Overview

Remote workers often sit for long periods of time without moving, even when they know regular breaks are important. Packed schedules and the lack of natural cues at home make it easy to miss opportunities for movement throughout the workday. Over time, this sedentary pattern contributes to issues like neck strain, back pain, and poor posture.

After experiencing persistent neck pain while working remotely, I designed and developed StretchBell — a browser extension that gently nudges users to stretch throughout the day. It delivers timely reminders and guides users through short stretches that improve movement and posture, all without disrupting productivity.

Timely nudges

StretchBell balances gentle prompting with user control. When a nudge is triggered, users can engage immediately, defer it, or skip entirely, creating a flexible loop that respects focus while still encouraging movement.

Stretching guides

The system surfaces randomized, desk-friendly stretches to keep movement varied throughout the day. I used generative AI (Gemini's Nano Banana Pro) to generate illustrative visuals and descriptions for each stretch.