10 Ways to Stay Healthy at Your Desk | ExpatWoman.com
 

10 Ways to Stay Healthy at Your Desk

Sitting at your desk in an office all day can often make staying healthy a difficult task. So here's 10 ways to help you...

Posted on

30 March 2016

Last updated on 1 August 2017
10 Ways to Stay Healthy at Your Desk
Staying in an office where you are crammed at a desk for 8 or 9 hours a day can be overwhelming to your physical and mental well-being.

It is hard enough that people are stuck at their desk for eight hours of the day, which equates to 40 hours a week! Add work and stress to that equation and you are bound to fall into an unhealthy cycle of boredom, discontent, and poor lifestyle habits, which can be detrimental to your overall well-being.

Stay Healthy at Your Desk

Who says that an office job has to be unhealthy? With a few simple adjustments to your lifestyle and habits, you will start to notice a change both mentally and physically.
 
Eat breakfast
It’s called the most important meal of the day for a reason. Aside from the fact that breakfast gives us our morning energy, the  nutrients that you have in the morning are important and cannot be compensated for, if you eat it later on in the day.

So make sure to eat a good hearty breakfast in the morning, which is well-balanced and nutritious! 


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Avoid empty calories
Sugar is one of the worst ingredients in today’s diet. It can decrease metabolism and be the single main cause of various diseases, not to mention its energy spikes, and oral health effects.

As much as you can, try to avoid sugar snacks, as they will help in making you feel consistently tired and physically uneasy.

Bring your own lunch
Eating out once in a while with your colleagues is nice, but don’t make a habit out of it. Make sure to make your own lunch and pack it to keep yourself aware of exactly what contents were put into your food. A healthy lunch means a healthy, happy, energized you!

Water water water
We cannot express this enough! You may not realize it, but half the time that you are feeling unwell (headache, drowsy, fatigue), can all be a cause of dehydration, a simple sip of water would do the trick to keep you back to your optimal health and, not to mention, give you beautifully glowing skin!

 

Get moving!
Don’t sit around at your desk for 8 hours, every hour or so take a 2 minute walk and get the blood flowing through your body.


Healthy habits in the office
 

Take a stand
If you can’t afford moving around because you are busy with work, ditch the chair and stand up for a while. Another alternative is to bring in a stability ball to sit on that will improve your stability, balance and posture!
 
Live an active lifestyle
If you want to be healthy in the office, you’ve first got to learn how to be healthy outside the office! Make sure to exercise regularly, otherwise go for regular walks and eat well, in order to you’re your energy levels balanced throughout the day.

SEE ALSO: How to go green in the office 

Sleep well
Sleeping early has been proven to not only energize you throughout the day, but also helps your overall physical and mental well-being.

Sleeping early means you will likely get the required 7-8 hour a day sleep that is said to be a healthy amount of rest at night. And besides, who wants to sleep late and wake up early anyways?
 
Keep your workspace clean
A clean desk allows for more productivity in your work, because it psychologically keeps you positive and motivated. Aside from that, there is always that obvious reason that a clean space is generally better for your health as well as your colleagues’.

Workplace illnesses are one of the biggest aspects of inefficiency in the work place. This inefficiency can come due to a lack of cleanliness, as a filthy desk allows for dust, link and pollen buildup that can cause a number of illnesses and other health issues such as asthma.
 
Have a good chair
A good chair will help keep your posture and balance in check throughout the day.

Upper body posture for proper sitting in the office:

  • To ensure that you have the right chair, make sure that your arms are parallel to your spine and that your elbows are at a 90 degree angle.
  • Your eyes work hard every day especially if you are sitting in front of a computer screen! Make sure that your eyes are at a resting eye-level, and that your head is straight so you don’t cause a strain to your upper spine or to your eyes.
  • Adjust your armrest so that your arms are slightly lifted. The armrest of your chair plays an important role in removing the strain off your upper spine and shoulders while making you less likely to slouch forward or backwards.

Lower body posture for proper sitting in the office:

  • Your thighs need to be comfortably flat on your chair, but also allowing for you to be able to slip two of your fingers in between the chair and your thigh. If the space between your thigh and your chair is too tight, that you are unable to slip your fingers inside, you may need to adjust your chair or raise your desk.
  • Your bottom should pushed back against the chair in a right angle, making it easy for you to bend forward and put your clenched first to the back of your calf and in front of your chair.
  • Use a cushion that allows for your lower back to slightly arch to prevent you from slouching forward. This cushion will help minimize the strain on your lower back and removes any added stress on the lower back spine and lumbar discs.
 
 

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