Tips to Improve Your Health at Work

Ways People Can Improve Their Health at the Home Office

Description: How can you stay healthy working from your home office? You can boost your mental and physical strength in the office with these tips. Improve yourself by embracing new ways of doing things.

Ways People Can Improve Their Health at the Home Office

As more people move from the traditional 9 to 5 workday, the home office is catching on as the new preferred place to work from. In some cases, the line between life and work is increasingly blurring, leaving many at the risk of healthcare problems.

A 2017 United Nations report showed that remote workers suffered higher stress levels (41%) than officer workers (25%). Your work environment and daily routines could have a profound impact on your health, which could influence your mental well-being and place you at the risk of chronic diseases.

However, it’s not all doom, as you can customize working in the home office to get the best of your work and health. If you work from a home office, here are ways you can improve your health.

1. Build in Regular Activity 

One of the things you want to avoid while working from home is a sedentary lifestyle, which is likely if you have a significant workload and clock many hours in front of your computer every week. Decreasing sedentary time will enhance mental health and promote feelings of well-being. With regular walks during work hours, you can improve enthusiasm and relaxation. It also helps to reduce nervousness and keeps you alert.

There are different ways to incorporate physical activity into your workdays. For example, you can set up a standing desk, take a few minutes off the office to do push-ups or an aerobic exercise, or some gardening could work as well. Basically, avoid sitting in the same spot for hours without taking a break to get active. Guarding your health could be as simple as taking frequent 10-minute breaks away from your home office chair.

2. Eat Healthy, Stay Hydrated 

What you eat is reflected in your health and could be the difference between a healthy lifestyle and a series of ailments. The environment in which you work can influence your eating habits. While working from home, you can easily access your fridge and the kitchen, so bingeing can creep in if you are not strict with your diet.

Eating while distracted encourages more food consumption. You should strive to achieve mindful eating habits. Among home health care office ideas you could try include stepping away from the computer at lunchtime. If you have to eat anything, ensure the healthiest options are easier to reach, and have water in the office. Adopt a healthy diet overall as working from home could trigger you to eat more.

3. Get in Touch With Nature

Working from home means you could spend days indoors since you don’t need to travel to any workplace. This could keep you away from nature, contributing to higher stress levels. Leaving your home office desk to walk outside connects you with nature, which gives a calming effect that contributes to enhanced mental health and reduced stress. Being in nature reduces fear, anger, and increases pleasant feelings.

It makes you feel better emotionally and helps with your physical wellbeing, reducing heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension. Also, adding natural elements to your home office, such as house plants and other biophilic design features, could have the same effect, but don’t take this as a substitute for walking outside. A walk to the nearby park or the beach will reward you greatly and remove the fatigue you get working in an environment with no colleagues.

4. Schedule Workouts in the Middle of the Day

Being at home, you can create a workout plan that will help you stay fit and healthy. Find sports equipment to make your workouts easy and schedule the exercise in the middle of the day. Besides, occasional breaks to walk around, you need time in the gyms, maybe an hour every day. You could also head to a nearby yoga studio to keep yourself in the best health.

Besides building a home gym, you could also embrace going for a run. Anything that will keep you active will contribute to your well-being, and you could improve your productivity by doing exercises.

5. Create Personal Time

Too much work with no play makes your life dull. It’s not good for you to stay hooked to your office without time to explore things you love. Always working without time to clear your head will lead to burnout, which will affect your productivity. To keep your mental health in the best condition, find time for entertainment and fun activities.

Do things you enjoy to release all the stress you might have accumulated from working on some tasks. If you enjoy swimming, create time. Also, join clubs near you that you can visit to socialize with other people. Don’t be a slave to your home office furniture and work.

6. Integrate Fresh Air

Besides having calming home office decor, you also need to integrate fresh air. Bring the outdoor air in through proper ventilation. Air exchange will help to improve indoor air quality, giving you a calming effect. Embrace natural ventilation practices, which could be as simple as having windows you can open easily.

Of course, this depends on whether you live in an area that has good air quality. If you live in a place with high pollution levels, this might not be a viable option. In addition to opening your window and door, you can take short breaks to step outside and get a little fresh air. It will help you fight off stress and anxiety, improving overall mental health.

7. Practice Regular Cleaning

Regular cleaning of the kitchen, bathrooms, and other areas of your home can prevent disease transmission. It also supports indoor air quality and leads to improved mental health. Design a cleaning schedule that ensures your office and every other space in your home stays clean. Disinfect all areas to reduce transmission of diseases.

Make hand-washing a collective habit even at home. Check for things like dust in the carpets that could trigger allergic reactions. Getting sick will rob you of work hours, lowering your productivity.

8. Occasionally Work Outside

Some time away from your modern home office could prove beneficial to your mental health. Spending your days in a room filled with computer screens and fluorescent lights could trigger health problems. Occasionally, grab your laptop and find an outdoor space with a shade where you can perform your tasks. You could even take work to a nearby park, on a bench away from your office, or in a coffee shop with a calm atmosphere. This will reduce your stress and also gives you a dose of vitamin D.

9. Prevent Computer Eye Strain

Normally, you blink about 15 to 20 times each minute. This spreads tears over your eyes, keeping them from getting irritated and dry. However, researchers have found that people blink less when reading, playing, or watching on a screen. The glare and the contrast from digital screens can cause eye strain, which triggers headaches, increased sensitivity to light, and difficulty focusing.

You can prevent digital eye strain in several ways. First, keep your computer an arm’s length from your face. Use a matte screen filter to cut glare, and follow the 20-20-20 rule, which states that every 20 minutes, move away from the screen and look at an object positioned at least 20 feet away for about 20 seconds. After every 2 hours, take breaks of about 15 minutes, and if your eyes are drying, you can use artificial tears to freshen.

Conclusion

While the list is not exhaustive, it offers a good starting point to help you enjoy working from home. These home office ideas will help you stay healthy and boost your productivity. Improve your home office today by adapting your environment to be healthier.

How are you adapting your home to become a healthier place to work from? Share ideas in the comments below.

 

Author’s Bio:

Kevin has been writing content for about 3 years. He really wants to share his experiences and advice with anyone who cares about health and fitness. He enjoys helping people achieve their fitness goals with simple instructions and overcoming any obstacles on the way.