Lanchhak: 8 ways to spend your lunch break

It turns out that just one hour determines all his continuation in the middle of the day. Here are eight ways to conduct this very important correct hour.

1. Eat the right food

Even if you want to lose weight or you have an urgent errand, do not miss the meal or even a snack. The amount of glucose that you consume has a direct impact on your productivity. But better, of course, full lunch and order (or take with) food, which will support the activity of the brain.

2. Take a break to regain concentration

Now the lunch break in the office is becoming less and less, and many do have lunch at your desk. However, even a 15-20 minute rest - this is an excellent opportunity to maintain concentration and energy levels throughout the day.

All the little tasks that we do every day at work, and the decisions that we take, deplete our psychological resources. Lunch break or even just a little time out supports the ability of our brain to restore its resources.

If you never take breaks at work, not to break away from their important thoughts and deeds, it reduces your ability to creatively approach to the job.

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Kimberly Elsbach (Kimberly Elsbach), Professor of Management, University of California at Davis

So, if you skip lunch to continue to think of an interesting project, and to learn something new, you only reduce your creativity.

3. Be aware: anything except food

About meditation is not say just lazy, but to meditate a little bit, not necessarily spread a mat for yoga and sit in the lotus position. You may well meditate during your lunch break.

That's what says about this Uidrich Leo (Leo Widrich), co-founder of the blog Buffer:

We often watch TV, work, read, or do something else for a meal, not paying attention to this process. It's funny, but now many of us have simply seems a waste of time. But a recent study showed the opposite picture multitasking. The maximum concentration in the process of eating not only helps you to digest food, but also provides greater productivity in all other tasks.

Leo Uidrich

The study, published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational PsychologyIt found that 20-minute breaks to perform meditation techniques at the call center employees significantly reduce stress in the afternoon. Compared with the second group of workers who spent 20 minutes resting on the conversations with colleagues, meditators operators have been much more resistance to stress.

Relaxation techniques have a positive effect on blood pressure, sleep quality, and other factors, including the ability to concentrate. So that a small meditation at meal time will be very useful.

4. Take a nap, to improve memory

In short sleep many advantagesSo, if you have the opportunity to take a nap, it is necessary to do so. Man is so constituted that the second short nap during the day it is a must.

our body's natural clock regulate processes such as sleep. These watches are a group of cells called the nucleus suprahiazmalnym, and help the body determine when it is time to engage in a particular activity, including sleep.

What's important, at two o'clock in the afternoon there is drowsiness, and if your lunch break just coming at this time, it is best to take a little nap.

Thereafter (is best to sleep a maximum of 20 minutes, if more, then after waking up you will pursue drowsiness) in your mind is free enough room for new information, because sleep helps to clear the space of any information that you get in a day, so to speak, to spread its shelves.

Important events will go to long-term memory, and minor wear out, so you wake up with a clear head.

5. Practice

Another lesson given by our biological clock - is training. If you have a late lunch, you can spend some part of it to the gym, because from 15 to 16 hours in humans better physical performance and less risk of injury. In addition, from 14 to 18 hours increased the elasticity of muscles and lungs work better than earlier in the day.

Even a few hours in the afternoon your performance of physical activity are better than in the morning. For runners, cyclists and fans of other sports endurance morning - the worst time to practice. So, if you want to train every day, it is best to do it in the afternoon, not to work.

Of course, exercise a lot of benefits, including stress relief, lifting the mood, self-confidence and self-esteem. And all this is very useful to you in your work.

If you do not have time for a full workout, you can try Exercise 7 minutes. If you go home for lunch, it's real.

6. Spend time in nature

Very soon, the weather is suitable to spend a lunch break in the countryside. Studies have shown that a walk through the quiet park helps to concentrate better and then after such a relaxing person returns to work with a new look at the problems and challenges.

On the other hand, takes a walk on the street more attention, so that a person can not relax and rest the brain is not as intense.

So, if you are lucky enough to work alongside with the forest, park or other natural island, do not miss your luck and after a meal, go for a walk. Or even take the food with them and have a snack in the park.

Another study showed that people who live in areas with good landscaping, less depressed, and feel anxious, less stressed and more quickly get out of this state.

7. Go to the cafe, catch the inspiration

If you have no way to break away from work, take your laptop and go to lunch at the cafe. There are many reasons why to work in a cafe - Great for your lunch break.

It is proved that the total noise that is always present in such institutions, a positive effect your creativity. Moderate noise levels, in contrast to the quiet or very noisy surroundings, do all performed tasks a little harder, just enough to push us out of the comfort zone and push to the creative thinking.

A further advantage of working in a cafe in the afternoon - a change of scenery, and therefore, focus point displacement and new solutions. There is even such an idea: divide your day into blocks and each of them to perform elsewhere. This helps you to get to work faster than if you were sitting at his usual workplace, impregnated boredom and unwillingness to work.

8. Posted something in social networks

What else can you use your lunch break? In order to post anything in the social network.

Studies on this subject have confirmed that the best time to quit posts - lunchtime. Office workers just distracted from their business and entertain themselves at mealtimes idle reading interesting resources.

For example, research KISSMetric found that the best time to tweet - in the afternoon or at 6 pm.

Also, for two hours in the afternoon peak of popularity falls mailing news sites and online magazines, according to study Dan Zarrelly (Dan Zarrella) of Hubspot. Following the peak observed dead zone - about 2-3 hours in the afternoon, when all the employees back to work and do not pay attention to incoming messages.

You decide what to do in your lunch break: engage, meditate, walk in the park, or post something in the social network. Experiment after which classes you feel is best.

And how do you like to spend your lunch break?