For those of us with office jobs, it is very easy to fall into the trap of spending long hours at your desk, working hard. In fact, many people end up eating lunch at their desks and working eight or more hours straight. Unfortunately, there is no direct correlation between hours spent at your desk and productivity. In fact, science would suggest that spending hours working without taking a break can be counterproductive. Whether you are reading this article as an employee or an employer, the purpose is to demonstrate to you how taking regular breaks may increase you and your team’s productivity throughout the day.
Humans Only Have A Limited Attention Span
Have you ever come home from a hard day’s work, flopped down on the sofa to watch some TV, and then lose the connection with the show you were watching? For whatever reason, your brain just zoned out, and that last twenty minutes is a total blur. That is because the human brain can only concentrate for a limited period. When it comes to attention span, the numbers will shock you. You may think you are productive by spending countless hours at your desk, but the reality is probably very different because your brain can only focus for so long without a break.
Breaks Can Help Lower Your BMI
Research shows that even a small amount of exercise can be beneficial for the body by helping reduce your Body Mass Index and even your waistline. Although it is not a physical exercise regime, getting up and walking around the office for five minutes will increase your heart rate and keep your triglyceride levels in check. Logically speaking any amount of movement or exercise is going to be beneficial; it will wake you up and leave you feeling more refreshed and productive once again.
Physical Movement Can Get Our Brains Moving Again
The human body was never designed to sit for hours on end, staring at a computer screen. This sedentary lifestyle is damaging to creativity and productivity. By getting up from your chair and walking around for a few minutes, your blood will circulate properly and be able to pump more oxygen throughout your system, including to your brain. Regular breaks are good both for mental and physical stimulation.
Breaks Improve And Encourage Teamwork
A further way in which breaks can assist with productivity within the workplace is to allow people the opportunity to relax together, share ideas, and simply take a breather. In fact, sometimes a chance encounter between two colleagues during a break can provide opportunities for ideas to be exchanged, or new opportunities to assess a problem from the outside. Sometimes when we have become too involved and passionate about a project, it can be easy to miss certain issues or fail to solve a problem because you are too close to it. Consider chatting with coworkers during a break, as sometimes these chance encounters can lead to a bright and more productive future.
Sometimes Our Best Work Is Done When We Are Not Focused
The brain has two states: focused and day dreaming. While logic would dictate that the productive work would take place in the focused state, that is not always the case. Think how often people wake up in the middle of the night with an invention or idea. This is because sometimes your brain can come up with the solution to a problem almost in the background. When people take a break from the intense focus mode and go and grab a drink, that can be the time the penny suddenly drops, and progress is made.
It can be very easy to think that the longer you spend at your desk, the more productive you are. This is not necessarily the case by any means, and it is highly likely that your staff will become much more productive when they are encouraged to take sufficient breaks to rest and recuperate. For more interesting knowledge and methods to keep your office working at full potential, visit Level’s website regularly where we publish innovative and interesting new ideas on a regular basis.