Health is life and can’t be overemphasized. Most times we tend to face plenty of work at our various workplaces and at the end of the day, most people break down.
Imagine eight hours at work, with a table filled with paperwork to be attended to, or eight hours working on the computer day in day out.
You will agree with me it’s really a hard task going through this for a long period of time or best said, a lifetime.
Here, therefore, are 10 health awareness tips to help you stay healthy while going through your daily work routine.
1. Drink enough water
Drinking enough water during the day and also at night before bed helps a lot against dehydration.
Drinking an adequate amount of water — eight to ten glasses of water daily — can help keep you hydrated for a long day at work.
2. Observing Breaks
Breaks are periods set aside to refuel and exercise so as to continue healthy.
Most clerks and labourers tend to avoid break hours with the intention of buying more time to meet up with the tasks on ground; however, what about the after-effect to your health?
Your health should be your number one priority.
Taking a break from work will help you to refresh your mind.
3. Dieting
The food we eat before, during and after work hours matter a lot. Try foods with less calories, a Balanced diet will do.
Portion control play a major role here also. Most times it’s not as though you don’t eat healthy but you eat in excess portion, and as a result it takes forever to digest and leaves you in an unhealthy and weak state.
Imagine consuming too much calories and at work you sit and can’t do anything all day.
Eat good food in moderate portions.
4. TNS (Tension Neck Syndrome)
According to the National Institution of Environmental Health Science, TNS can occur when the neck and upper shoulder are held in a fixed awkward position for along time.
It can happen to people who talk over the phone all day or people who type a lot.
TNS can cause shoulder pain, tenderness and muscle tightness. “You want to avoid Tension Neck Syndrome,” says Alan Hedge, Professor of Ergonomics at Cornell University.
Always sit up right and avoid bending your neck in an awkward position for a long time duration. Try to make more use of loud speaker phones for phone calls, shoulder cradle or head rest during office hours.
5. Avoid Eye Strain
Eye strain can be caused as a result of constant use of the computer or any bright screen.
It can lead to health issues like headache, increased sensitivity to light and fatigue, according to the University of California, Davis.
To prevent eye strain, it’s advised to stay “an arm’s length distance away from your screen” and avoid squinting.
Increasing the text font size or zooming in should be best for those who can’t view the contents of the screen from an arm’s length away.
6. Work With a To-do list
With a to do list, you tend to stress yourself less.
According to an Eastern European psychologist named Bluma Zeigarnik, he demonstrated that the act of planning activities through “to-do” lists which he calls “Zeigarnik Effect,” actually reduced executive burden on the brain by freeing the brain from having to worry about unfinished tasks.
A to do list saves you more time than ever. Creating a clear (and realistic) game plan for what you want to accomplish helps you tackle your day, so you don’t get bogged down in the unimportant details that eat up your time.
Less stress and more time to relax.
7. Work out as much as possible
Work out is any movement that makes your muscles work and requires your body to burn calories.
There are many types of physical activity, including swimming, running, jogging, walking and dancing, to name a few.
Always work out to remain fit.
Exercise can increase the production of endorphins, which are known to help produce positive feelings and reduce the perception of pain.
8. Don’t over commit yourself
Avoid scheduling things back-to-back or trying to fit too much into one day.
If you’ve got too much work on ground for that day, distinguish between the “shoulds” and “musts.”
Drop tasks that aren’t truly necessary to the bottom of your to do list or eliminate them entirely. This will give you more time and a peace of mind for the rest of the day.
9. Stay comfortable
Another major stressor at work is physical discomfort.
You may not notice the stress you experience when you’re in an uncomfortable chair for a few minutes. But if you practically live in that chair when you’re at work, you can have a sore back and be more reactive to stress because of it.
Negligible distractions like office noise can cause low-grade frustration.
Always ensure that you’re working from a quiet, comfortable and soothing workspace to perform better.
10. Vacation
I can bet you smiled on seeing this, it’s like what everyone wants to hear.
Although there are many times you wanted to take a vacation but thought, “I just have too much to do.”
According to a recent survey, the average U.S. employee takes only half of their allotted vacation time.
Taking time off is good for your mental and physical health, and you can come back more productive and effective. It’s a win-win.
Take vacations serious and remain healthy.
Rounding it up
Though most people suffer a lot of stress from their various jobs one way or the other, with a proper follow up on the listed health tips above, you can be rest assured a healthy lifestyle for the reminding days of your job.