Tips to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle at Work

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American works 44 hours per week, or 8.8 hours per day. Most careers today require employees to sit for long periods of time and stare at digital screens. Remaining stationary and staring at digital displays for approximately 44 hours per week can cause serious health risks over time.

Posture

It’s easy to allow a number of common posture mistakes to become a part of your daily routine. If they are not addressed, they can cause long-term problems.

1. Sitting Crossed-Legged: This position makes it difficult to sit up straight, as you are always leaned over to one side. Crossing your legs and leaning for a long period of time can cause a curve to the spine that hurts your posture. It can also cause pain and stiffness in the hips, poor circulation and possible nerve damage.
   
2. Slouching: This position makes you vulnerable to putting too much pressure on your lower back, causing soreness that leads to hunching.
3. Hunching: This position typically results from trying to get a closer look at your screen. It can cause a weak upper back, a tight chest, rounded shoulders and severe back pain.

The best ways to stop these habits from becoming a part of your daily routine is to pay attention to your desk set-up. If you’re working at a desk with a laptop or monitor, you can either lower your chair to maintain better eye level with your device or you can purchase a laptop or monitor stand. A stand will give your display height, allowing you to maintain eye level with it.

Blue-Light Exposure

If you’re one of the many that use a computer for the majority of your day it’s important to take care of your eyes and your mind. It’s common to experience side effects after spending the day working at your computer. It’s important to take breaks in between long stints at your computer and to be even more cautious, you can invest in a pair of blue-light-filtering glasses or blue light contact lenses from www.contactlenses.co.uk These glasses filter out the blue-light glare that your digital devices give off. Blue-light can damage retinas, cause headaches, dry eyes and disrupt sleep cycles resulting in fatigue.

Eating Healthy

What you eat for lunch can have a large impact on your health, especially if you’re in a sedentary position throughout most of your day. Therefore, It’s essential that you consume foods that will not only fuel you but are healthy for you as well. Working in an office setting can influence you to go out for lunch regularly, which can be hard on your wallet and your well-being. In order to maintain a healthy lifestyle at work, try to bring in a light, healthy lunch that will give you the energy you need to be productive through the second half of your day and is heart-healthy.

Office Exercise

Make some time to get up and move! Taking the stairs as much as possible is a great way to get your heart rate up, whether it’s between floors or from the lobby. Also, bringing your lunch will leave you some extra time during your lunch break to go for a walk around the city or town you work in. Lastly, stand up and stretch at your desk. You can give your eyes a break and stretch your muscles every hour to avoid stiffness, bad posture and fatigue throughout the day.

Practicing these simple tips at the office will help you feel more energized and healthy throughout the week. It’s important to recognize the unhealthy habits you fall into at work and try to combat them as soon as possible. The sooner you do, the healthier, more positive and efficient you will become in and outside of the office.