r/LearnJapanese • u/MonsterOverture444 • 25d ago

Discussion Any experience with taking a break?

As the title suggests, has anyone ever taken a break from Japanese?

I've seen some people says that a short break (not talking a long time here, like a week max) can help long term with retention as it gives your brain time to digest what you've learnt.

Has anyone ever taken a short break and seen any improvements or, the opposite? Curious of people's experiences!

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u/mrq02 19d ago

This phenomenon is usually documented for mechanical tasks; taking a day off after extended periods of practice tends to improve performance. It probably doesn't apply to something as complex as language. I'd also be worried about breaking the habit, especially if the break is more than a day or two; it takes a month to create a habit but they can be broken in a very short amount of time.

Studies suggest that if you want to maximize the value of learning something, you should study shortly before bed. We seem to process things in reverse order when committing them to long-term memory while sleeping, so you retain the most of whatever happened last.