Too many of us have become almost martyrs for business reasons, and often boast of skip lunch because we barely have time to do it. In a recent national poll rated the Juice Bar, Smoothie King, 58% of Americans admitted that they could easily skip lunch if too busy. Lack of time and demanding lifestyle, on-the-go are often cited as reasons for skipping lunch.
In the case of workers, there also seems to be pressure to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Yes there is always an opportunity when a missed lunch is inevitable, but this should not be the norm. It is as if these days taking full time regular lunch breaks became poor work ethic. When did this happen?
Well, if you're one of the many workers skip lunch on a regular basis, I want to present you with several reasons why you should take back your lunch hour.
1. While lunch is a way to show others that you value yourself enough to take a real break and ' recharge your batteries ' so to speak. If you show others that you will go on and on about how the ' energizer bunny ', even if you are ready to drop, they can always be throwing things at you on your lunch hour. The fact is that you're not ' energizer bunny '. You need to stop and refuel. So it is very important that you train others to respectfully honor your break time.
One suggestion is to politely tell them something like, "I want to give my best to this assignment, but just don't work when I don't eat. After I had my lunch break, then I can give 100% ". Might also be useful to put a sign on your door or outside your cubicle stating "out to lunch". It may take them a while, but most people eventually the idea and give your space
2. your lunch break, makes up a small part of your work day, even less if you take only a half an hour lunch break. You have 7-71/2 hours of time to devote to work. If you can show gratitude for the 7-71/2 hours of performance and function that your body gives you, then it might not work in that capacity for a long time. A break is a way of telling your body "thank you" and giving him what he needs to work at the highest level. This is not the time to die of hunger or be on a diet. You need energy to get the job done for the rest of the day and some well-deserved "me time".
3. Although you may say, "well I don't feel hungry at lunch time," you may not feel hungry, but you must remember that lunch is not just for the food. It's gratifying to yourself and your body for hard work with a moment of relaxation and leisure, people watching, reading a newspaper or a magazine etc. Overall, it is simply withdrawn from the confines of a cubicle or workspace for a little while to remind you that there is life going on out there!
4. you're not good at yourself or anyone else when they are crushed and spent too much. Stimulants such as coffee, energy drinks and sugary snacks may trick your brain into thinking that you really are the ' energizer bunny for a while, but sooner or later you will reach with you. At some point your body will be screaming to the mountains it has had enough through signals as stress-induced health problems, fatigue and the like.
Most people skip lunch or because they feel they don't have enough time for it or are on a diet and started on a weight loss plan. But the results of skipping lunch in general are often harmful. You may feel lightheaded, usually operated at reduced capacity, you may be more irritable, and his concentration and focus may not be at their best. Also, instead of a proper meal, could have simply swallowed down a "bite" that was most likely not healthy. Later in the day or at dinner time, with your body in a real "State of hunger", exceed, consuming much more than you would, you had a good lunch or some kind of meal at lunchtime.
So you can see clearly how can become vicious cycle, all because of the commonly accepted practice of skipping lunch to work. All in all, it's not worth it, because your nutritional health and overall are goods that you can't stand to play with.