From way back in history until recent times, food was often scarce and therefore of the highest significance to us. This largely changed with the advent of industrialisation, churning out highly processed ‘convenience food’. In the UK, the proportion of total household spending on food has halved over the 60 years since 1957 (from 33% to just 16%), [1]. Food has become devalued and not just economically but also nutritionally and culturally.
Meals are often squeezed in between other activities, or we eat while busy doing other things. In countries like the UK, eating lunch at your desk is common [2]. However, compared with having a lunch break, this practice is widely thought to be associated with lower performance, as well as poorer health and wellbeing outcomes [3,4].
I suspect that most people would say that their health and wellbeing is ultimately more important to them than their work. However, our behaviour in daily life doesn’t always reflect that belief and most of us have a tendency to prioritise the immediate demands of our work [5]. I think it’s partly that we often find it hard to accept that our everyday mundane actions today may have long-term consequences for us. Yet, one of the underlying principles of the Alexander Technique is that our day-to-day ‘use’ of ourselves in all aspects of our lives will impact both our short- and long-term functioning – for better or worse. So, the more we can look after ourselves in the moment, day by day, the greater the cumulative benefit over the longer term.
In addition, there is the problem that we often act as if our mind and body are separate entities and so, for example, we believe that it’s possible to leave the ‘body’ to just get on with eating and digesting lunch while our mind focuses on the ‘important’ job in hand. FM Alexander was ahead of his time in understanding that there is no mind-body division, everything has both ‘physical’ and ‘mental’ aspects to it. So, if our belief is that the most critical thing to do right now is to finish writing that report, or give all our attention to this meeting, then our whole system will respond in accordance with this belief and properly digesting our last meal is effectively relegated to a lower priority.
Some of our attitudes to food are cultural and the UK suffers from a culture of presenteeism at work. Not only do we work hard but we feel that we need to be seen to be working. I know from my own previous career in industry how compelled one can feel to just keep working over lunch in a desperate attempt to meet tight deadlines. In Alexander Technique terms, we would say such an attitude is an example of endgaining – fixating on the goal without paying much heed to looking after oneself in the process of attaining it. Paradoxically, a strong endgaining attitude nearly always makes us less efficient rather than more. In the workplace, this is beginning to be better understood and many employers are now encouraging their workers to take lunch breaks, safe in the knowledge that their performance is likely to improve [6].
Although France is not immune to the lures of workplace food culture and fast food, it has a different cultural heritage to the UK and overall, more importance is still given to making time for eating. It’s well known that people in France work fewer hours than those in the UK and yet are more productive. It seems that some of this difference may be related to our different attitudes to meals. I have my own personal experience of this. Prior to going into industry, I lived in France and worked at a government research institute. Every day at noon, a bell rang and everyone immediately stopped working for lunch. This was provided by the institute at a subsidised rate and consisted of a three-course meal in a large, airy canteen. It took me a while to get used to this way of doing things and at first, I couldn’t understand how people were able to manage their work around the timings so well. Of course, there were experiments that couldn’t simply be stopped in mid-stream, so occasionally myself or colleagues would have to make-do with a sandwich (also provided) but the norm was for everyone to have an hour’s break for lunch. Workplace canteens have dwindled in numbers across Europe in recent decades but the UK seems the worst affected where they have almost disappeared; perhaps it’s time for a come-back? [2].
As well as other cultures, some religions and spiritual practices have a healthier attitude to food, placing more importance on what and how we eat. I would suggest that there is more than one purpose to saying ‘Grace’ before a meal. Pausing before diving into our food gives our system time to get itself ready for digesting. When we are practising the Alexander Technique, we choose to give ourselves time before acting so that we can respond in the way that we prefer, rather than simply reacting immediately by habit. Lately, I’ve been more conscious about applying the Alexander Technique at mealtimes. Not least I want to be able to better appreciate how lucky I am to have plentiful and good food to eat.
References
1. Joanna Bulman. Celebrating 60 years of family spending. Office for National Statistics, 2018.
2. Corvo P, et al. Eating at work: The role of the lunch-break and canteens for wellbeing at work in Europe. Soc Indic Res 2020;150: 1043–1076. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-020-02353-4.
3. Sommer W, et al. How about lunch? Consequences of the meal context on cognition and emotion. PLOS One 2013.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0070314
4. St Vincent’s Medical Center 2025. This is why you should never eat lunch at your desk.
5. Oliver M, et al. Understanding the psychological and social influences on office workers taking breaks; a thematic analysis. Psychology & Health2021; 36(3): 351–366. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2020.1764954
6. Safety and Management Solutions Ltd. Encouraging employees to take their lunch break.