Looking After Your Body While Working From Home

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Conventionally, going to work every day created a routine for staff. However, things took a turn in the post-pandemic era when more and more people started working from home. Remote work has a fair share of upsides but still comes with some challenges, especially to your physical and mental well-being. If affected, you can’t help but wonder, how do you create healthy habits? Read on to find out.

Challenges of Working From Home

There are so many benefits of working from home for both the staff and the employers. On the other hand, the change in environment and pace has some downsides that you must navigate to make remote working more sustainable. Unless you have a proper work-life balance and develop healthy habits, you will likely deal with the following issues.

• Feelings of isolation due to limited/ non-existent social interactions.
• Outside noise and distractions from people and pets around the home.
• Lack of motivation on certain days and issues with sticking to your schedules.
• Poor networking and inability to create meaningful relationships.
• There are chances of overworking since you don’t have designated breaks.
• It may affect your physical and mental health.
• Difficulty in creating healthy habits.

Tips To Work From Home and Stay Healthy

Do you enjoy working from home but feel like it is taking a toll on your physical and mental health? You need a lasting solution. You can still be productive while maintaining a healthy lifestyle as you work from home, thanks to the following tips.

Develop Healthy Sleeping Habits

Normally, you would sleep and wake up early when going to the office. You account for the time it takes to prepare for the day and commute, which means that you created a healthy sleeping pattern. However, that changes with remote work. Since there is no need to wake up early, you will likely sleep in, so you may also go to bed late.

You may have less than 30 minutes after waking up to start working, which is not ideal. Your body needs enough time to adjust before starting your day, so it is best to set your alarm and wake up early. Similarly, try going to bed earlier and create a healthy wake/ sleep routine.

Plan Your Meals and Eat Healthy Snacks

Having unlimited food may seem like one of the upsides to remote working at first, but it becomes an issue down the line. Spending all day at home with unrestricted access to snacks and other foods can lead to poor eating habits. You may find yourself absent-mindedly snacking away during work or ordering takeout, which seems more convenient than cooking.

To avoid this, you can try planning your meals, just like you would when going to the office. Meal prepping also helps you save a lot of time and allows you to incorporate healthy food options. If you feel hungry and need to snack on something, you can substitute unhealthy options like potato chips with fruits and assorted nuts instead.

Plan and Schedule Your Day

Remote working can also be structured and well-planned, just like normal office hours. When you have a routine and stick to it, you avoid feeling stressed and overwhelmed, and your productivity level also increases. It is healthier to have a general routine for the day, and you can start by keeping a planner.

This way, you know when to wake up, eat, workout, cater to your family, and handle other personal errands. By the end of the day, you can look back and feel fulfilled, having accomplished everything you set out to do. It gives you a sense of control, which is a win for your mental health.

Limit Your Screen Time

What do you do when you are done with work and are staying indoors? Maybe watch TV, go on social media, or watch a movie on your gadgets. Spending hours in front of your computer screen and more hours on other screens is harmful to your health. It can also affect your eyesight and limit your time for daily exercise and other activities. To be safe, take a break from screens and dedicate that time to other tasks and leisure activities. You can go for a stroll, play with your kids and pets, meditate, or run some errands for the house.

Get Consistent Daily Exercise

Spending hours a day at your desk is harmful to your health, especially when you don’t take breaks in between and don’t have a specific schedule to guide you. You may not even have time to work out unless you properly structure your day. If you want to stay healthy as you work from home, pay attention to your physical fitness.

For motivation, start by buying comfy workout clothes. You can do at-home workouts or light exercise in between work breaks and when done, go for a walk or run around your home. Physical activity and fresh air will naturally boost your mood and improve your performance.

Pay Attention To Your Mental and Physical Health

There are instances where employees refuse to take sick days or breaks from work, stating that they can still work since they are in the comfort of their homes. Remember that your body’s needs still matter, and you need as much rest as you can. You can always ask for a day or some time off to rest so that you come back feeling better and re-energized. This is crucial for your physical, emotional, and mental health and is the best way to give your all when you resume.

Create a Designated Workplace

Working from home from the comfort of your bed may be tempting. You can be warm and comfortable and still get work done. Unfortunately, that will likely lead to back pain, which may affect your performance. For the best results, you need a designated office space in your home, it could be in your living room, bedroom, kitchen or an outbuilding as long as it mimics an actual office space. You will be impressed by how productive you get and how your physical health improves.

Conclusion

When choosing whether to work remotely or in person, most people will opt for working from home. It has its perks, but you must be very careful because spending hours every day without a structure or breaks can affect your health, physically, emotionally, mentally, and psychologically. That’s why you need to adjust your daily routine, consider sleeping and waking up early, planning out the rest of your day, eating healthy meals, exercising before or after work, and setting up a designated office space. The more your work environment changes, the better it will be for your health.