The pleasure of a break

Did you know that remote work is paradoxically more burdensome than working in the office? Scientists are increasingly talking about the phenomenon of virtual fatigue caused by constant work in front of a computer, especially online meetings. However, there is a simple remedy for it - a short break. Read why your well-being, concentration and efficiency depend on these few minutes a day.

It's been over a year since the pandemic stopped the world, locked us all in our homes and turned our work system upside down. Many of us have moved our offices to our homes. Sitting on the couch in the living room, we participate in international conferences, we don't have to waste time stuck in traffic jams while commuting to work, we don't have to wake up at dawn to get everything done on time. We can finally work when we want, not necessarily during the imposed hours from 9 to 5. Sounds great? It would seem that such conditions are conducive to greater efficiency and life satisfaction. And yet it turns out that the longer the pandemic lasts, the more discouraged we all are, our working hours are constantly getting longer and this has no impact on the results. We are hit by so-called virtual fatigue. The phenomenon is so common that scientists have taken up the subject.

"Zoom fatigue syndrome"

Researchers from Stanford University recently coined the term "zoom fatigue syndrome". They found that remote work, and especially the need to communicate exclusively online, is more tiring than work we do in the office. Zoom meetings deprive us of the opportunity to contact a real person, their energy and facial expressions. And this promotes a sense of alienation and depression. In turn, researchers from Microsoft's Humans Factor Lab found in EEG studies that after just 30 minutes of an online meeting, our brain waves acquire a beta type frequency - characteristic of stressful situations. So they decided to check how the brain would be affected by introducing short breaks in work. The results turned out to be surprising. During a two-hour meeting, beta waves were constantly increasing, but a break of just a few minutes caused them to start to decrease. What's more, this state continued during the next four meetings, never returning to the level from the first meeting! Scientists also found that virtual conferences gradually reduce our ability to concentrate and engage. And again, a few minutes of rest brought cognitive abilities back on track. Regular breaks prevented the accumulation of stress and gave the brain a chance to reset. The study concluded with one simple conclusion: to effectively prevent virtual fatigue, it is enough to introduce short, regular breaks from work in home conditions.

You'll say it's not easy. In the office, such breaks come naturally. You get up from your desk to make yourself a coffee. In the kitchen, you exchange a few casual sentences with a colleague. You pick up a package from the reception desk. You go for lunch. You walk the corridors on your way to a meeting. You move without even thinking about it. Meanwhile, at home, you open your computer in the morning and before you know it, it's evening. The longest route takes you from your bedroom to the bathroom. You work in the kitchen, while your partner attends a conference in the living room. You want to get your work done as quickly as possible, because soon you have other duties to attend to, including remote learning for your children.

Your pleasant break from work

We understand this, but we want to help you because we believe that even short breaks will make your professional life during the pandemic a little better.

That's why we have prepared a program Yoga Espresso , which will motivate you to introduce pleasant breaks at work. These are short sequences consisting of six asanas each, which will stretch your body tired of sitting, focusing on critical parts such as the spine, shoulders and wrists. A few minutes of breathing practices, developed by our teacher from India Jimmy Saurabh, will give you energy better than a small black coffee. We will also encourage you to create your own rituals.

If you imagine that in an hour you will have a cup of your favorite tea or a minute of mindfulness with an open window and your favorite music, your work will go more smoothly. After a break, you will return to your duties with greater enthusiasm. Day after day, you will improve your functioning in anticipation of the return to the office, longed for by many of us.