Stretch Timer

The negative effects of sitting for too long are well documented, which is why you should try your best to take regular breaks whenever working for extended periods of time.

One application that can provide assistance in this regard is Stretch Timer. It displays notifications in order to remind you to step away from your desk and stretch for a bit, and it runs silently in the background the rest of the time.

Once you’ve installed the app, you just need to decide how often it should remind you to take a break. You can set any interval between 30 and 120 minutes, but the breaks themselves are not timed.

After starting the timer, it can be stopped or paused at any time, either from the configuration window or by accessing the program’s system tray context menu.

The standard reminder message can be customized, and you can also determine how long it should be displayed on your screen. By default, the program is sent to the system tray when you close the main window, and you can disable the notification that is displayed when minimizing it.

A few preset keyboard shortcuts can be used to hide the main window, quit the application and start, pause, resume or stop the timer.

Aside from the fact an unnecessary notification is displayed every time you send the app to the system tray, we noticed that the program is shut down when changing the settings and clicking the OK button, although your modifications are saved.

In short, Stretch Timer is a simple app that can help you stay healthy by reminding you to take stretch breaks every once in a while. It works well enough, even though it offers a limited feature set.