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Every few minutes villagers have to return to a nearby Hearth for a break, to eat, rest, and satisfy needs. All consumption happens during breaks. Villagers of different species take breaks at different Intervals.
Break Intervals
Break Intervals show how much time each species has between breaks. Longer Intervals translate to more time spent doing tasks.
Base break duration is 6 seconds. That does not include travel time, only the time spent at the Hearth. Due to breaks' low duration, travel time to and from the Hearth usually takes up most of the time dedicated to a break. Accessible Hearths and efficient building layout are essential if you want to minimize time your workers spend on breaks.
Cycle timer
The Break Interval is reset when a villager finishes their break.[1] Travel time from the Hearth to their task after a break is not excluded. Newcomers that arrive in your settlement go straight to the Hearth for a break after they appear.
Place
Villagers will always take breaks at the closest Hearth. Shelters or houses they are assigned to have no effect on their Hearth choice. A break does not involve a visit to Housing, Warehouses or Service buildings.
Interruptions
Villagers will never interrupt their current task to go for a break, i.e. if they are 3 seconds into a 126-second production cycle when it's time for their break, they will finish the cycle before walking to the Hearth. Hauling one stack of resources to and from a Warehouse, completing a production cycle, erecting a building, and Glade Event solving are all examples of singular tasks that breaks cannot interrupt. Similarly, once a villager has decided to go on a break, there is no way to alter their decision.
Consumption
All consumption happens at the Hearth during a break. That includes raw food, Complex Food, Clothing and Service Needs. Shelter and Housing Needs are fulfilled as soon as Shelters and Species Housing are constructed. All Resources are consumed at the end of the break, when villagers are about to leave. The amount of goods consumed is subject to modifiers, the most prominent of which are Parasites and Consumerism from Prestige 7 and 8 respectively.
During a break, villagers will consume food with the following priority (note that all options equally leave them full until the next break):
One of each available preferred Complex Food (each will contribute to a Resolve boost).
One random raw food.
One available Complex Food they don't like.
While Coats will be consumed by villagers to satisfy the Clothing Need as long as you have some in storage, Service Goods have to be stocked in Service buildings to be consumed.
"With provisions, haulers don't have to return to the hearth as often. Increases the time between breaks for haulers by +50% and their carrying capacity by +5."
"A clever invention that makes it easier to dry clothes. Time between breaks is increased by +10% for villagers with the need for <sprite name="[needs] coats"> coats fulfilled."
The astonishingly beautiful view motivates villagers to work. The time interval between breaks is increased by +25%.
Plagues influencing breaks
Plague
Description
Plague of Malady
The Sealed Ones have inflicted a mysterious disease on the settlement. Villagers take +50% longer rests and have a +100% higher chance of consuming twice as much food during a break.
References
Break time counter start was tested by Discord user die_die.
Beavers
Foxes
Harpies
Humans
Lizards
Coats will be consumed by villagers to satisfy the Clothing Need as long as you have some in storage, Service Goods have to be stocked in Service buildings to be consumed.
Travel Rations
Drying Boards
