Animisha I agree with Pallas and Keystring that looking at your phone is a break away from the piano. However, when it comes to your brain - it is not a break for your brain. You go from one activity to the other.
Quite true. But also, it may not be necessary to have a break for your brain.
There is a phenomenon called "memory consolidation interference". It is a disruption or impairment of the process by which short-term memories are stabilized and transformed into long-term memories. Consolidation typically occurs after the initial learning phase and can be disrupted by various factors, such as new learning. Acquiring new information shortly after initial learning can interfere with the consolidation of the earlier memory.
That's the reason for the break from (the task) as opposed to a break for (the brain). That isn't to say that our brains don't also need breaks (aka rest - sleep - restoring) but they are two different concepts which may have some overlap.
I've known about all this for a few years. I work at home and may have several smaller sessions at the piano - go from piano to work where I have to focus on something entirely different - and somewhere in there sometimes something piano'ish just gels from nowhere. The biggest growth however happens after sleep, which I think MG also addresses.
