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Taking regular rest breaks is probably the single most important recommendation for healthy computing.
Far from decreasing your productivity, they help you to remain fresh and productive throughout the day. They also provide your body a welcome opportunity to recover from the strain of the unnatural posture and repetitive motions that computer work entails.
Some computer-related problems are primarily due to your activity level (most RSI problems), others to the time you spend in the static sitting posture in front of your computer (posture problems), but both classes of problems are tightly related (e.g. posture problems may contribute to RSI injuries).
MacBreakZ uses a combination of the overall time that you have continuously spent in front of your computer and your activity level to determine when an appropriate time for a break has come.
The setup assistant will have created a basic profile for you that includes settings that determine your prevention bias: biased towards posture (time) or RSI injuries (activity) or a balanced approach (combination of time and activity).
MacBreakZ will suggest that you to take a break after an appropriate time interval has elapsed by showing a "The break will start as soon as you have been inactive for 10 consecutive seconds" message.

This message is transparent to mouse clicks and will stay up until you have been inactive (i.e. haven't used the mouse or keyboard) for 10 seconds. The break will then automatically start.
You can start the break immediately by selecting "Take a break now" from the "Break" menu or you can delay the break for up to 10 minutes by using the "Delay Break for 1 minute", "Delay Break by 5 minutes" buttons.
If the break comes at a particularly inconvenient time (e.g. you are working with somebody else at your machine), you can also skip it entirely by choosing "Skip This Break" in the "Break" menu.
The break will start with a number of stretches.

Stretching is an important part of healthy computing because it actively counteracts the negative effects of maintaining a static posture for hours on end. Our bodies are not built for sitting at a computer, they are built for dynamic movement. Muscular tension build up throughout the day and accumulates over many years. Besides causing discomfort it also in the long term leads to injury (backache, inflammations, etc.) and loss of mobility.
Each stretch is presented individually with some instructive notes. Many excellent books on stretching exist and we highly recommend that read you one of them. Please visit our website for a list of recommended books.
At the bottom of the stretch illustration a progress bar displays the time left before the next stretch will be presented.

After the stretches, one or more ergonomic tips on a variety of topics are displayed. These are designed to furnish you with some useful information on the dos and don'ts of workplace ergonomics.

After the ergonomic tips, a countdown to the end of the rest-break will be presented. The break window will automatically disappear after the break period has elapsed.
During this last phase of the break, we recommend that you get up and take a walk. Perhaps you need to see a colleague about an issue, or it is time for a bathroom or coffee break. There may be a paper document to read, etc. If you are stuck at your desk, perhaps you can make a phone call?
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