We are always looking for unique solutions to help you increase your productivity and introduce safer and healthier ways of working. We often talk about, and openly encourage, taking regular breaks to rest your eyes, get moving and check your posture. But how can a 5-minute break every hour really make a difference and how can you make the most of it? Here are our top tips for making the most of your break.
Posture check
Posture massively affects our everyday health and wellbeing. Taking a couple of minutes every hour to make sure you’re sitting correctly, can prevent a wide variety of workplace ailments. This easy to follow step by step guide is a simple way to make sure that you are sitting correctly. Stick at it, it’s hard to change ingrained bad habits but we can assure you, better posture will make a huge difference to your working life.
Rest your eyes
Workplaces with 5 staff or more are required to follow DSE (Display Screen Equipment) health and safety guidelines. As well as receiving a DSE assessment to make sure your workstation is fit for purpose, the DSE guidelines also strongly suggest taking a break from your screen every hour to refocus your vision. We love this free eye timer from google chrome that times a short break every 20 minutes for your eyes and suggests eye exercises to prevent strain. Make sure during this break, you take a few minutes to seek some natural light and most importantly, put the kettle on. You can view and download government workplace health and safety, and display screen equipment guidelines here.
Tea, water and coffee
Keeping hydrated at work is a must, so make sure you regularly get up to make some tea, and grab a glass of water. Studies have shown that dehydration has detrimental effects on work output, leading to health and safety officials to publish workplace recommendations. Whilst it is a great way to measure what you are drinking, bottled water encourages us to take breaks less often as opposed to refilling a glass. The more movement (and tea) you can fit into your working day the better!
Effective Alexander Technique stretches
Mark Claireaux from Alexander Technique Central Brighton wrote this excellent blog post for us with his 5 top tips to avoid unhealthy office habits that we are all guilty of. The British Medical Journal in 2008 reported that lessons in the Alexander Technique have long term effects for chronic back pain. Being mindful of these bad habits and combatting them with effective exercises will help you feel a lot better at work.
Mindfulness
Workplace stress accounts for 40% of workplace illness in the UK. Timing a short break every hour can give you the time to breathe deeply, step away from your workload, and return refreshed and productive. Forbes has come up with a great guide on workplace mindfulness, following on from the recent workplace mindfulness programs practised by global corporations such as Google.
