Desk stretch timer

Pick your working hours and how often, and get the times to stand up and stretch.

Your details

Stretch breaks every 45 minutes

11 stretches

11 min away from the screen across the day

Stretch 109:45
Stretch 210:30
Stretch 311:15
Stretch 412:00
Stretch 512:45
Stretch 613:30
Stretch 714:15
Stretch 815:00
Stretch 915:45
Stretch 1016:30
Thenevery 45 minutes until you finish
Your working day09:00 to 17:30, 8 hr 30 min: a long one, so a walk at lunch helps too
Against HSE screen guidanceshort and often: in line

Stand, roll your shoulders, look away from the screen at something far off, and stretch your neck and wrists gently. A break can be other work too: a phone call standing up, fetching water.

Pain, tingling or numbness in your hands, wrists or neck that keeps coming back is worth raising with your GP, and with your employer under the display screen rules. If you use a screen for work, your employer must pay for an eye test when you ask.

The working

09:00 to 17:30, every 45 minutes

Stretches fall at 09:45, 10:30, 11:15 and so on, 11 stretches before 17:30, 11 minutes in all. Add the times to your calendar.

Four desk stretches

Gentle, never painful

Shoulder rolls, 10 each way
Chin tucks, 5 slow ones
Wrist circles and a gentle forearm stretch
Stand and reach up, then side to side

Eyes too

20, 20, 20

Every 20 minutes, look at something about 20 feet away for 20 seconds. It rests the focusing muscles.

HSE guidance

Short and often

The Health and Safety Executive says short, frequent breaks away from the screen are better than longer, less frequent ones: 5 to 10 minutes every 50 to 60 minutes beats 15 minutes every 2 hours. A break can be a change of task. The page flags gaps of more than an hour. Walk your breaks instead and, at about 100 steps a minute (Tudor-Locke 2019), eleven 5 minute breaks add about 5,500 steps a day.

Your rights

At work

Your employer must assess your workstation
You can ask for an eye test paid for by your employer
Glasses needed only for screen work must be paid for
Home workers are covered too

Read with care

What this cannot tell you

PainStretches should never hurt.
InjuryRepetitive strain needs proper advice.
MeetingsMove stretches around meetings; the habit matters more than the minute.

Questions

Common questions

How often should I stretch at my desk?

Every 30 to 60 minutes.

What stretches help neck pain from a desk?

Chin tucks, shoulder rolls and a gentle side neck stretch.

Does my employer have to help?

Employers must assess workstations under the display screen regulations.

Sources

Last checked 21 October 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we will fix it.

Before you push on

New to exercise, or got a heart, lung or joint condition? Have a word with your GP or practice nurse first. Stop and get help if you feel chest pain, faintness or unusual breathlessness, and call 999 if it is severe.