About MomentStretch

What this site is

The tools help with three things: remembering to take breaks, knowing what to do with them, and planning a working day that does not keep you in one position for hours. Every tool runs entirely in your browser. There is no account, no server-side processing, and nothing you enter is transmitted or stored, not even between visits. A routine you share is carried in the link itself, after the # sign, which browsers do not send to the server.

It is general wellness information. Nothing here is medical advice, diagnoses anything or is tailored to your health. If you have an injury, ongoing pain or a health condition, a doctor or physiotherapist who can examine you is the right source of advice.

The timers: one engine

The stretch break, Pomodoro, 20-20-20, breathing and interval timers all share the same timing code. Each turns your settings into a list of steps with a length in seconds, and the page shows that full list before you start. The countdown is calculated from the time you pressed Start, not by counting ticks, so it stays accurate in a background tab even though browsers slow such tabs down; only the chime may arrive a moment late. Pausing banks the elapsed time; skipping jumps to the start of the next step. The chime is a short tone generated in the page, not a downloaded sound, and it plays only after you have pressed Start.

Limits common to all the timers: they stop if the tab is closed or the device sleeps, they cannot tell whether you are at your desk, and they keep no history.

The stretch library, routine builder and stretch break timer

The stretch library has 29 common desk stretches, gentle movements and eye breaks in 8 areas: neck, shoulders, upper back and chest, lower back, wrists and hands, hips, legs, eyes. Each has its own page with a picture, numbered steps, how long to hold it, what you should feel, reasons to stop, variations and the sources it was written from. They were chosen to be gentle, possible in office clothes, and doable in or next to a chair. The content was last reviewed on 30 September 2026.

The pictures are drawn by this site, in code, from a simple figure whose limbs keep realistic lengths; a warm glow marks where the stretch should be felt and an arrow shows the movement. They are there to make the steps easier to follow, not to show a perfect position.

The routine builder, the ready-made routines and the stretch break timer all choose from the same library, round-robin by area: one stretch from each area you choose in turn, each added only if the routine still fits in the time. Held stretches last the hold you pick (15, 20 or 30 seconds) on each side; movements such as shoulder rolls have their own fixed length; 5 seconds are allowed between stretches. A hold of roughly 15 to 30 seconds is what the sources below generally give for a gentle held stretch. "Shuffle" changes the order within each area using a numbered seed that is kept in the link, so a shared routine always comes back the same. The stretch break timer moves one step along each area's list from one break to the next, so consecutive breaks differ.

Limits: the library is for ordinary stiffness from sitting. It is not a rehabilitation programme, has no stretches for specific conditions, and is not adapted for pregnancy, recent surgery or joint problems.

Sources for the stretches

• Desk-based exercises, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (UK)
• Sitting exercises, NHS (UK)
• Flexibility exercises, NHS (UK)
• Desk-based jobs: desk based exercise, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
• Exercises for office workers (PDF), West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust
• Upper body stretches for the workplace (video), Mayo Clinic
• Seated stretches for the workplace (video), Mayo Clinic
• Standing stretches for the workplace (video), Mayo Clinic
• Don't just sit there: exercises for the office, Mayo Clinic Health System
• Evaluating your computer workstation (PDF), Oregon OSHA, via Oregon State University EHS
• Stretching at the workstation (PDF), New Mexico State University Environmental Health and Safety
• Office ergonomics best practices (PDF), Northwest Missouri State University EHS
• Office ergonomics (PDF), University of Washington Environmental Health and Safety
• Computers, digital devices and eye strain, American Academy of Ophthalmology
• 20-20-20 rule, American Optometric Association

Pomodoro timer

Follows the structure of the Pomodoro Technique developed by Francesco Cirillo: a fixed focus interval, traditionally 25 minutes, a short break after each, and a longer break after every few, traditionally four. The lengths are all adjustable, and the presets include longer blocks that are not Pomodoros in the strict sense but are widely used for deep work. No pattern is claimed to be the best.

20-20-20 eye break timer

Implements the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes of screen use, look at something about 20 feet (6 metres) away for 20 seconds. It is recommended by eye-care organisations including the American Optometric Association and the American Academy of Ophthalmology as a comfort habit for screen work. The timer fits whole cycles into the session you choose. Limits: the rule addresses temporary discomfort from close screen work; it is not a treatment, and persistent symptoms call for an eye examination.

Breathing timer

Counts four widely taught paced-breathing patterns, one second per count: box breathing (4-4-4-4), 4-7-8 breathing as popularised by Dr Andrew Weil, equal breathing at 5 seconds in and 5 out, and a longer exhale at 4 in and 6 out, plus custom counts. Breaths per minute is 60 divided by the length of one breath; a session is rounded up to whole breaths. Limits: it is a counting aid for relaxation, measures nothing, and makes no claim to treat anxiety, sleep problems, blood pressure or anything else. Breath holds are not suitable for everyone.

Interval timer

Lays out a warm-up, sets of work-and-rest rounds and a cool-down. The last round of a set is followed by the rest between sets, and the last round of all goes straight into the cool-down. The presets are common formats; the 20 seconds on, 10 off format is widely called Tabata after a 1996 study led by Izumi Tabata, which used trained athletes at very high intensity, and the page says that borrowing the timing does not reproduce the study. The timer sets the rhythm, not the effort.

Sit-stand schedule planner

Repeats a sit / stand / move pattern from your start time to your finish, pausing for lunch and resuming where it left off. The presets show several common patterns side by side, including the 20-8-2 half-hour cycle often attributed to Cornell University ergonomics guidance, because there is no single ratio that research has established as best. What common guidance does agree on is changing position regularly and including some movement; the planner reflects that rather than choosing a winner.

Workday break planner

Places the meal break in the middle of the shift, then, in each half, uses the smallest number of short breaks that keeps every stretch of work at or under your limit, with the work split as evenly as 5-minute rounding allows. The formula is on the page. Limits: it knows nothing about break entitlements, which vary by country, state, industry, age and contract, and it spreads breaks evenly even though real shifts rarely are even.

What we do not do

No statistics are quoted that the site cannot source, no studies are invented, and there are no testimonials. Where a number is a convention rather than a finding, such as 25 minutes for a Pomodoro or 20 feet in the 20-20-20 rule, the page says so.

Corrections

If something here is wrong, please say so. The methods are stated on each page so they can be checked.