Micro-breaks & Stretching Exercises
Stretching Exercises
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A coaching tool (keyboard/mouse monitoring) provides audio and/or visual alerts to the employee when he or she approaches a measured work intensity threshold requiring a short micropause of a few seconds or a longer micro-break of about a minute together with an ergonomic exercise to encourage people to pace themselves while using a computer a proven method to reduce fatigue and increase blood circulation (U.S. Government NIOSH, Cornell University, UCONN and other studies). |
There are 20 orthopedically designed exercises and stretches built into ErgoEnterprise. They are designed to be followed in real time and last from 35 seconds to one minute. These stretches and exercises may help relieve many of the common symptoms you may have from using the computer without well-timed taking breaks (see Stretching Exercises Overview).
ErgoEnterprise Skins provide organizations choices on how it's screens appear to users when installed. This enables clients to determine the 'look and feel' which they consider to fit best in their organization.
ErgoEnterprise is delivered with using either the ErgoEnterprise Formal Edition skin or the ErgoEnterprise Standard Edition skin. The training coaches delivered within either skin of ErgoEnterprise can be either animated characters or actual videos of real people performing stretching exercises. Micro-breaks: The 'Micropause' and the 'Rest Break'
Pacing Tool Features:
Micro-breaks
Micropause alerts providing breaks of a few seconds Rest break alerts providing breaks of a minute or two Stretching alerts providing static loading relief breaks Methodology
Micro-breaks based upon 'activity as a function of time' Distinction between keying and mousing Senses activity pauses and resume-time after natural breaks Personalization
Easy setup and personalization with the Settings Wizard Options to 'ignore or enforce' micro-break alerts Options for visually-impaired users User Interface, The ErgoMeter
Unique biofeedback system Tray icon status indicator and menu Alert severity indicator (situational need for micro-break) Stretching Exercises
Animation for casual or formal environments Live stretching coaches for exercises Optional audio narration with stretching exercises, with mute Administration
Dynamic usage restrictions option (from healthcare provider) Simple network administration Network reporting for analysis and healthcare providers Quick Start Lesson: It's as simple as 1, 2, 3!
(Reading Time: approx. 2 minutes)
1. After installation, you'll notice the ErgoEnterprise icon (
) on your Windows Taskbar in the System Tray: 
2. The icon (
) is a strain gauge and works similar to your home stereo volume indicator. On your home stereo, when the volume is low, the indicator bars appear green. When the volume is increased, the bars start to become red. With ErgoEnterprise, instead of having a bar for the left and right speaker volume, there is an indicator for the keyboard on the left and an indicator for the mouse on the right. An increase in the number of red bars that are displayed indicates the increased need for the user to take some brief micro-breaks. There are only two main alert types which help the user take periodic short breaks of a few seconds (micropauses) and well-timed longer breaks of a minute or two (rest breaks): Micropauses: Mouse or keyboard alerts (shown below) are the first two types of alerts. These opportunities for taking a few seconds away from your keying or mousing satisfy what Ergonomists call Dynamic Loading which is the need for a brief micro-break (recovery period) that builds dynamically, depending on the pattern of rest and keying or mousing, during your time on the computer. This is an excellent time to take a brief micro-break and stretch!
| Left column displays the current keyboard alert level in red. This is level 2. |  |
Right column displays the current mouse alert level in red. This is level 4. |
Rest Breaks: StretchTimer alerts (shown below) are the third type of alerts. These opportunities for taking a minute or two away from your computer activity satisfy what Ergonomists call "Static Loading" which is the need for a brief micro-break (recovery period) that builds simply from your sitting in one place over an extended period of time without getting up. The default period of sitting at the computer without stopping, for the StretchTimer, is 30 minutes. If no activity is detected for a full two minutes, the StretchTimer will reset itself to start a new 30 minute period.
The StretchTimer (
) is your signal that, based on your recent pattern of work and rest, this is an excellent time to simply get up and stretch! 3. As you work during the day and notice ErgoEnterprise's strain gauge start to display red bars for the keyboard or mouse, try to plan a brief micro-break! This could be as simple as a 45 second stretch break. As you do this, ErgoEnterprise's gauge will return to green.
When this occurs, you have three choices:
- You can continue to work; or
- You can simply move your mouse over the flashing icon (
- You can simply take a natural break and do some other task such as filing, phoning, etc.
There are 20 orthopedically designed stretches built into ErgoEnterprise. They are designed to be followed in real time and last from 35 seconds to one minute. These stretches and exercises may relieve many of the common symptoms from using the computer without well-timed taking breaks. Whenever you want to stretch or exercise, simply click on the gauge, hit the Start button, or select a different exercise choosing from among any of the other options available.
That's all there is to it!
This unique technology is supported by substantial research which has shown that if you can remember to take well-timed brief micro-breaks, lasting a matter of seconds, strategically placed during the day, you can reduce your risks of developing a repetitive strain injury. In addition, like an athlete who paces themselves in a race, you will fatigue at a slower rate and maintain a higher degree of accuracy at the computer!
Most users, start with the default factory-shipped pacing settings in ErgoEnterprise. This is recommended for the first week at least before you start making adjustments for your personal situation. Please read the link below in advance of making changes.
What are some guidelines for adjusting the pacing engine in ErgoEnterprise?
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Advanced Alert Concepts