In the pursuit of academic excellence, students often overlook the power of breaks. Discover why strategic pauses are crucial for learning retention, focus, and overall well-being during intense study sessions. Students often believe that the key to academic or exam success lies in pushing themselves to the limits to study for hours on end without taking a moment to rest. However, when students deprive themselves of breaks, they are less productive, retain less information and in turn risk burning out. Taking breaks while studying is not only beneficial but essential for deep learning and performance. Breaks are important for maintaining our cognitive capability and our overall mental health and well-being. In addition, breaks fuel our productivity. Cal Newport in his book Deep Work describes deep work as “activities performed in a state of distraction free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limits”. When a student engages in deep work, or productive deep study, they need to also take productive deep breaks. The benefits of breaks Taking breaks while studying are important for the following reasons: Enhances focus and concentration Our brains cannot maintain focus and concentration for extended periods. Taking short breaks during study sessions allows our brains to recharge, making it easier to maintain focus, concentrate and absorb information effectively. Much like our phones, our brains also need to be re-charged. Improves learning retention Taking breaks between study sessions can improve our ability to retain information. Breaks give your brain the opportunity to process and consolidate new information, making it easier to recall later. For this reason, I always recommend taking a walk where possible after a study session. This will help you retain the information you just studied and learned. Maintains overall health and well-being Extended periods of intense studying can lead to burnout, fatigue and increased stress levels, ultimately undermining your academic or exam performance and health. By incorporating regular breaks into your study routine, you can keep burnout at bay and reduce your stress levels. Promotes sustainable study habits Taking breaks while studying encourages sustainable study habits that can be maintained over an extended period. By taking regular deep productive breaks, you can pace yourself more effectively and avoid the cycle of procrastination followed by cramming which inevitably leads to stress and overwhelm. What does a productive deep break look like? There is no specific rule of thumb when the optimal time is for a student to take a break while studying. We are all individual and we all have our own specific needs. If you are engaging in productive study, then you could take a 10-minute break after 50 minutes study or a five-minute break after 25 minutes study. When taking a break, you should not turn your attention to email, social media or distracting websites. The purpose of the productive deep break is to recharge your brain. By scrolling on your phone, you are not giving your brain the rest and recovery it needs and deserves. In fact, you are stimulating it, which is not what we want from a productive deep break. Try not to turn your attention to a complicated or stressful task. A short walk is a fantastic way to clear your head. It will help consolidate what you have just learned. If going for a walk is not available to you, getting out in the fresh air for 10 minutes is another great way for your brain to rest and recover. Sometimes a productive deep break can be as simple as sitting in silence with a cup of tea or coffee. Alternatively, you can listen to music or a podcast. Another example of a productive deep break is to do a five-minute meditation or five minutes of breathwork. As you are likely to have been sitting at a desk for a period of time, five minutes of stretching, yoga or physical exercise is great to boost your energy levels. Taking breaks should form part of your study routine. By prioritising rest and relaxation, you can cultivate healthier study habits, enhance your learning and ultimately achieve greater academic and exam success. Productive deep breaks ensure that you return to your study motivated with renewed concentration and a refreshed mind, ready to tackle complex problems and absorb information more efficiently. So, when you find yourself buried in books or glued to your computer screen, remember to allow yourself the time to rest, recharge and rejuvenate. Breaks fuel productivity. Edel Walsh is a student and exam coach. She supports her clients with their studies and exams using a holistic approach of focusing on academic success, personal development and looking after their well-being. For more information, check out www.edelwalsh.ie.

