Whether you’re facing back-to-back video calls or just a non-stop flurry of email, work can leave you in a screen haze unless you make a point of taking periodic, regenerative breaks. As a 2015 article in the Journal of Applied Psychology put it, our professional “energy, motivation and concentration…are like batteries that periodically need recharging.”

While you can and should take breaks by stepping away from your devices and screens, you may not always have the time or the autonomy to do so. (In our forthcoming book, Remote, Inc., Robert C. Pozen and I take aim at the 8-hour workday in part because it inhibits remote workers from taking the breaks they need to stay healthy and productive.) But if you choose the right screen-based breaks, they can provide you with similar benefits as the offline variety and help you take more breaks throughout the day. And sometimes technology can also augment a largely screen-free respite. So don’t get caught in the trap of what one research team termed “screen guilt”: the idea that a break doesn’t really count unless you step away from your devices.

I’m not saying that you should just start doomscrolling through your social media app of choice, though. That won’t give your brain or your body the break from work it needs. Instead, choose breaks that do one or more of the following:

Get your body moving.

Researchers have found that regular movement breaks, which can be as short as a two-minute walk, have a significant impact on workers’ physical energy levels and comfort, without reducing productivity.

Connect you with other humans.

Yes, this works even over screens! If you’re working remotely or social distancing, the feelings of isolation can be acute. But a study of university lecturers working remotely during the pandemic found that an online “huddle” had a significant impact on feelings of isolation, which is consistent with past research showing that online networking can reduce feelings of loneliness.

Challenge your brain with something different.

A little non-work-related mental stimulation can prime your brain to tackle work challenges more effectively. For example, a meta-study of research on the cognitive and emotional impact of video gaming found that games can improve mental processing speed, reaction times and working memory. And an experimental study of 12- and 13-year-old students found that playing mental puzzles improved their problem-solving abilities.