How you spend your lunch break may impact on stress hormone levels

How do you spend your lunch break? Progressive muscle relaxation during your lunchtime routine could impact on your immediate levels of cortisol, as well as your levels of long-term chronic stress.

A new study by Jarek Krajewski, Martin Sauerland, and Rainer Wieland seeks to advance knowledge of how to maximise recovery during lunch break routines, based on the cognitive-behavioural model of relaxation. According to the authors, “optimising the recovery impact of lunch breaks may be a promising path for solving problems of high stress and the resulting impact on performance, health, and quality of life” (p. 383).

The Study

With the aim of understanding the cortisol-reducing impact of different lunch break routines, the authors observed physiological stress indicators of fourteen call centre agents over a period of 6 months. The participants were randomly assigned to two experimental lunch break groups, one of which comprised a 20-minute session of progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), while the other included a small talk break instead. The PMR session was conducted via earphones, in an opaque, lockable cabin which provided visual and territorial privacy (called ‘silent room’), whereas the small talk break took place in the staff room, with three to four colleagues chosen by the employee.

The study showed that lunch break routines which included PMR instead of small talk, were associated with strong reduction in cortisol states measured after the lunchbreak, and after awakening in the mornings. An indicator of chronic stress, which “reflects more long-term psychophysiological processes” (p. 390), was shown to be reduced after 5-6 months.

Conclusions

The authors conclude that lunch break routines which include PMR may significantly reduce cortisol states in real work settings. The study also confirms that the ‘silent room’ concept suitably provides employees with the opportunity of PMR sessions during their daily lunch breaks. I wonder whether the idea of a ‘silent room’ could be a future consideration for companies? Certainly, I’d like to see further research of the effects of a PMR lunch break on work performance.

Image courtesy of Madcowk.

References

Krajewski, J., Sauerland, M., & Wieland, R. (2011). Relaxation-induced cortisol changes within lunch breaks – an experimental longitudinal worksite field study Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology DOI: 10.1348/096317910X485458