Verified by 
It’s been a year.
I’ve spent countless hours on Zoom. You have too.
We’ve learned some things to reduce Zoom fatigue:
- Minimize that picture of yourself so you don’t self-monitor.
- Only look at the speaker. You can’t make intense eye contact with a whole bunch of people all day long.
- Back up and look out the window to rest your eyes.
- Get decent speakers/headphones so you don’t strain to hear.
We’ve also learned some new vocabulary. Starting with the word ‘Zoom.’ A year ago I was like the only person in the room who used Zoom. Now we’re Zooming through our workday, hanging out in Zoom rooms and Zoom classes, and have mastered the art of the screen share.
And then there’s the ‘body break.' That’s what more delicate folk used to call ‘powdering their nose’ or ‘visiting the restroom.’ For long meetings, we schedule in ‘body breaks’ so people can make a fast coffee run and empty out the coffee from the hour before. I had two students today tell me they had to leave class for a 'body break.'
That got me thinking.
A real body break.
Last summer I spent five days, eight hours a day in a Zoom workshop. We started at 8 a.m. We finished at 5. We took an hour break for lunch (sometimes).
What I want to write about today are the body breaks we took.
These were not bathroom breaks—although obviously we had those too. These were actual breaks to rest and restore our body. We did them religiously every 90 minutes. Together. With a leader. They were immensely helpful to all of us.
And I want to recommend that you include them in your daily Zoom routine—either during long sessions or between sessions. I use them in long lab sessions when teaching. They help a lot.
The goal: The goal of a body break is to release the tension you get from:
- Sitting in the same position for long hours, essentially without moving.
- Not blinking enough because you’re staring at a screen.
- Keeping your face composed because there is a screen-full of faces staring at you.
Start with the basics:
- Gently swivel your head around on your neck. I just did—and heard a lot of pops and creaks. Change directions. Rock it back and forth.
- Now keep your head still and wiggle your shoulders. Up and down. Back and forth. Do a little shimmy! That sends a little rush of tension relief back up my neck. In fact, I’m going to wiggle my neck a little again because it’s feeling looser already.
Let’s work on your face.
Faces have many muscles in them—all of which you’re engaging while looking at that screen. Let’s give them a little break.
- Relax your jaw, letting your mouth drop open just a bit. Touch the tongue to the roof of your mouth. Breathe out and feel that breath rolling down your shoulders and upper body.
- Puff out your cheeks! Now yawn. Notice how relaxing your mouth and jaw travels all the way down your back?
- Now take your fingertips and gently tap them on your cheekbones. I like moving them gently from my nose out towards my ear and back. It’s interesting how every place I tape releases a completely different sensation.
Now stand, wiggle your hips, walk around and give those arms a swing.
THAT is a body break. Just a little one. Just a minute or two long. And one you definitely want to be working into your meetings every few hours.
And yeah, I do those facial ones in front of my class. I look like a fool—and so do they. But our eyes are closed, you can turn your camera off, and all of us feel better and more ready to work again when we’re done.
