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Are you working a nine to five job in an office? Or maybe you work even longer hours without taking a break? Working under such conditions is bound to take its toll, and your body must feel the effects of such hard work.
You might take a coffee break now and then, or maybe you even have a few minutes to visit your favorite online casino and play some games. But ultimately, you probably don’t have a lot of time to do something grandiose to stay healthy.
That is why there are fast and easy methods that will help you stay as healthy as possible while changing very little of your routine. Learn more about the risks of working in an office and how to avoid them, and you’ll feel your health improving soon enough!
The Risks Involved in Office Work
When you spend most of your day sitting in front of a desk, various factors can affect your physical health: bad lighting, an unsuitable chair or desk, and even your position in regards to the air conditioner can all influence your life.
Apart from that, the number of hours you sit without moving can also have an impact on your health. Various studies discovered that the longer people spend in a seated position at work, the more they suffer from health issues such as back pain. People who work more than 41 hours a week were associated with an increased risk of low back pain, according to those studies.
Another study, published by Hadi Daneshmandi et al. in 2017, claims that prolonged sitting in an office can lead to the following:
- Hypertension
- Shoulder pain
- Neck Pain
- Back and lower extremity pain
- Decreased job satisfaction
- General exhaustion
One of the main factors that affect your health is the lack of movement on your part. People who adopt a sedentary lifestyle, moving very little throughout the day, are more prone to developing said issues.
5 Tips to Follow
Although you probably can’t control the hours you work, there are plenty of behavioural changes you can implement in your daily routine to improve your health.
To help you start your journey towards a healthier lifestyle, here are a few tips you can follow:
- Change your workstation – How ergonomic is your work environment? Most people don’t even notice that their working conditions are not optimal. Pay attention to a few important things:
– Choose the right chair. Your feet should be supported, and your back should rest against a lumbar support.
– The top of your screen should be at eye level. Otherwise, you will have to sit in a bent position, which can put a strain on your neck muscles.
– Place the mouse and keyboard within reach, but far enough to allow your arm to remain in a resting position. - Change your sitting position as much as possible – Even if you’re in the middle of a project and you can’t take a break, that doesn’t mean you can’t move at all! Move around in your chair, stretch your neck from time to time, and stay active even when remaining seated. If you want to take things to the next level, you can even replace your chair with a large exercise ball that will allow you to move around a lot!
- Take more breaks – In our minds, a break lasts a long while, and you get to do something other than working. Most people take a couple of coffee breaks and a lunch break – and that’s that. However, you can take shorter breaks that last no longer than a minute or two to move around a bit throughout the day! Get up, do some back and neck stretches, or maybe even a few selected exercises.
- Cultivate new habits – The most mundane tasks can offer you a chance to create a healthier lifestyle – you only need to implement them in your routine. For example, instead of asking your co-workers to fetch you any item you need, get up and bring it yourself. Also, if you happen to use the photocopier, do some stretching while you wait for the machine to finish working. Simple, right?
- Start exercising after work – If you’re not doing it already, you should find a hobby that will force you to move a bit. Sign up to the gym, take yoga classes, go on a walk, or ride a bicycle. Anything that will help you stay active is OK, as long as you manage to keep exercising even if you’re tired after a long day at the office.
In Conclusion
Anyone can adopt a healthier lifestyle – even office workers. Small changes to your routine will help you decrease the risk of developing health issues in the future or even diminish the effects of existing health conditions.
Do you think you are ready for such a change?
