What if Adults Had Recess?

By Tara Fitzgerald

Each month The Story of Us features different changemakers on The Leader Path sharing their unique voice and perspective to positively impact the narrative we consume each day in the media. Today's author is AMPLIFY Artist of Impact, Tara Fitzgerald who invites us to remember that kids stories aren't just for young people. Through the eyes and ears of a child, we can all remember some of the simplest messages that mean so much.

Tara Fitzgerald has worked in community and public health since 2005. Tara is boldly curious, and committed to a health-systems approach that strengthens the well-being of the whole population. She believes we can best support, protect and strengthen our communities by increasing and sustaining the resources dedicated to addressing inequities in health. Tara works as a Director of Public Health, with Island Health (the health authority on Vancouver Island). Lately, what excites her is developing her voice as a writer, weaving in her personal experiences with her professional learnings. The beat of Tara's drum, and the story she wants to tell, is about raising two strong little girls (who happen to be twins), in these complex times.

What if Adults Had Recess?

Some of the most interesting and thought-provoking conversations in my day happen around the breakfast table with my daughters, twins of age 8. We bought the girls smart watches for their birthday this year; - they are now pumped to take pictures, play games, and track their activity every day. This morning my daughter Stella was saying that she gets the most activity points during recess and complained that they have to sit at desks in school for most of the day.

Stella said “I wish we could play all day and never had to sit at our desks”.

To which I responded: “Well, can you imagine a day when you have to sit at your desk all day without ANY recess? Adults don’t even get recess.”.

My daughter was honestly shocked and appalled at contemplating a day without the opportunity to run around, play and enjoy the fresh air.

“But Mommy - what if adults did have recess? Wouldn’t your day be better?”

I allowed myself a few minutes to consider this…

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We could ‘get the issues out of our tissues’ (not be so exhausted)

Kids burst out of their classrooms and into the fresh air where they get to run and play, chasing each other and making (and breaking) their own rules. Recess is a way to recharge and revitalize. While we all want to be diligent and productive employees, being plugged in all day without a break drains our energy. Contrary to popular and entrenched beliefs that grit and resilience are fostered by “sticking it out”, Jim Loehr and and Tony Schwartz tell us that resilience is about how we recharge, not how we endure. Basically, we should try really hard, stop, recover, and then try again. We are not as effective when we don’t take rest periods and 12 hour zoom sessions with back to back meetings are costing us big time (our health, wellness, focus, efficiency).

Rest makes us our best

I don’t know about you, but my work life over the past few years has felt like a tabata workout without the rest periods. Although my work day includes zero physical activity, it’s incredibly draining because of the stress due to constant back to back meetings on a variety of high priority (and high pressure) topics. The constant back-to-back meetings leave me feeling drained, ineffective, and frustrated. At the end of the day, I often feel like I’ve just stepped off a rollercoaster (without the exhilaration), and I am unsure what I’ve really accomplished.

It’s not just me. Microsoft research shows us the difference in our brain activity between a day filled with back to back meetings and one with small breaks. In the diagram below, the build-up of stress is visually demonstrated with all the red and yellow hot-spots. In contrast, the brain given breaks appears less stressed. And, as we can all imagine, this person is also probably less frazzled, fatigued, and frustrated and likely makes better decisions. It’s nearly impossible to be at your best when your brain is so overwhelmed.

The consequences of jam packed schedules with back to back meetings aren’t just in the moment or the day either. Loehr and Schwartz write, “If you have too much time in the performance zone, you need more time in the recovery zone, otherwise you risk burnout”. Said simply, brain science research clearly supports my kids’ strong opinions: adults need recess too.

‘Sitting is the new smoking’

It is widely known and accepted that smoking is linked with an increased likelihood of cardiovascular disease. While smoking is far less prevalent now than it was in the past due to solid public health messaging and restrictions; it seems that sitting has replaced smoking as a major cardiovascular risk. An analysis found that those who sat for more than eight hours a day with no physical activity had a similar risk of dying to the risks posed by obesity and smoking.

As an office worker bound to my desk in endless zoom meetings, I rush off to the gym most evenings. I like to think that closing off a busy, stressful day with an extra hard workout is some sort of redemption for being so sedentary, but unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. We can’t do one hour of exercise to undo 8-10 hours of being completely sedentary. We need to move more throughout the day. In my job, I sit on my tush all day with my eyes glued to a screen, yet having done nothing physical, I still feel completely exhausted.

