Effective in the home office through proper breaks and massages

We're probably all familiar with days when we don't know where our heads are and the projects, tasks and deadlines are literally piling up. Activities that we put off forever and those that we don't even get to because we simply need to take time for them separately and undisturbed, which we simply don't feel we have.

These diverse challenges in everyday working life not only cause stress, but can also mean that we never really get to work effectively. It is no longer a secret that proper and truly relaxing breaks are a key factor in performance and concentration.

This is all the more true when we work from home, where there are many more distractions lurking, but also where the boundary between work and leisure time threatens to become increasingly blurred. Are you familiar with this situation? Then we would like to give you a few tips today on how to organize breaks in the home office properly and how massages can also play a central role in this.

Reading tip: From head to toe: This is how massages help

Top priority: breaks in the home office

Breaks are inevitably associated with effectiveness and performance. We know it from sports and training, where regular breaks can enhance training effects and accelerate recovery. But we also see it in cultural circles where power naps during working hours are not only accepted, but also encouraged, and we actually all grow up with it, because even from our school days, breaks are known to us as an essential means to boost our ability to concentrate.

So what does the perfect break look like and what can you pay special attention to?

The length of breaks in the home office

Even if you work from home, the statutory break regulations apply. It is therefore essential to take a 30-minute break when working six to nine hours a day. However, sitting in front of a screen for several hours at a stretch is detrimental to concentration, creativity and health. You should definitely make use of additional relaxation phases, such as those prescribed by the §5 Bildschirmverordnung (German Display Screen Ordinance). Accordingly, you can take a break of 5 minutes for every hour you spend at a computer screen. Especially these short rest periods have a strong preventive effect against burnout, stress and a strong drop in performance. Therefore, don't wait until you are exhausted, but allow yourself time off in good time.

Activities during the break

During short breaks, you should allow your mind to wander, rest your eyes and, ideally, temporarily change rooms. Looking into the distance, out of the window in the fresh air for a few minutes can work wonders. Screens are taboo, so avoid smartphones, TVs or other monitors - your eye muscles also want to relax.

While the shorter rest periods have a positive effect on your ability to concentrate and ensure that you are not exhausted at the end of the day and go into your free time with racing thoughts, the longer break also helps you to relax physically.

Especially when working from home, we are often confronted with restrictions that mean we hardly move at all throughout the day. In everyday office life, we frequently move to colleagues' desks, to other floors, perhaps even to lunch out or to the toilet 50 m away.

Ergonomically adjusted office workstations are also often lacking at home. In the long term, this is noticeable both physically and mentally, because when we feel uncomfortable, our concentration and performance levels drop.

Reading tip: We have put together five expert tips to combat desk tension.

So what can you do to offer your body relaxation and variety?

To be able to relax properly, it is important that you plan your time out and then stick to it. Your thoughts should be able to completely detach themselves from work issues, and music helps many people to switch off. Let in some fresh air and consciously take a deep breath. It may sound strange, but for many people, relaxing is not that easy and certainly not at the touch of a button.

So forbid yourself to think about work, put your smartphone and the like aside and simply be unavailable. Make sure you also plan some time for exercise. A walk with a view of the sky and the distance in the fresh air also works wonders here. You can always incorporate stretching exercises.

When talking about relaxation, there's no getting around the topic of massages. More and more companies are now offering them as an employer benefit. The alternative in the home office - but also in the office as rental equipment for employers - would be, among other things, a massage chair for in-between treatments. The positive effects of a massage are very diverse. On the one hand, they promote blood circulation and thus the supply of oxygen. This leads to more relaxation and better concentration. Massages reduce stress, allowing you to keep your mind on the important issues at hand.

Nutrition should not go unmentioned either. Everyone knows the feeling of having to sleep for an hour after lunch. This is because hearty, hard-to-digest food puts so much strain on the digestive organs that the rest of the body is supplied with less blood and oxygen. So perhaps a pizza with a cheese crust is not the ideal lunch for working from home after all.

Let's summarize what the ingredients for your relaxing break at home could look like:

● Fresh air
● Digital time-out (no smartphone, no screens)
● Exercise, stretching and stretching exercises
● A relaxing massage
● Easily digestible food
● No work topics

With restful breaks to more efficiency

Many studies have long since confirmed the positive effect of restful breaks during working hours, and this has also filtered through to employers. Over the past few decades, they have adapted workplaces and created appropriate offerings to create a productive environment. With the rapid shift to home offices, this aspect of our working lives may have fallen by the wayside, which is why we now need to actively look after our own well-being. Not only to be more effective employees, but also to do our health justice. A lack of exercise and sedentary activities take a toll on us not only physically, but also mentally, which ultimately affects concentration and performance. Make a short relaxation your daily goal and feel its long-term positive effect on many other areas of life apart from your work.