Some 40% of the people who answered the survey don’t take any lunch break at all. Of those that do set aside time for lunch, just 30% take a full hour, meaning less than one in five respondents overall take an hour for lunch.

Neil Shah, the director of the not-for-profit organisation Stress Management Society, said: "Most people don't realise what effects they suffer from not taking a break at lunch time. In our experience, people eat lunch at their desk. The challenge is that the human brain only has the capacity to focus so long on one thing. By taking a 10-to-15-minute walk at lunch time, having a chat with a colleague or reading the paper, energy levels will be higher and you will feel less stressed."