Many of us spend at least one-third of our day and half of our waking hours in the workplace. For something that consistently consumes so much of our time, it is important to make sure it is as healthy as possible. We’re looking into 5 potential health traps at work and how you can correct them.
Unhealthy: Sitting for extended periods of time. Sitting too much is linked to many diseases including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and depression. Between driving to work, sitting for the vast majority of the work day, driving home, and watching a few hours of television per night, the majority of the American population is sitting for up to 15 hours of their day. Working out improves overall health, however it does not negate any excessive sitting time.
Make it healthy: Aside from taking time each day to exercise, become more active in your non-workout time. When you are on phone calls, stand up. Arrange with your colleagues to have walking meetings. Set an alarm to get up every hour and do a simple movement like 20 squats. Standing and walking desks are becoming more available and your boss may be much more open to allowing you to have one when they understand the health benefits, including less sick time and lower health care costs. Getting your body moving throughout the day will also help your blood get moving, helping it carry nutrients to the skin and increasing radiance.
Unhealthy: Desk posture. When it comes to sitting at a desk, especially for long hours, many of us are guilty of falling into a slouching posture. Over time, poor posture can give you back, neck, and shoulder pain.
Make it healthy: Use stretches and yoga positions to help correct the imbalance from sitting at a desk all day. Be aware of poor posture and focus on making sure your ears, shoulders, and hips are in line, with your feet flat on the ground and shoulder blades back and down. You can even bring in an exercise ball chair to help correct your posture while working your core muscles.
Unhealthy: Germs everywhere! At work, you are are constantly surrounded by germs: shaking hands with customers, parents who have sick children, grime building up on your phone, mouse, and keyboard, etc. These germs can make you sick and give you breakouts.
Make it healthy: Keep disinfecting wipes at your desk to wipe down your desk, keyboard, mouse, and phone every morning while your computer is starting up. No one wants to touch a dirty keyboard or get acne from using a grimy phone. Also keep a bottle of hand sanitizer close by to quickly disinfect your hands throughout the day.
Unhealthy: Takeout lunches and snacking at your desk. Packing lunches can seem tedious and it is easy to think “I’ll just pick up something for lunch.” Consistently buying lunch is not only expensive, but also can be costly to your waistline. You will often eat much larger portions and more calories than recommended. Snacking at your desk can lead to a similar result: when you are mindlessly eating at your desk and not thinking about the food you are ingesting, you will often find that you ate much more than intended.
Make it healthy: Meal planning and prepping at the beginning of the week can help solve this problem. On Sundays, cook, assemble, and portion your lunches into separate containers for each day of the week. Unlike takeout, this will help you know exactly what you are eating and you can make sure you are eating the correct amount. Mason jar salads, chicken and veggies, and spaghetti squash or pasta dishes are great options. Check out more healthy lunch options here. Avoid snacking by keeping a large, refillable water bottle, a mug, and green tea bags at your desk and make sure you drink a certain amount each day. Dehydration can be mistaken for hunger and the hydration plus the antioxidants in green tea will give your skin additional benefits.
Unhealthy: Dry skin. As you spend eight plus hours every day sitting in an office with heaters, air conditioning, and constantly recirculated air, your skin dries out. As the air is recirculated, its humidity levels lower, leading to dry skin, hair, and nails for you. Dry skin shows fine lines and wrinkles more quickly than well-hydrated skin and dry hair and nails are more prone to breakage.
Make it healthy: Time to bring out the lotions, mists, and oils! You can’t go into a full beauty routine at work so keep these handy at your desk. Especially after washing your hands or using hand sanitizer (keep those office germs away!) always reapply lotion to keep your hands soft and hydrated. Moisturizing mists are great for a mid-afternoon spritz to give you a dewy glow without messing up your makeup. A quick-absorbing oil is perfect for moisturizing your cuticles to keep your nails strong and healthy.
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