Adults Need Recess, Too

News Note

By Darren Buford

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, October/November 2001.

Unfortunately, as many of you are well aware, Americans are working more and playing less. In two separate surveys, one administered by the National Restaurant Association and the other for Oxford Health Plans, 32 percent of people work and eat lunch at the same time and 31 percent skip lunch altogether; also, 32 percent never leave their place of work during the day. Much of the reasoning behind the statistics lies in the fact that many employees feel guilty for breaking. Of course this all comes at a high price to one’s health — stress. To reduce stress, vacations are essential, as are lunch breaks and walks outside the office, if not to improve work performance and comfort levels, at least for clarity and sanity.