Take a Break!

How often do you power through your work only to find that it has been 2 or 3 hours since you moved from your desk?

Breaks are an important part of our day and there are no awards for anyone who stays glued to their desk the longest.

There's a great analogy that speaks to the importance of taking a break.

If you were to hold onto a glass of water, how long could you do it for? You might say an hour, perhaps two. You can only hold onto it for so long before your hand or arm will cramp and eventually you drop the glass. If however you can put that glass down for a minute or two every so often, then you could do this all day, without dropping the glass.

You may have heard the phrase, we have become human doings, not human BEings.

Our ability to continue to work for long stretches at a time is possible. But what is the quality of the work you are doing and more importantly, how do you feel?

Doing stuff feeds our accomplishment buttons. Checking off stuff on a long list of things to do does have it's own sense of reward, right? But doing this day after day, week after week is like never putting the glass down. Until one day.... you hit the wall and burnout or lose the passion for the work you once did.

Why take breaks?

The reasons to take breaks are two fold. One is for our mental health and well-being and the other is for our physical health.

Movement feeds the body by improving circulation to our brain and extremities. Movement helps to counter the effects of long stretches of time sitting or standing at a desk. Long periods of no movement also increase the risk of metabolic disease aka diabetes, heart disease, excess belly fat, cancers and musculoskeletal problems.

From a mental health viewpoint there is a link between anxiety and depression in people who spend more time sitting. This relationship is not yet understood but it could be related to the endorphins you get from moving around or the circulation boost your brain gets from movement.

What can I do?

If you work from home, take the opportunity to have a short walk, do some stretches or plank for a minute at different intervals during the day. If you work in the office you may not feel comfortable getting on the floor to plank but there are plenty of other activities you can do. Gentle squats while standing at your desk, some bends and stretches, walking outside, or doing a round or two of the stairs if you have them.

If you drive all day, movement is hard. You don't want to stop because it will slow you down. The trouble is if you don't stop to move, it will slow you down in a different way as you get older.

Taking a break is like putting the glass down, even for short periods of time.

Create some simple rules in your day to help you build more movement in.

?Set a time to move every 30-60 minutes whenever possible.

?? Never eat at your desk.

?? Put your trash can away from your desk so you have to walk to it.

??Pace when you are on the phone.

?? Have walking meetings.

?? Drink lots of water to help you take regular bathroom breaks.

??♀? Find some steps to go up whenever possible.

? Create some rules such as when you get up you do 3 easy squats.

The saying goes if you don't pay for it now, you will pay for it later. So choose how you want to pay. With your time now, or with your health later?

The savvy workplaces are learning the importance of safeguarding human health and the difference it makes to human BEings. They are encouraging health and fitness. If your workplace hasn't cottoned onto this yet, then start the trend! Your health and sanity will thank you for it.

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Vivien Hudson is a coach and former pharmacist turned workplace wellness advocate.

I'm on a mission to help 100 businesses become happier and healthier in 2024.

I bridge ?? the gap between stress and performance from the inside out for workplaces ready to tap into their biggest resource - their people.

Workplace wellness programs that drive 4X engagement.

People ??????Leadership ??Wellness