Swapping self-criticism for self-compassion can help us to become more resilient, overcome difficult situations and boost our mental health. Dee France, Thrive’s Wellbeing Lead, explains why. “You are your own worst critic” is a popular phrase for a reason and will resonate with many of us. Our inner critic can be very harsh, and while we shouldn’t outright ignore it, we also shouldn’t give it more attention than it deserves. In fact, it could be argued that a healthy dose of self-doubt and criticism is necessary as it allows us to monitor our behaviour and check ourselves. However, overwhelming negative self-talk and being too critical of oneself can be damaging and detrimental to how we live our daily lives, not to mention the devastating impact it can have on our mental health. This is where a level of self-compassion is needed. Humans are collectively compassionate beings, showing a great deal of understanding and kindness to others, but we aren’t always great at being kind to ourselves. Where self-criticism asks, “am I good enough?” self-compassion asks, “what’s good for me?” Instead of dwelling on mistakes, past failures and judging and criticising yourself for various imperfections or shortcomings, self-compassion means you are understanding and supportive of yourself. How do we develop self-compassion? Like any skill, developing a sense of self-compassion requires time, practice and patience. As a leading researcher in self-compassion, Doctor Kristin Neff theorises that there are three core fundamentals to self-compassion. Mindful awareness This involves being aware of your thoughts and emotions and taking a balanced and mindful approach to both, neither suppressing nor exaggerating, but simply acknowledging your feelings without judgment. Self-kindness This involves caring for yourself the way you would a friend or family member going through a difficult time. When we are faced with challenging situations or have feelings of inadequacy, rather than beating ourselves up, we are instead supportive and encouraging of ourselves. Self-kindness gives us the security and perspective to put ourselves in a better frame of mind to cope with any challenges we may experience. Common humanity Self-compassion is rooted in common humanity. When we make a mistake, it is common to think we are the only person in the world who is flawed. Common humanity is recognising that everyone is flawed, vulnerable and imperfect. It is important to acknowledge that we all make mistakes and have our own insecurities. Nobody is perfect and this is something that connects, rather than separates, us. Self-compassion and wellbeing Self-compassion can be thought of as being self-indulgent or feeling sorry for ourselves, but developing the ability to cope and manage our difficulties is good for our emotional wellbeing. Research studies show that those who are more self-compassionate benefit from better mental and physical health. Further, people with higher levels of self-compassion tend to be more resilient, have a less physical response to stressors and spend less time dwelling on situations after they have happened. Self-compassion involves recognising strengths and achievements, which, in turn, boosts our self-confidence and self-belief. A study by the Universities of Exeter and Oxford found that self-compassion can immediately calm your heart rate and lessen stress responses. Study participants also demonstrated a general state of relaxation and security and reported a stronger sense of connection to other people. Exercising self-compassion makes you more likely to: engage in healthy behaviours such as exercise, eating better and better sleeping patterns; be less fearful of making mistakes, rejection or change; display higher levels of emotional intelligence, happiness and optimism; handle and cope with adversity and difficulties better; and demonstrate healthier boundaries in both your professional and personal life. Practising self-compassion There is a vast array of ways we can cultivate self-compassion. To get started, there are plenty of helpful resources, tools, exercises and templates available online. Below are a few ways you can start showing yourself a little more kindness and understanding: Practice mindfulness and self-reflection: learn to observe and evaluate your thoughts; activities such as journalling and meditation can aid this. This encourages you to be curious and self-aware, understanding that your thoughts and assumptions are just that – they are not facts. Reward and celebrate: celebrate your successes and achievements. Practice gratitude and celebrate moments of positivity and kindness. Keep a list of personal strengths to review in moments of self-doubt. Take a break: time away from your day-to-day routine and a change of scenery can help you keep things in perspective. Strengthen your connections: kindness is contagious! Showing love and understanding to the people around you means you are more likely to show yourself the same compassion. Do things you enjoy: spending time on our passions, hobbies and interests is good for the soul and brings a sense of satisfaction and achievement. Thrive is the Institute’s dedicated wellbeing hub that offers confidential wellbeing support to students and members. For more advice or information, check out Thrive’s Wellbeing Hub. Alternatively, you can contact the team by email at thrive@charteredaccountants.ie or phone at (+353) 86 024 3294.

June marks the month-long celebration of Pride and it is great to see the country awash with the colourful rainbow, a meaningful representation of inclusion, solidarity and progression. It is a landmark year for Pride in Ireland as it is the 50th anniversary celebration.  Dublin saw its first-ever Pride demonstration take place in June of 1974, as a small group of activists marched from the Department of Justice on Stephen’s Green to the British Embassy on Merrion Road calling for the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Ireland.  This year’s theme for Pride is Shine, celebrating the light and love shared within the LGBTQ+ community. However, while overall societal shifts, diversity and inclusion initiatives have made great strides in helping to support and celebrate our LGBTQ+ community over the past 50 years, from our work at Thrive, we know that difficulties, hardship and discrimination still remain and members in our community still feel the effects of this.  A recent survey released by Trinity College during Pride Month shows the mental health of LGBTQ+ young people has acutely deteriorated since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic rather than improved (48% vs 18%). 60% had sought professional help for a mental health problem in the past five years. When it came to harassment and violence in public, participants reported verbal harassment (72%), being threatened with being outed (33%), non-consensual touching (30%), physical attack (24%) and sexual assault (16.5%). The Central Statistics Office (CSO) released figures which showed those who identify as LGBTQ+ reported the highest rates of discrimination in Irish society and 17.5% of the community have experienced workplace discrimination. Coping with such concerns can have a detrimental impact on our wellbeing, self-esteem and the general navigation of our daily lives. Feeling empowered to express who you are freely in the workplace and beyond is crucial to your mental health. If you are struggling with any worries or challenges around these important personal issues, Thrive is here to help all year around. We offer a wide range of services including free counselling services and career coaching to support our community who are in need. Happy Pride!

