Active breaks are small sessions of physical mobility developed during the workday, to prevent fatigue and muscle tension caused by accumulated stress.
They consist of taking short breaks throughout the day to perform various types of exercises for a period of approximately 5-10 minutes. Thus, we reactivate our energy to continue working.
These periods contain cardiovascular physical adaptation, muscle strengthening and flexibility optimization.
In other words, active breaks are a “break” from the stress of the day to move around and eliminate the repetitiveness of activities on the computer, preventing us from deconditioning ourselves physically.
By practicing them, we seek to reduce muscle injuries and other negative consequences of a sedentary lifestyle. Here are some examples of active breaks that you can incorporate into your new healthy habits .
7 Examples of active breaks with which we will have better health
1. Muscle activation
This type of active intervals aims to quickly activate the muscles through conscious movements: the brain will coordinate the action of the muscles, contracting to release tension.
When we spend a lot of time sitting, the muscles contract, causing us a lot of discomfort and discomfort.
Not in vain has it won first place in our examples of active breaks for adults, because it will allow us to identify when this happens, in order to self-coordinate muscle relaxation.
2. Creative
The term “creative” reveals to us what these active interruption variants are like: their style is completely free.
They are part of the examples of active breaks at work , because their objective is to break the routine, promote integration and favor the work environment.
3. Flexibility
First of all, we tell you that they stimulate the dynamic flexibility of the muscles, through different stretches that go from 3 to 5 seconds each.
With these stretches we can increase the temperature, while enhancing the contractile capacity of the muscles. For greater effectiveness, we must do them using all muscle chains.
For example, if we want to stretch our back muscles, we can continue stretching our legs or neck. In this way, we will eliminate muscle tension caused by staying in one position.
4. Playful
When we read the word “playful”, we immediately associate it with fun and play. Consequently, these types of pauses are listed in the examples of funny active pauses .
They are a fun break from the workday, as they serve to release stress and work fatigue. They include different activities and games where hands and eyes must be coordinated.
This coordination seeks to develop a connection between body and mind. In some companies they carry out these active parentheses with board games and agility and dexterity activities.
5. Joint mobility
These active joint mobility breaks are movements that give our joints more room to move, while easing restrictions.
They are the most recommended to prevent pain and tension in the joints, caused by a prolonged static position. They are intended to work the neck, knees and ankles.
6. Passives
They are mostly a break to calm the mind and renew our energy, they are usually complemented with meditation or reflection audios or relaxing or therapeutic music.
With them we gain physical and psychological well-being , we improve self-control, conscious decision-making, attitude and collaborative work.
7. Rhythmics
They are examples of dynamic active breaks , because they incorporate activities, exercises and games with upbeat music. In this order, they combine physical activity, fun, and interaction among participants.
In the rhythmic active intermediates, they can be done from dances to stretching, they are usually done collectively: the work team meets to develop the exercise.