I have a little sequence, hotmail, work mail, youtube, facebook, then forum - because the forum tends to take the longest. Then I close it all down and do some work, and have to load it up again, enter passwords again to check, which I probably do once an hour. If I left it open while working, I probably wouldn't get anything done. I'm one of those people who think that Facebook should ditch the chat applet, it's a stretch to use it at work - and none of my friends realise that because they have no jobs (mostly!).
To get a proper break, you need to get away from the PC. Although, the last time I went for a bike ride, I hit a lamp post face first, that can kinda put you off!. What I do like is going from my computers to the MAME box, it's still playing on a computer, but a much more nostalgic and social thing - tend to play multiplayer games, like HyperSports and Track'n'Field to wake me up a bit. If your programming, then even having a break to play a game is still a break, it's not like typing is a strenuous activity - it's the old noodle that needs a break.
Thing is though, nobody really has a life - the most popular and socialable people I know spend a huge amount of time on Facebook. These days we should try and dispel the whole geek thing, everyones a geek on some level - if they aren't, then the chances are that they are thick.
