Tear herb into pieces during respite (8)

I believe the answer is:

breather

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'respite' is the definition.
(breather is a kind of respite)

'tear herb into pieces' is the wordplay.
'into pieces' indicates an anagram (I've seen this in other clues).
'tear'+'herb'='tearherb'
'tearherb' with letters rearranged gives 'BREATHER'.

'during' is the link.
I am not very happy about this link. It may belong to another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for breather that I've seen before include "Short rest between bouts of exercise" , "An informal break - inhale and exhale" , "lung, possibly?" , "quick break" , "state" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.