Are you one of the several people who resolved this New Year’s
Day to make it to the gym more often or eat a healthier,
less-fattening diet? Many of us find it a struggle to keep this
kind of commitment as the year wears on. But here’s one resolution
that can be made any time of the year and should prove easy to
keep: Take more breaks.
Are you one of the several people who resolved this New Year’s Day to make it to the gym more often or eat a healthier, less-fattening diet? Many of us find it a struggle to keep this kind of commitment as the year wears on. But here’s one resolution that can be made any time of the year and should prove easy to keep: Take more breaks.
Yes, breaks can be good for you. I’m not touting a 10-minute coffee break every half hour. The breaks I’m talking about are mini-breaks that refresh your mind and body when you’ve been doing a sustained, repetitive or intensive activity. These breaks help to reinvigorate you and can actually help you complete the tasks at hand.
How does taking breaks help? When you stay in one position for an extended period of time, your circulation slows. The muscles that are holding you in position stay in a contracted state, interfering with the muscle-pumping needed for normal blood flow. Your breathing, and thus oxygen intake, may become shallow as you focus on your task without moving your body.
If you are also doing a repetitive activity such as writing, computer use, or playing with your new Xbox, the small muscles of the hands and arms and even the postural muscles of the neck and back may be working hard and expending considerable energy.
Your body’s tissues rely on good blood flow and oxygen to function well. Your muscles need occasional rest to avoid fatigue and pain. Combine energy expenditure and static muscle contraction, diminished circulation and decreased breathing, and you’re setting yourself up for fatigue if not injury. Add poor posture to the equation and disaster could follow.
A 10- to 60-second break every 20 to 30 minutes, with a longer break every hour, can give your muscles a chance to relax and stretch, and it also gives your circulation and breathing a chance to increase. This can supply the much-needed oxygen and blood flow to your brain and hard-working body tissues.
So, what constitutes a break? At minimum, a break involves moving into a different position. If you’ve been looking down at a book or writing papers, look across the room or gently stretch your neck from side to side. If you’re grasping a pen, put the pen down, drop your arm to your side and open your hand. If you’re sitting, stand up or stretch back in your chair. And be sure to breathe purposefully.
Once an hour, make your break a longer one. Walk to the kitchen or water cooler to get a drink of water. This gives you a change in position and a bit of exercise, along with all-important hydration. Or stand up and roll your shoulders back gently. Shake your arms lightly as you breathe.
Another way of giving your body a break is to change tasks regularly. Work at the computer, then get up and open the mail. Go back to the computer for a while, then do some filing or photocopying. Alternate sitting tasks with moving tasks.
Breaks are so important that some companies provide computer programs that signal their employees to take regular stretch breaks throughout the workday. You can also purchase software that reminds you when it’s break time and gives you ergonomics tips and stretch instructions. Free trials are available.
The need for breaks may seem obvious for those with physically demanding jobs or tasks, but I’ve seen plenty of people become so absorbed in their activities that they work themselves into injuries. Gardeners are prime offenders, bending over to pull “one more weed” until their backs refuse to let them straighten up again.
Whether you’re working at a desk, playing video games, organizing your garage or planting for spring, respect your body’s need for muscle rest, position changes, and good circulation and breathing. Give yourself a break, another break and another. You’re likely to feel refreshed and more alert, and you’ll be more productive. It’s one New Year’s resolution you’ll like keeping.
