You know that taking frequent breaks is good for your productivity, focus, and creativity, but you just never seem to get around to it.

You feel stressed and exhausted when you hammer away at your keyboard all day, and the evidence is everywhere. A study earlier this year from the University of Toronto on lunch break patterns of office workers revealed the absence of a proper lunch break can actually lower productivity. John Trougakos, associate professor of Organizational Behavior & HR Management, who coauthored the study, argues our brains have a limited pool of psychological energy.

Recently, the Draugiem Group, a social networking company, added to this growing body of research. Using the time-tracking productivity app DeskTime, they conducted an experiment to see what habits set their most productive employees apart. What they found was that the 10% of employees with the highest productivity surprisingly didn’t put in longer hours than anyone else. In fact, they didn’t even work full eight-hour days. What they did do was take regular breaks. Specifically, they took 17-minute breaks for every 52 minutes of work.

Turns out, the secret to retaining the highest level of productivity over the span of a workday is not working longer—but working smarter with frequent breaks,' wrote Julia Gifford in The Muse when she posted the study’s results. Employees with the highest levels of productivity worked for 52 minutes with intense purpose, then rested up, allowing their brains time to rejuvenate and prepare for the next work period.

The Draugiem Group’s study highlights what researchers have been saying for years—that our brains simply weren’t built to focus for eight-full hours a day. 'The best way to refresh your focus is to step away and take a break,' says productivity expert Cathy Sexton, who says the results of The Draugiem Group’s study aren’t surprising.

What was particularly surprising about the study’s results, however, was what the most productive individuals did during their breaks. 'Those 17 minutes were spent completely away from the computer—not checking email, not on YouTube' says Gifford. Taking a walk, chatting with co-workers (not about work), or relaxing reading a book were some common activities the most productive employees did while on break.

Let’s start out with what we have right now. The typical work day is around 8 hours. But how did we come up with that? The answer is hidden in the tidings of the Industrial revolution.

In the late 18th century, when companies started to maximize the output of their factories, getting to running them 24/7 was key. Now of course, to make things more efficient, people had to work more. In fact, 10-16 hour days were the norm.

These incredibly long work days weren’t sustainable and soon a brave man called Robert Owen started a campaign to have people work no more than 8 hours per day. His slogan was “Eight hours labour, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest.”