You're on 24x7

You work on your e-mail while keeping one eye on the game. You're on the phone while pushing your grocery cart around the store, t his phone pressed to his ear. conduct business on the phone while driving home from work, or glance at your e-mail while standing in line at the store.

You're on 24x7.

Technology makes slivers of time entertaining or productive. But scientists say it all may be counterproductive. If your brain is busy, you're forfeiting downtime that could help you better learn or retain information, or come up with new ideas.

At UC San Francisco, scientists have found that when rats have a new experience, like exploring an unfamiliar area, their brains show new patterns of activity. But only when the rats take a break from their exploration do they process those patterns in a way that seems to create a persistent memory of the experience.

U of Michigan researchers found that people learned significantly better after a walk in nature than after a walk in a dense urban environment. “People think they’re refreshing themselves, but they’re fatiguing themselves,” said Marc Berman, a University of Michigan neuroscientist.

No question technology has its benefits, but all things being equal, experts say find time to disconnect.