously. It can be incredible and also hilarious, the perfect mid-morning brain break.
Give yourself a quality break today
There’s nothing wrong with watching Youtube or surfing social media in measured doses, but it’s hard simply to watch for 5 minutes. Our brains are wired to want more and more, and before you know it, you’ve spent a half-hour wasting time.
Constructive breaks are far better at refreshing your mind and getting you back to work focused and alert. These ten sites are my favorites for energizing my brain and making me smile. Some might even have a profound impact on the way you view the world.