NEAT (non exercise thermogenesis) is the energy we burn for everything that isn’t sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise. NEAT is an important way to measure our overall health. When we increase NEAT, we keep our metabolisms high, promote cardiovascular health, maintain muscle conditioning, and support a healthy weight. In my case, while my fitness is pretty good, my NEAT is absolutely dismal. Sure, I can spend 60 minutes hammering out burpees, pushups and squats, but after a full day of sitting at my desk, an hour of sweating hardly compensates. If adults had recess, my NEAT would be higher simply because I’d be moving more and overall, way more healthy.

The benefits of unstructured time: Me-time or We-Time

For kids, recess is 20 minutes of unstructured social interactions and full on play. My kids work on their social skills by playing games and chatting with kids not in their class. Imagine a workplace where we all went outside at the same time and engaged in unstructured play. How much fun might that be? We would surely get to know each other better, as humans, beyond our work roles.

Or - we can use recess to have some precious me-time, grasping some quiet time alone. As a parent of young kids with a jam-packed work schedule, me-time is sacred and rare. Recess could offer a few minutes of desperately needed me-time.

“Mommy, why don’t you take recess?” my daughter asked.

I literally had no acceptable answer to explain why I eat lunch at my computer and never go outside. Any answer that came to mind just sounded pathetic so I said, “Great idea, sweetheart, I’m going to take recess this week”.

Recess, recharging and resilience

True to my promise to my daughter, over the last few weeks, I’ve been trying to take recess by going for a mid-day walk, pushing away from my desk and screen intermittently to shift my mindset. For me, recess started with going for a daily walk and, over time, I played with doing errands at lunch rather than in evening, or chatting with a friend or my mom while outside. While it wasn’t always the same, recess always included a screen break and unstructured me time.

So what did I learn?

Getting outdoors for a quick walk allows me to work through my thoughts
Getting out for a walk, no matter how long or short, prompts me to think more creatively
My work day feels easier when I take a few minutes to appreciate flowers starting to bloom, the peaceful sound of rain, or the gentle breeze ruffling the trees
A quick chat about the weather with someone walking their dog reminds me that we are lucky to see the sun and that every day is a gift
Breathing in fresh air calms my overwhelmed nervous system and helps me feel more prepared for the rest of the day
Adding in break time actually makes me more organized, productive and better able to manage my work time
I was more active and took more steps each day than usual. Like, waaay more.
When I took a break at work, my attitude going home was way more positive. I’m sure my kids noticed that too.

While I thought I was using my time to get ahead on work, I realized that I was missing out on life. At first, I felt guilty stepping away from work. But, after a few days, the guilt passed and I was just left with a deep sense of disappointment that I hadn’t done this sooner and gratitude for my daughter’s prompt.

During recess, I often have brief social interactions that shift my mindset into a more positive, productive space. Taking a brief break from work makes me a more productive, efficient, empathetic, creative employee and leader. Recess promotes my resilience and helps me be a better version of myself at work and, importantly, at home too. These sensory breaks away from screens (and ideally outdoors) make me a healthier person, more productive employee, and more engaged parent. And, at the end of the day, that’s what really matters.

An Invitation to You

My experiment has shifted into a new approach to work and I’d encourage you to do the same. Whether you work in an office setting or a home environment, it’s critical to provide yourself permission to have recess. Whatever strategy you use, be vigilant and fiercely protective of it. Regard it as YOUR TIME (because it is):

Block time in your calendar and program a reminder
Set your phone on to airplane mode or DND
Move away from your screens (big and small)
Get out of the break room and get into the fresh air
When you head back to work, consider a standing desk so you’re not sitting all day

As the pandemic grinds to a halt and more people are called back to the office, my hope is that we can hardwire some of these unintended positive benefits - like remote working and walking meetings into our daily rhythm. For me, I am committing to standing rather than sitting, taking walks, unplugging from my screens at least once a day, setting and protecting boundaries to help me recharge. I hope that we can continue to identify and protect opportunities to not only have recess but also recharge. As adults we really need this, our kids are counting on us because if we burn out at work, it follows us home.

Take it from me, I’ve been there and now I’m listening to my daughter and committing to recess.

Tara Fitzgerald is a health equity advocate on BC’s Vancouver Island. She resides on the traditional territories of the Ligwiłda’xw people; the We Wai Kai, Wei Wai Kum and Kwiakah First Nations. Vancouver Island’s Campbell River is where she calls home. She moved here six years ago from Treaty One Territory - Winnipeg Manitoba. Her partner’s grandmother and mother are proud members of the Snuneymuxw Nation of the Coast Salish People and their children self-identify as First Nations. Tara is currently in the process of creating a collection of children's stories that invites us to remember there is much to learn through the experiences of a child.