Organisational practices and culture often drive workplace conflicts. Ian Brinkley examines the impact of conflict and how it can be resolved and prevented in the future The modern workplace is often a place of harmonious or at least tolerable relationships, but sometimes things go wrong. Ranging from one-off tiffs to more serious and systematic incidents, conflict can occur even in the best run workplace. In early 2024, the Chartered Institute for Personnel Development (CIPD) conducted a large-scale workplace survey in the UK focused on the incidence, impact and resolution of conflict. What is conflict? According to the survey, conflict included feeling humiliated or undermined at work, being shouted at or in a heated argument, verbal abuse, unfair allegations, sexual and physical harassment, intimidation and assault and discrimination for a protected characteristic such as race, gender, disability or age. (The survey question did not mention religion.) About 25 percent of the UK workforce reported at least one form of conflict in the preceding 12 months. The most common conflicts involved being humiliated or undermined at work, being shouted at, followed by verbal abuse and discrimination linked to a protected characteristic. The most serious incidents, such as sexual and physical assault were thankfully rare. Most attention focuses on formal processes such as industrial tribunals, grievances and mediation as a means to resolve disputes. However, in practice, very few reported conflicts ever make it to this stage – just one percent ended up in employment tribunals, for example. The most common reactions are informal. About half of those who reported conflict reported that they let it go. Involving managers and HR was the second most common way of resolving conflict. Unresolved conflict About two-thirds of conflicts are either fully or partially resolved. However, one-third are not resolved at all. Unresolved conflicts may not be escalated because they are not serious enough, especially “one-offs”, or because people fear the repercussions if they do. The survey does not tell us directly which is more likely, though evidence on the impact of the conflict suggests the former is more common. Most people who reported conflict also said they had good working relations with managers and colleagues. However, they were more negative when it came to specific actions – for example, whether they were always treated fairly. We think this apparent contradiction is down to people making a distinction between working relations in general and specific incidents. Conflict also had relatively little impact on voluntary effort. Those who reported conflict were almost as likely to say they were willing to work harder than they needed to in order to help their organisation and just as likely to say they would help colleagues under pressure or make innovative suggestions. However, we do find a clear negative association between conflict and a range of other indicators of the quality of work. For example, those who report conflict are much more likely to say work had adversely affected their mental health and that they experienced excessive workloads and work pressures most or all of the time. We cannot tell from the survey whether the conflict was the cause of these negative impacts or whether workplaces, where work quality was already poor, are more likely to suffer conflict. Both are likely to be true. A decrease in workplace conflict The survey asked about conflict in 2019 and since then there has been a significant decrease from 30 to 25 percent of the workforce. There are, however, two important caveats. First, the improvement was largely confined to older white males in permanent, higher-skill white-collar jobs without disabilities. There was little or no improvement for the young; those in temporary or zero-hours jobs and short-hour contracts or those with disabilities, ethnic minorities and women. Non-heterosexual workers also saw less conflict over this period, but it still remains at a high level. In 2024, the latter groups reported significantly higher levels of conflict than the former, and since 2019 that gap has widened. Second, the fall in conflict has also been greatest for those groups that saw the biggest rise in home-working. Those who work at home are less likely to report conflicts such as being shouted at or subject to verbal abuse. Reducing workplace conflict No strategy to improve the quality of work can fully succeed unless the incidence of conflict is reduced, especially among the “left behind” groups. Improving the relative bargaining power of those who are more likely to report conflict may help. Legislative change focusing on formal dispute resolution may be justified but is unlikely to make much difference to the overall incidence of workplace conflict. The biggest impact is going to be from organisational practice. Improving work quality in workplaces with below-average work quality is an obvious priority, but even well-run organisations can suffer conflict. In both cases, mitigating some of the underlying causes of conflict, such as excessive workload combined with helping line managers manage conflict better in the future, will be required if progress is to be made over the next five years. Ian Brinkley is a labour market economist

The Five Ways to Wellbeing was developed by the New Economics Foundation in 2008, where their project collated research from around the world on proven actions that can help us feel good. Wellbeing is a term that has gained popularity in recent years but in its simplest form it is a state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy. In a broader sense, it’s how satisfied you are with life, your sense of purpose, and how in control you feel. The framework is used globally in various ways to build more awareness on our collective wellbeing and help people take action to improve it. Each action can make a positive impact in our lives and most of us will engage with these activities without being aware of it. To get the most from the five steps, it is important to incorporate all of them on a daily basis. Why not try the five today? Connect Social connection is extremely important for our wellbeing. We are social animals, and our need for connection can help us feel happier, increase our feelings of security and safety and gives us a greater sense of belonging and purpose. Make time to connect with others each day. Nurture and invest in your relationships with loved ones.  