As working from home has started to become the new normal, an interview I did with Andrew from CAPITAL-e Marketing & Events at the beginning of lockdown is more pertinent than ever!
Here are my top tips to keep you healthy while working from home:
1. Correct Your Posture
Remember Mum’s great advice to sit up straight? It seemed so boring as a slouchy 14-year- old (or was that just me?), but she was right!
Good posture means NOT sitting with your chin and head pushed forward (known as forward head carriage) as this causes strain on your neck and thoracic spine muscles.
Imagine there is a string coming from the top of your head and feel yourself being pulled gently upwards until you are sitting up comfortably straighter.
This small but important change can often feel unnatural to start with. I suggest starting slow if you’re a chronic sloucher as the initial difference to posture can sometimes cause their own aches and pains, but the effort to change this habit is well worth it.
2. Ergonomics set up
Ergonomics and posture are often intertwined, as how you sit, read and type can lead to the bad posture that causes so much of the back and neck pain that we see at the centre day after day. It’s important to have your computer monitor and chair at the correct height – with your arms at 90 degrees on the desk and the top of the monitor at eye level. This 3 minute video from the WSJ gives a perfect overview of good office ergonomics that most people can replicate at home – I have my laptop on an old monitor riser and use a spare keyboard and mouse that I had in the shed (can someone say, hoarder!). Here’s a picture of my set up circa March 2020 aka the longest month in living history!!!
3. Take regular breaks
If you watched the WSJ video, you will have noticed the stretches he recommended. These are a great start but also remember to get up every hour and do a lap of the house or unit, it’s a great mini mental break and also to get the blood circulating. Humans weren’t designed to sit down all day; we are designed to move; movement is important for both mental and physical health.
4. Get some exercise
Which leads to this especially important tip, exercise! One of the triads of health, along with sleep and nutrition. There has been so much written on exercise that I am sure you all know how important it is.
Regular exercise is important for immune health, and mental and physical health. Now that gyms have reopened many of you will back at your favourite exercise. But for those that aren’t yet comfortable getting into crowded situations or have never been gym goers, walking is probably the best exercise on the planet for us humans (although resistance exercise has a slightly better effect on immunity). Just 30 to 60 minutes a day can have you living healthier and longer lives. While working from home it can get you out of the house/office/kitchen (again this could just be me!).
5. Get enough sleep
Sleep is possibly the most overlooked and under-appreciated part of the health triad. Chronic diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Dementia have been linked to poor sleep. The is an impact on memory and concentration and our mental health. Most adults NEED 7-8 hours of good quality sleep every night. This is probably the most important thing we can do to boost our immune systems, so with a new virus causing such mayhem in the world – please get a good night’s sleep!
If you’d like to read an amazing and at times witty book on the importance of sleep, Matthew Walkers ‘Why We Sleep’ is highly recommended by not only me. It was on Bill Gate’s list of top books for 2019.
6. Nutrition and hydration
Keeping up a good diet and drinking enough water is something we often hear but isn’t always easy to follow. If you’re working from home, it does get tougher. The single best tip I can give you is – don’t have any unhealthy snack foods in the house. This might seem like cruel and unusual punishment but try to stick to fruits and veg sticks only.
When I had my few weeks in lockdown, I gave myself a rule that if I needed a snack that wasn’t a handful of nuts or an apple, I had to go for a walk to get it. Few of us live less than a 20-minute walk to a café or convenience store of some sort. So, it was shoes and pants on, walk, buy a coffee, then walk home. Two birds, one stone!
7. Keep your regular treatment bookings
Especially if something is hurting. Don’t miss your regular treatments if you are getting signs of aches and pains, especially if following these handy hints isn’t helping you to feel better.
Hopefully, these tips will help you to keep on Feeling Amazing. If you need advice or could benefit from seeing our chiropractor, massage therapist or acupuncturist, then book today.