Most of us who’ve spent long hours in the office have suffered from eye strain or tension neck syndrome. Due to the work stress and over eight hours of continuous sitting in front of a computer can wear your health down. Unless you work out in your in-office gym or eat healthy meals every day, staying in shape is challenging.
You can improve your health at work by adopting some easy ways to stay fit. These ways aid you in having a stronger mind, body, and spirit. Here are ten tips to improve your health at work.
#1 Replace candy bowls with fruit bowls
Candy bowls, snacks on your co-worker’s desk, and vending machines all add a few hundred calories to your daily diet. If you are not watchful, they’ll addon unwanted extra pounds to your body. Instead, replace unhealthy snacks with a bag of almonds or kale chips next to your laptop.
Out of sight, out of your mind! Substitute candy bowls for fruit bowls with grapes and berries. If you feel tempted by the candy dish on your co-worker’s desk, get up and take a walk. Take a deep breath, and soon you’ll forget it.
#2 Drink an adequate amount of water daily
Water removes toxins from your body. Drink eight to ten glasses of water every day to keep yourself hydrated. Get a 16-ounce water bottle to work and empty it by lunch. Set alarms on laptops/phones to refill it by 3 pm and 5 pm again. Also, eat fruits with good water content like oranges, grapefruit, grapes, watermelon, and apples to stay healthy.
#3 Walk during lunch hours
Walking helps in burning your calories and de-stresses you. Find a walking partner and walk during lunch. Inculcate the habit of taking stairs instead of lifts. It will elevate your heart rate and help in burning more calories.
If you cannot walk during lunch hours, then park farther away than usual. It’ll force you to take morning and evening walks daily. You can also schedule walking meetings and stretch your muscles while working.
#4 Eat healthy lunch at work
Sitting all day in a chair means your body does not need a lot of calories. Eat healthy lunch to give your body a balanced diet. Start bringing your lunch from home. When you prepare your lunch, you take control over what you eat.
Eating in reasonable portions is also equally essential. Instead of eating four slices of pizza, share it with your colleagues. Eat only one pizza slice and back it with a salad bowl full of veggies.
#5 Avoid awkward neck positions during long work hours
While multitasking calls with work often, the neck and upper shoulders get fixed in an awkward position. People who spend long hours talking over the phone and typing on a keyboard simultaneously develop tension neck syndrome (TNS). It causes neck and shoulder pains, muscle tightness, and tenderness.
TNS impacts your body posture and overall quality of life. Use a speakerphone, shoulder cradle, or a headset, whichever is feasible at work, to avoid it.
#6 Practice smart computer habits
Long hours in front of computers causes eye issues like asthenopia or itchy eyes. It leads to ailments like headaches, difficulty in focusing, and increased sensitivity to light. Turn the brightness down on your computer.
Take short breaks between tasks to protect your eyes. Sit straight, do some stretching exercises, and keep your computer screen at arm’s length. If you cannot read from an arm’s length, increase the font size of the text.
#7 Take vacations to recharge your batteries
Stress is a silent killer that weakens your immune system gradually. As a result, it increases the risks of other diseases impacting your vital organs like heart, liver, lung, etc. Take vacations to break away from daily work stress.
Long vacations can keep your mind both relaxed and healthy. It recharges your batteries and energizes you to resolve work issues with better focus.
#8 Avoid long stretches of working hours
Long workdays and the haste of cracking deadlines can make you lose focus on its health impacts. The stress at such a peak level affects your relationships and moods, causing burnout. In addition, it impairs your immune system, interferes with your sleep pattern, and reduces your ability to concentrate drastically.
Track your time, make precise schedules, and stay organized to avoid long stretches of working hours. Talk to your superiors and excuse yourself to a couch or private room for a bit of shut-eye. A 10-minute power nap can work wonders leaving you feeling alert and refreshed.
#9 Disinfect regularly your keyboard, mouse, and phone
Keyboard, mouse, and phone harbor viruses and germs, due to the high touch factor. American Society for Microbiology states that viruses can survive (and remain infectious) for hours to days on hard surfaces.
So, clean your desk regularly. Use a disinfectant cleaner (registered with the Environmental Protection Agency) for disinfecting keyboards, mouses, and phones.
#10 Become self-aware about your health
Being healthy begins with the mindset of staying fit. It comes when you become self-aware about your health. Understand your limits for work and exercise. Take breaks and vacations whenever necessary.
Instead of staying confined to your cubicle, grab your laptop and work outside your workplace. Sit in a park nearby, a bench outside your office, or an outdoor restaurant. It will reduce your stress level and give your body a healthy dose of Vit-D, boosting your health.
Conclusion
Always remember, your health is your biggest asset!
Staying unhealthy at work impacts your family’s health budget also. Taking prescription medicines for your ailments all the time means fixing your losses at the “staying fit” battle.
Most prescription medications do not come cheap. Further, with their increasing prices, often it can go out of your reach.
Focus on improving your health at work and start saving money on prescription medications through WiseRX discount cards. It is one of the best prescription cards in the market that offer discounts of up to 85% on your medicines. In addition, you can use it to purchase both branded and generic medications.
A single WiseRX discount card is all you need for buying prescription medicines for your entire household. You can also use it to get discounts on pet medications. Get your WiseRX discount cards for free now via Download Card, Mail Rx Card, or Text Rx Card options.