Many of us are used to working most of the day, no matter how comfortable we are, our body needs movement and activity, especially if we want to maintain a good state of health, both physical and psychological, so it is so important to be active breaks in such situations.
Active breaks are short routines of simple exercises that involve muscle groups, joint mobility exercises, stretching and relaxation, and are performed in the working environment.
- They last about 10 minutes and it is recommended to do them every two hours of work.
- Their practice allows us to disconnect more easily from what we do to reactivate our body and relieve the accumulated stress.
- As well as improve our productivity.
- Among other benefits.
There are many benefits to the body and mind when taking active breaks after several hours of sitting in the same position, some of the most important are:
Let’s look at each one of them
Spending hours sitting in the same position can end up atrophying our muscles, as their goal is to exercise. Also, we probably won’t take a good position in the office chair, which will negatively affect our body.
Fortunately taking active breaks can help us alleviate these problems, for example, doing yoga or stretching movements will improve our posture and muscle condition, as well as promote the disappearance of some back pain.
Lack of physical exercise is directly related to anxiety and stress problems. While taking active breaks from work isn’t enough to replace a proper exercise routine, this habit can help us manage high levels of stress and the accumulation of overwork concerns.
In addition, performing this type of exercise increases the release of endorphins in our brain, neurotransmitters related to feeling of well-being and improving mood, this, in turn, increases our self-esteem because it motivates us, allowing us to leave the monotony behind. resulting from routine work.
Our attention is not designed to stay fixed for a long time on the same task, especially when it comes to looking at a screen for long periods of time.
Therefore, in this type of situation it is highly recommended to take active breaks, as it favors the rest of the attention for a few minutes.
It works because when we get up from the chair and do physical activity, some of our mental energy recharges, so despite more breaks and therefore less working time we can enjoy it better, as a result the balance will be positive and, at the end of the day, you will be able to perform more tasks.
As we have seen, active breaks are activation moments that allow us to change our work dynamics and also help us prevent health problems such as stress, visual fatigue and back pain.
Next, we share some exercises you can do during active work breaks
Yoga is a very complete type of exercise that works not only in stretching, but also in concentration and breathing, a discipline that plays a very important role in the field of physical and mental health.
Although there are many resources to practice yoga, we recommend starting with a stress relief routine.
Walking is the simplest physical exercise, but also one of the most beneficial. If you want to make the most of your breaks at work, all you need to do is put on your headphones and walk through the neighborhood you’re in.
This way, you can empty your mind, activate your muscles and release different types of positive substances into your body.
The neck and shoulders are areas that tend to accumulate a lot of physical and mental stress, so it is especially important to perform exercises that focus on these parts of our body to unload them.
What if we don’t have time to learn yoga?In this case, we still have a card up and down stairs.
This exercise, although very simple, is one of the best to burn fats and activate the circulatory system, in a short time all your muscles will be activated. You will discover that your mind will clear up and you will be able to recover some of your energy.
As we see, taking active breaks from work is critical to maintaining good physical and mental health, which of these exercises are you going to do?