There are plenty of us doing our jobs from home nowadays. It might seem like a blessing for us, health-wise—no more getting takeout for lunch everyday or eating pastries in the break room. However, there are a host of new health challenges we have to face now that our work is remote. These tips for staying healthy when working from home should help you stay on track with your physical and mental health.
Video Summary:
Staying Healthy: Move as Much as Possible
One of the biggest problems we can run into when working from home is just how sedentary it makes us. Sitting for extremely long periods—an eight-hour workday for example—isn’t good for our health at all. Try to break up the day by moving whenever you can.
- Get out of your seat every half hour or so
- Buy a standing desk or a standing desk converter
- Take walks on your breaks
- Stretch before, during, and after work
Staying Healthy: Don’t Work Where You Exercise
Wherever you happen to be working in your home, make sure it’s not in a common room that you use for other purposes. If you can, try to physically separate yourself from the rest of the house as much as possible. You won’t feel like exercising at home if you just spent the last eight hours working in the same place.
Know and Stick To Your Limits
The temptation is certainly there to get ahead on work when you’re working from home. However, you shouldn’t allow yourself to continue working just because it happens to be in front of you. You need to take a break from work or you’ll burn out very quickly. Shut the laptop down when you clock out, and focus on the other important things in your life.
Protect Your Eyes
You’re most likely staring at some sort of screen for most (if not all) of your day. This is not ideal for your physical or mental health. If you want to stay healthy while working from home, try to give yourself a break from the screens whenever possible. This will reduce the amount of blue light your eyes absorb, which can reduce mental stress and eye strain.
Stay in Contact
Your job can begin to feel a lot more isolating when you’re working from home. Remember that many of your coworkers are in the same boat as you. Humans are social creatures, no matter whether you’re introverted or extroverted. We need social interaction to stay healthy, so don’t be afraid to reach out to your coworkers and treat them like you would a friend in real life.