According to reliable statistics, the average American adult spends six and a half hours a day sitting. Now imagine everything that has been happening with the coronavirus crisis and how we have had to spend more time at home — that means the average American now spends more time at home.
As a result of this, the vast majority of individuals that now work from home have to sit a lot more. Not only this, but they also have to sit for longer periods correctly without the aid of office luxuries such as ergonomically designed chairs as well as adaptable brands. Even for some people, before the advent of Coronavirus, they had to work from home due to the nation of their jobs.
Whatever the case may be, working from home makes you constantly sit down for long hours. As a result of this, your posture can get affected which will negatively impact your overall well-being. For this reason, under this post, we have decided to highlight as follows some tips that can help you improve your work from the home posture.
Move around often
There are a lot of things that can be suggested to help get a better posture when working from home but here, will only be concentrating on the efficient ones. To start with, the first tip that will be given here is the need to constantly get up and walk around at intervals. No matter how comfortable you feel, sitting in a position should never last more than an hour. Therefore, endeavor to stand up and walk around every 40 to 50 minutes. In addition to this, when you go back to the sitting position to work, try to reset your posture.
Keep all you need within arm’s reach
The second tip that will be given here is to learn to keep everything you will need very close to where you working position. Things that fall under this category include your phone, pen, and paper among other necessary things. Ensure that they are placed close enough to you that you can easily stretch your hand and grab them without putting yourself through any unnecessary strain.
Learn to look down with your eyes
A lot of people are used to looking down with their necks when working on a laptop or phone. You would see them tilt their heads towards the device they are using and this habit is a physically destructive one as it leads to constant physical strain. Instead of looking down with your neck, what you should do is stare down with your eyes by trying as much as possible to avoid wasting a lot of moments.
Make use of a phone headset
Some people have a terrible habit of using their shoulder to hold their phone against their ear when working in a sitting position. This habit can lead to body pain and as such, try to get a headset or headphones. In a situation where you cannot get a pair of headsets or headphones, make use of the speaker function of your phone if you are working in a quiet space and people won’t be disturbed. Even where you have no option other than holding your phone to your ear, then do it with your non-dominant hand to be able to write with the other one.
Be constantly hydrated
The importance of water to humans is one that we cannot stop emphasizing. In almost all situations, water always comes into play to help make things significantly better and it is the same thing that applies here. When you are working from home, try as much as possible to be hydrated always as it will serve as a push for you to frequently get up. Whether it is to refill your drink or to go to the bathroom, just stay hydrated.
Have breaks and stretch
Do not get stuck up for long hours sitting down and working. You should learn to have breaks at specific intervals and during the breaks, try to stretch as much as you can. Stretching is helpful against strain and pain because it helps to loosen muscles that you may be tensing up unconsciously. Doing this is guaranteed to help reset your posture.
Use posture correcting gears
There are a lot of gears that you can use when sitting down and working from home that can help you maintain a better posture. These gears function as some kind of posture corrector that will help have a more convenient posture and also reduce strain. For example, if you are making use of a static chair that is not officially ergonomic, you can consider using a cushion or towel between the chair and your bank to make things easier for you. Making use of these correcting gears can be quite helpful.
By using the tips listed above, you can work from home while still improving your posture.
