The interactive

health program for

all

PC workstations...

micr

opau

se®

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Introduction This booklet is a valuable guide to healthy PC use. Using the micropause® and fitimjob-online® (optional extra) programs will give you an opportunity to take control of your health at work. This booklet contains useful tips for day-to-day use of the most up-to-date active health promotion program available.

Contents

Why micropause®? What will micropauses do for me? First steps Hints and tips

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Contact details:

fit im job AG Römerstrasse 176/ Postfach CH-8404 Winterthur Tel. +41- 52 245 05 55 Fax +41- 52 245 05 59 info@fitimjob.ch www.fitimjob.ch

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Why micropause®? Computers help us to work faster and more efficiently, so it is no accident that we now all spend several hours every day more or less hunched over a monitor. The mouse and keyboard involve movement, but the body has to sit still for hours, which it is really not meant to do. Most staff spend the greater part of their working day sitting in front of the PC and feel how their body gets stiffer by the day. Back and neck pain are an increasing occurrence as time goes by. Stress makes us forget to take short breaks now and then, to recover and take a breath. The feeling of "burnout" is more and more common. Many people want to do something about keeping fit, but time is at a premium and there is scarcely any space for fitting a fitness regime into a busy day. Work and family commitments often leave too little room for a regular keep fit programme. The solution: dynamic breaks at work.

Source: Tagesanzeiger

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What will micropauses do for me? We call these dynamic breaks "micropauses". They may not be able to make a marathon runner out of a couch potato or cure problems which have been building up for years, but they can help to prevent them. The following benefits of regular use have been scientifically proven:

The dangers of muscular complaints are considerably reduced.

Regular short breaks reduce the risk of upper limb, eye and neck problems.

PC use with a micropause program has an error rate 13% lower than without such a program.

The effectiveness of breaks increases in proportion to their frequency - frequent short breaks are better than occasional long ones.

Users have confirmed that micropauses have dissipated their usual "graveyard shift" feeling, eyestrain or neck pain.

How micropause® works:

Different exercises (each lasting 20-40 seconds) appear on your screen at regular intervals. All the exercises can be done in normal clothing, at the workplace. No equipment is required and no sweating is involved. By the end of the working day you will have invested 15-20 minutes in your health and fitness, without moving from the PC. You will be more relaxed, feel refreshed and gain a lot simply by feeling better. Use micropause® for your health's sake!

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First steps Logging on and your personal settings You will find a regular e-mail in your mailbox (Outlook, etc) containing a direct link to your personal program. All you need to do is click on this link, which will take you straight to the micropause® website. (Alternatively, you can surf to www.micropause.ch and log in with your e-mail address and password).

First, you must set your personal preferences, such as

Frequency, e.g. every 30 minutes Exercise areas, e.g. head, neck and shoulders Reminders to drink water or eat a piece of fruit

Save your settings on the web page above by clicking on the "Save" button. You need only do this once, then you can run micropause® straight away. (Of course, you can change your settings at any time. You will find instructions further down the same web page.

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Running the program You can now run micropause® by clicking on the "Start micropause" button. Your exercise programme will be generated. A pop-up window will then appear with the message "micropause® is paused".

You can now close your browser window. The pop-up window will now retrieve the next exercise at the time which you specified and take you to this screen:

The exercises are described in detail and also demonstrated by video clip. To run the video, click on the arrow in the picture, then, when you have finished, click on "I have completed the exercise".

Important: The pop-up window cannot be closed, but it can be minimised. The program will be shut down automatically when you switch off the PC.

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Hints and tips You can select and cancel individual exercises from the "Summary". In this way you can gradually customise the program to suit yourself.

The benefits of micropauses Some users "only" have themselves reminded to drink water or to "sit up straight", e.g. every 20 minutes.

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If you are away or on holiday for a longer period, we recommend cancelling the e-mail reminder on the "Start micropause®" web page.

Support Please send questions or suggestions to: support@micropause.ch

fitimjob-online®(optional) There are four additional personal health modules in addition to micropause®: Health target, Health diary, On-line test centre and Infothek. The functions of the modules are described in detail at www.micropause.ch. micropause® and fit im job online® are registered trade marks in Switzerland and several other European countries. All rights reserved, fit im job AG - ©2005 fit im job AG offers a range of services and products associated with health and safety at work, particularly corporate seminars, lectures and events concerning movement, relaxation, nutrition and health websites for staff. fit im job AG Römerstrasse 176/ Postfach CH-8404 Winterthur Tel. +41- 52 245 05 55 Fax +41- 52 245 05 59 info@fitimjob.ch www.fitimjob.ch