Do you ever find yourself working for hours sitting in an office chair without getting up to take a break? This is not uncommon, in fact most people don’t know or forget to take breaks when working long hours sitting in one position. Whether you work full-time or part-time from home or in a traditional workplace, it’s still important to take breaks. Taking breaks while working long hours is essential and crucial to your health.

Employers may need to think about the environment in which their work takes place to develop an appropriate plan to allow time for breaks. For full-time jobs, two shorter breaks are usually adequate. People who work behind a computer all day need to take a break every hour and be able to get up and move around. This allows them to sit all day looking at the screen. People who work highly repetitive jobs should be offered shorter and more frequent breaks to avoid boredom, which can result in decreased productivity, decreased competence, and fewer mistakes. There are many reasons why regular breaks are important; Here are some.

  1. Circulation is affected by sitting for a long time.: When you sit in static positions where you don’t move, circulation can be impeded. When blood flow to an active muscle is impaired, the oxygen supply decreases, which over time can affect muscle function. The feeling of fatigue is often related to circulation and blood supply.
  2. Working on the computer distorts the consciousness of time: When working long hours on the computer, most people don’t take breaks often enough, or realize how long it’s been since they started working. An easy way to eliminate this problem is to make sure people take regular breaks by using time reminders.
  3. exhaustion: People who work continuously face total burnout and what good is a burnt out employee? Physical exhaustion can lead to problems such as chronic headaches, fatigue, an inability to concentrate, and trouble sleeping at night. Even if all it takes is 15 minutes during an 8-hour work day, you can use that time to refresh and feel more energized the rest of the work day.
  4. productivity: Many studies have revealed that workers who take breaks are much more productive during the day compared to those who don’t. After a break, your performance levels rise dramatically so you can tackle tasks again with renewed vigor and finish them with precision. More mistakes are also made when the mind and body are not refreshed.
  5. cardiac risks: After researchers in Finland conducted a study on a group of nearly 800 workers over a 28-year period, they found that subjects who did not find time to recover from their work week were more likely to die of cardiovascular disease. If people can’t relax periodically, plaque can build up in the arteries that contributes to possible heart attacks or strokes.
  6. Stress: Focusing on a tedious task for too long can easily lead to physical and mental stress. Stress, as most of us know, can have serious implications for our health. Common consequences of stress include high blood pressure, high blood sugar, poor physical fitness, low resistance to viruses, and serious illness. If something you’re working on becomes too stressful, it’s best to take a break and resume work once you’re calm and collected.
  7. repetitive stress injuries: Especially for those who sit at a desk all day staring at a computer, it’s easy to develop repetitive stress injuries, such as eye strain from staring at a computer screen too long. Carpal tunnel is also another injury that can develop from spending too much time typing and not typing in the proper position. Sitting in an office chair for a long time usually leads to wanting to move and change posture, most often in the wrong posture. By not sitting properly and having adequate lumbar support, back and neck pain is sure to develop.

When you begin your new routine of taking breaks, start small with 5-minute breaks and work your way up in about a week or two. Taking breaks at work cannot be considered lazy, especially when you take short, meaningful breaks. There is no harm in trying, but there is harm in not trying.

7 reasons why it is important to take breaks at work

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