“Downtime is to the brain what sleep is to the body” -- Dr. Rich, Harvard Medical School.

This article, the next in the technology series from The New York Times that we have been reading, might interest some of you: "Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction."

One part of this article (page 3) reminded me of the conversations about the importance of downtime that we've had in class; researchers found in rats that the brain does not do the important work of learning from a new experience until it has time to stop and reflect and process that experience:

In that vein, recent imaging studies of people have found that major
cross sections of the brain become surprisingly active during downtime.
These brain studies suggest to researchers that periods of rest are
critical in allowing the brain to synthesize information, make connections
between ideas and even develop the sense of self.

There are many connections here to the everyday lives of college students, but I was also thinking that this article raises a good argument for not taking a winter session class, at least in your first year, since your brain needs a little downtime to process all the work you've been doing this semester. Instead of taking another class, maybe relax, or go skiing and give your body some rejuvenation as well.

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