Every year, when our children take a break from learning and school, we start worrying about brain drain. Although most of us are familiar with this term around summer, it can happen any time of year, and could be even more of an issue during the festive season due to weather restrictions, screen use, and more — but can screen time worsen brain drain during the holidays, or is this something that you don’t need to worry about?
What Is Brain Drain, and Why Does It Happen Over the Holidays?
Brain drain is a common problem that affects most students, and refers to a loss of academic skills or knowledge that students often experience during longer holidays due to what they learned at school not being reinforced, and the memories growing weaker until they are forgotten.
It is estimated that around half of all students experience brain drain, with up to 20% of the year’s learning being lost over the weeks, and 40% over the years of school—with some skills like mathematics and literacy being most affected. However, for parents or guardians worried about this happening to their children, you are probably asking yourself what you can do, and want to know, ‘can screen time worsen brain drain during the holidays’?
How Does Screen Time Impact Focus and Memory?
It has been proven that excessive screen time can negatively affect memory and focus by altering brain structure, weakening memory retention, and disrupting our attention spans. Recent statistics show that 34% of six to 11-year-olds (Gen Alpha) prefer playing on a tablet rather than playing with their real-life friends, and a 2025 study found that 40% of children in the US have an iPad by age two, and 60% by age four—meaning that many parents are rightfully concerned.
So, when asking yourself, ‘can screen time worsen brain drain during the holidays’, the answer is a simple ‘yes’ from the start. However, there is some nuance to it.
Why Can the Holidays Make Brain Drain Worse?
The holidays can make brain drain worse due to a number of things—the weather (especially if you are in the Northern Hemisphere), holiday expectations, level of business, and more, can all make brain drain worse as there could be less time to take part in brain-boosting activities, and there will be less motivation to keep learning during this time of year.
However, we can’t let these things get in the way of learning and retaining information. Whether it’s summer or winter, we need to take the time to implement activities that will help to prevent brain drain, and these could look different depending on which side of the world you are in for a number of reasons.
Can You Spot the Signs of Brain Drain in Children and Adults?
Unfortunately, you can’t ‘spot’ brain drain the way you can many other things, and it only makes itself apparent when students go back to school and realise that they have forgotten information. With that being said, there could be the signs that are a prelude to brain drain—like too much screen time, no active learning, or no new experiences.
Since brain drain occurs when information is not reinforced and the memories strengthened, it makes sense that children who do not engage in learning or activities that will strengthen the memories will lose them.
Brain-Boosting Alternatives to Screens
There are lots of activities that you and your children can participate in that don’t involve a screen and boosts the brain. However, it’s important to remember that technology should not be demonised, as it can be an incredibly useful and helpful tool to us, provided it is not relied on too heavily. From reading books and enjoying art, to building puzzles and playing board games, there are endless activities to dive into, depending on interests.
No matter the time of year, it’s useful to have a list of screen-free activities for you and your children to dive into. There could be even more activities that you think of that will be perfectly suited to reducing the amount of screen time while also helping keep young minds active.
Some brain-boosting alternatives to screens you could enjoy include:
- Reading books
- Playing board games
- Taking part of crafts
- Enjoying the outdoors
- Building puzzles or models
- Trying out creative writing
- Learning an instrument
- Practising a new language
- Brain training exercises
Brain Training at The Brain Workshop: The Best Prevention for Brain Drain
Brain training is one of the best ways to prevent brain drain year-round, and it is suitable for everyone. The brain training program at The Brain Workshop has been specialised to enhance the fundamental cognitive skills that are essential for concentration, reasoning, learning, thinking, and reading, and we have a no-tutoring approach. Instead, we want to help train your brain with a personalised one-on-one method to allow us to cater to every child’s unique needs—because every person is different, and will need different things from us.
What Should You Expect From Our Brain Training Programme?
Here, we offer brain training to adults and children alike, and aim to use our dynamic methods to rapidly improve learning abilities in an enjoyable way to simplify your life and convert a weakness into a strength, thanks to our comprehensive regimen. We are dedicated to helping you make your life better with a holistic approach that gets results.
Our brain training has four simple steps, which we will follow while you work with us:
- Assessment – a thorough assessment is completed to determine the root cause of any learning challenges you may be experiencing
- Targeted training – weak cognitive skills are targeted and turned into strengths through our personalised strategies and expert experience
- Progress monitoring – improvements and documented and tracked through regular re-assessments so that we can alter our approaches to allow you to get the most out of brain training
- Long-term benefits – you can apply newfound skills to daily life and enjoy the lasting impact of brain training through success and an easier life
We Customise Support for Every Child
Brain training can be customised to support every person’s individual needs thanks to the thorough assessments we carry out to understand your baseline, and any areas where you might struggle. Our assessments are available in over 20 languages including English, Russian, and Cantonese, ensuring that individuals all around the world can benefit from our extensive training and resources.
We use the Gibson Test of Cognitive Skills—a fantastic tool that was developed from Gibson’s Learning Model and grounded in the theory of intelligence of Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC), and delve into various domains of cognition including reading, reasoning, visual processing, processing speed, and more, to see where you may fall short.
The following cognitive domains are explored in our assessments to determine any shortfalls:
- Memory
- Attention
- Reading skills
- Visual processing
- Processing speed
- Auditory processing
- Logic and reasoning
How The Brain Workshop Keeps Minds Sharp Year-Round
The Brain Workshop is dedicated to helping you and your children get the most out of their minds, and we know exactly how to help. With years of experience, we are confident in our brain training approach, and how it can benefit everyone.
So, can screen time worsen brain drain during the holidays? It absolutely can if it is excessive, but using screens and technology also has its benefits! Prioritise balance, and make time for screen-free activities every day to not only exercise different skills, but to make sure that you don’t rely too heavily on technology. After all, there is so much fun to be had!
Beat holiday brain drain with scientifically designed brain training programmes at The Brain Workshop — book your assessment today. Learn more about us at The Brain Workshop, meet our team, check our events, or even read our FAQ.
