Several publications incorrectly reported that taking short breaks at work induces mental exhaustion. But the study this comes from found that short breaks did not prevent mental exhaustion for participants working for seven consecutive hours.
says, but rather the cognitive effects of working for a seven hour period including short breaks.
Without the results being compared to readings from participants who worked for the same period but without breaks, it is not possible to conclude whether the breaks themselves cause mental exhaustion—rather than simply the effect of working for long hours. “Moreover, in our study design, we did not isolate the short breaks, mainly because it’s impossible to make the participants work for 7 hours without any breaks, for instant, using the WC [sic].”