How to take a healthy break?

Quickly checking your phone? Preparing for the next meeting? No. Breaks are necessary for your brain to restore and concentrate.
Let’s see what it means to take a healthy break.

Why are healthy breaks important?
It’s very tempting: You have your phone next by and the moment you finish a task, it’s the first thing you take. You check your messages, some social media, the latest news, and 5 or 10 minutes go by without noticing. By the time you are done, the next reunion or work task starts. It’s very common and happens to all of us. But this doesn’t help us to relax, it keeps our brain in “alert mode” (also known as the beta state). Our brain needs to relax and recharge in order to be able to concentrate. This is only possible if the activity of our breaks doesn’t have to do with our professional activity (more insights by Cal Newport: deep breaks). How often you need to pause depends on your cognitive capacities and the kind of work you do. Every person is different. Some people prefer “mini-breaks” of 5 minutes every 45 or 60 minutes, others prefer 15-20 minutes after a deep work slot eg. every 70-90 minutes. What matters is the quality of your breaks and that you become aware of your personal needs. With our current lifestyle being hyper-connected to the digital world, our capacity to focus has decreased over the last decades. But there are good news: You can train your brain and improve your attention span by taking healthy breaks.

What is a healthy break?
A healthy break is one that leaves you full of energy, mentally refreshed and ready to go again. Where you come back and say: “I’m ready for this task, let’s do it!” (And not: “Oh dear I feel so tired..”) In order to get this feeling of energy and balance, here are some ideas:

1. Get up and move your body
   Stretch and move as much as you can to improve your blood circulation and release tension in your body. Recommendations: Roll your shoulders to the back and front, stretch your neck to all sides, stretch your arms, move your hips in circles, shake your hands and legs, stretch your fingers, massage your hands, …
2. Refresh your eyes
   Especially if you use the screen for your work: Close your eyes for a moment, very gently massage your eye-lids, gently press the inner point of your eyes (you will notice your eyes will fill with liquid), open them and do a little exercise: look up and hold for 5 seconds, look to the right for 5 seconds, look down 5 seconds, look to the left 5 seconds. Keep doing this exercise 4-5 times, then close your eyes again for 1 minute.
3. Have a glass of water
   While this is something you should also do throughout your tasks, we often forget to hydrate. Fill up your water bottle or a glass of water and drink it slowly. Enjoy the feeling of drinking, focus on every sip. Close your eyes if it makes you feel good.
4. Spend time outside in nature / the sun
   If you have the possibility then go outside and take a little walk in the closest park or at least around the block. Enjoy the feeling of fresh air, (hopefully) the sun on your face which fills up your level of vitamin D. If you work in home office and can’t take a walk but have a balcony or terrace then at least sit outside for a few moments. If this is also not possible then just stand outside the building for a moment where the sun can kiss your face.
5. Take a few deep breaths
   Relax your body and mind by focusing on your breath. Close your eyes, try to sit still and straight, focus on your inhalations and exhalations and try to breathe deep (if you can: through your nose) into your diaphragm. Just concentrate on the flow of air, how it travels through your body, your parasympathetic nervous system will be activated which helps to calm your body and mind. It might take a few minutes so just keep breathing, take your time.
6. Have a healthy snack
   If they are not available at your workplace: Make sure you bring nuts, fruit, a smoothie or any other healthy alternative. Snacks with a lot of sugar or carbohydrates (which transform into glucose = sugar) often seem like a “quick fix” as they raise our energy level quickly but then drop it again just as fast. If you want to know more about the influence of nutrition on our mental health, read this article: Eat healthy and in silence .
7. Connect with your colleagues or flatmates
   If you work in a team: Use this moment to talk about other things than work. Try to ask open-ended question and find out new things about their life. We need human connections, a community and a collaborative atmosphere based on the feeling that someone knows us, not only for our position but for our essence, personality, interests etc. If you work 100% at home, connect with your colleagues in a virtual coffee and/or with your flatmates, friends or family members.
8. Play
   If you have kids in a young age, you work from home and they are at home too: Play with them during your break. Playing is a great way to boost your happy hormones, creativity and productivity. Of course this is also applicable if you don’t have kids or are at the office. Doing something funny, letting loose, just laughing for a moment really helps to release tension (More insights from Forbes: Playing improves your creativity at work).
9. Be a role model for healthy breaks
   You can influence the “break culture” at your workplace by taking healthy, non-technological breaks yourself and encouraging your colleagues/team to do the same. Propose a “mindful snack break” where nobody looks at their phone or a 10 minutes walk around the block, if you are all at the office. Or share this article with them and tell them what’s your favourite way to spend your break. Every positive change starts with ourselves.

To sum up: It’s extremely important to charge your personal battery (related article: Take care of your personal battery) both during your work schedule and before/afterwards. It’s not so much about the duration but the quality of your breaks. You have it in your hand to recharge and restore, in order to be more productive and creative: You will have better, quicker results and more time for other things which means a better work-life harmony.