This could be talking to someone rather than sending an email, speaking to someone new - possibly chatting to another in your local coffee shop or supermarket or taking time out to ask a loved one how they are truly feeling. Be Active Look for ways to be active each day. This doesn’t mean spending hours in the gym though; find an activity you can enjoy and try to incorporate it into your everyday life. Physical activity is intrinsically linked with lower rates of depression and anxiety. Why not take the stairs rather than the lift, go for a walk at lunch, or explore your local park – little changes can reap huge rewards. Take Notice Simply put, be in the moment. Being aware of the now can help you feel calmer and reduce stress. Take stock of what is around you and paying attention to the present – to your own thoughts, feelings and to the world around you. Keep Learning Be curious and ever learning! Continuing to learn throughout life can help boost our self-confidence and self-esteem. As adults, we can be time poor with other day-to-day responsibilities but simple activities such as learning a new recipe, getting around to that DIY project, doing a puzzle or setting yourself a new challenge can help achieve a higher level of wellbeing. Give Giving to others makes us feel good. When we give or help others, it activates parts of the brain associated with trust, social connection and pleasure. It provides a sense of meaning, improves our life satisfaction and mood, and can even reduce stress. Giving up your time to others can also help strengthen relationships or build new ones. Try to complete a small act of kindness today. Research into actions for improving happiness has shown that committing an act of kindness once a week over a six-week period is associated with an increase in wellbeing. And there you have it, the five ways to wellbeing! If you are struggling with your mental or emotional wellbeing, Thrive can help you on your journey to better emotional health. For wellbeing advice, contact the team by email at: thrive@charteredaccountants.ie or by phone: (+353) 86 0243294.

Maintaining and achieving good health is imperative for our physical and mental wellbeing. However, there are barriers that can get in the way of keeping our body and mind healthy, especially for men. Therefore, it is important to recognise what prevents or deters men from seeking help and support when it comes to their health. Here, the Thrive Wellbeing Hub explores these barriers and shares simple but effective steps to keeping healthy both physically and mentally. Knowledge & Awareness Although men are not a homogenous group, there are similarities when it comes to awareness and knowledge of health issues compared to females. Men are prone to engage in more unhealthy habits compared to females. Females on average have a higher life expectancy, males tend to have higher rates of obesity, a greater proportion of males smoke, and there is higher participation in binge drinking and drug use. Poor lifestyles are responsible for a large proportion of chronic diseases. The four main causes of death among males in Ireland are cancer, circulatory system diseases, respiratory system diseases, and external causes of injury and poisoning. It is suggested that men tend to be less informed about the risk factors, causation and symptoms of poor health and certain diseases. This lack of knowledge and awareness may prevent men from seeking help as they are simply unaware of the symptoms surrounding certain illnesses. Therefore, it is important for us to educate ourselves on the signs and symptoms of poor health. Perception As outlined above, men tend to adopt unhealthier behaviours and are at greater risk for all leading causes of death. However, men are less likely to consult or visit a health professional compared to women and perception is a significant barrier to males engaging in health-seeking behaviours. This is where the severity of a health concern is underestimated or brushed off as nothing serious. Late presentation to health services is a cause for concern and can lead to health issues worsening or becoming untreatable. It's important to take action as soon as you notice something isn't quite right. Stigma Gender roles and the construct of masculinity have been cited as barriers to men looking after their health, especially when it comes to mental health. Perceptions associated with masculinity can result in men being more reluctant to speak out on mental health issues or engage in help-seeking behaviour for fear of being seen as weak or not embodying the traditional and frankly outdated attributes of what is considered masculine. This stigma allows for men’s mental health needs to often fly under the radar. This is evident in the high suicide rates of males in Ireland. Of the 504 deaths due to suicide in 2020, 72.6% occurred to males (CSO).    Thankfully, this ideology is shifting, and men’s attitudes and awareness of mental health are changing. Being honest and open with yourself about how you are feeling and communicating this to loved ones or a mental health professional is so important. Proactive Steps Men and those who support them have an active role to play in encouraging and supporting men to take small steps to be proactive in both their physical and mental health. Let’s challenge ourselves to take action and incorporate small changes to help improve our overall health: Eat well Exercise and spend time outdoors Reduce alcohol intake Know the signs of poor mental health, suicidal ideations, and other health conditions Schedule a medical, arrange a blood test and engage in screening services and programmes Talk and Listen – Confide in a loved one or someone impartial, ask if everything is okay, listen and help empower the men in our lives to take action If you are struggling with your mental or emotional wellbeing, Thrive can help you on your journey to better health. For wellbeing advice, contact the team by email at: thrive@charteredaccountants.ie or by phone: (+353) 86 0243294.