Written by Calum Yeatman
You are advised to take a short break around 5-10 minutes after being on the computer for an hour as the main reason for eye strain and headaches. It also resets your mind so you can refocus which will assist you with productivity and boost your mental health as you can go for a walk and return to your work focus and ready to get results.
Your body also relieves stress and also allows your mind to get the necessary recharge it needs to carry on. Taking a break also decreases the development of fatigue, sleep disorders, and cardiovascular disease. Taking a break can refresh your mind so you can double-check things and make sure it is correct. Taking a break can also help you with reading/writing text as you can read or write the wrong text under fatigue and eye strain. If the human body doesn’t have breaks it can make minor errors and not see them at the time.
If you are lacking focus on the task at hand then it is time for a break. If you are dealing with incessant pains and aches it could be time for a break to stretch out or go for a walk so your body is still active due to sitting down while working.
List of why we take breaks:
- Stress
- Eyestrain
- Incessant pains and aches
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Sleeping disorders
- Lacking focus
- Making careless mistakes
- Have a lot to complain about
- Change in eating habit
- Low energy
- Lack of motivation
- Frustration
Benefits of taking a break
- Breaks help you process and retain the information
- You will get a better feel for the bigger picture
- Be more creative
- Breaks can help you cultivate healthier habits
- Taking a break regularly helps you be more productive
- Gives you brain and body
- Reduces stress/stress management
- Rest
- Clearer thinking
- Increased productivity
- Physical movement boosts health
- Personal development time
- Prevents burnout within the company
- Improved emotional health
- Team building
- Time for healthier fuel
For me personally, I think the benefits outweigh the reason not to take breaks, how about you?
It allows your mind more time to process the task at hand and not stress out and panic that you can’t do it. As breaks can cause creativity as you can come back fresh and ready to engage the task head-on.
If you don’t take a break the muscles in your back that are anti-gravity will slowly get stiff and ache. And your muscle will get fatigued. Also, leave your body exhausted and burnt out. The human body is expected to take a break every 3 hours to get blood flow/movement back in your whole body if you are sitting down to prevent cardiovascular disease. But either way, you would need a break or you could suffer from headaches or eye strain.
Can frequent breaks improve your performance? Taking short breaks can relieve you from stress and improve your performance. Recovering from work stress can decrease the development of a sleeping disorder, fatigue, and cardiovascular disease, and could also restore mental resources and energy.
Negative effects
- Sleeping disorders
- Fatigue
- Low energy
- Stressed
- Burnt out
- Exhausted
- Less productivity
- Less enthusiastic
- Back muscles fatigue
You are entitled to a 30-minute break every 4 1/2 hours, but on the other hand, if you work 6 hours then you are entitled to a 20-minute uninterrupted break away from their workstations. A relaxing break can facilitate recovery, by returning your mental and physical functional systems back to their baselines.
Taking a break can also increase your ability and performance to concentrate and pay attention to the task. It also boosts your mood from being agitated to enjoying the task more.
When do you think is the right time to take a break?