Monday, July 9, 2007

Stretch Break

I usually work for hours in front of my computer. Several years ago, I found an ergonomic program Stretch Break. This is an application that reminds you to take breaks and offers different Yoga-based stretching exercises -- current version 6.2 contains 36 stretches.

I like this program because it reminds me that I have to take a break, stretch, get up, move around, and drink water. It has a pleasant background music, variety of standing, sitting, and eye exercises, time-to-stretch reminder, and ergonomic information. The sessions and music are customizable. Each exercise is approximately 15-25 seconds. You can control time between stretch sessions and number of stretches per session. You can import into program your favorite music.

This year, I have Mac computers in my office and in classroom. I was pleasantly surprised that Stretch Break released Mac OS X version.

Check a free version of Stretch Break for kids. I wish 3D models for kids were more creative, colorful, and attractive, but health benefits of this application are indubitable. I would suggest having Stretch Break on all children's computers. Since Stretch Break may interfere with computer games, parents should monitor that kids wouldn't disable the program from the startup.

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