Then and only then consider using something like a COMMIT WORK, or Function modules SAPGUI_PROGRESS_INDICATOR or TH_REDISPATCH to reset the process timer. However, these should ONLY be used as a last resort.
TH_REDISPATCH is internally used by SAP to prevent a long running work process (especially online processes) from getting timed out.
TH_REDISPATCH is part of task handler functions. Other functions in the group like TH_WPINFO lists the work processes run on an application server in real time (used by transaction SM51). I often use TH_WPINFO to see what db activity a running job is currently doing (what we see in SM51 against a process). As SM51 access is normally not provided in production TH_WHPINFO comes handy.