9 useful tips for office workers

1. Stand up and change position for every hour you work.

For every hour spent sitting, take a 5-minute break - to change position, stretch tense neck muscles, or do a few bends. Remember that the spine likes rotations and twists. All movements that stimulate muscles to work, stretch them and stimulate blood circulation are desirable.

2. Choose the stairs instead of the elevator.

Climbing the stairs strengthens the muscles of the legs, buttocks, has a good effect on circulation and increases immunity. In addition, regular climbing stairs helps to improve general condition and fitness. If you have little time during the day for physical activity, it is worth choosing stairs instead of an elevator.

3. Take a longer break to mobilize and stretch your muscles.

In addition to short breaks to change positions, it's a good idea to find time for one longer break. Many companies offer their employees online classes, during which a set of exercises is presented to stretch and mobilize the entire body. Our body is not designed to spend hours in a sitting position, so the use of such breaks is very important. This will help avoid perpetuating incorrect movement patterns and developing tension in the body.

4. Park your car as far away from the office as possible or use public transport.

Not everyone has the opportunity to commute to work by public transportation or bicycle. However, if you can bike or walk to work, at least once a week. If you choose to use public transportation, get off a stop or two early and walk. Some people don't have any of these options - they have to take the car to run errands or take the kids to daycare. In this case, there is also a solution - park your car as far away from the workplace as possible and walk. Every time you make a change like this, your "neat" physical activity will increase and you'll be healthier for it.

5. Drink water.

During the intense work that consumes all your attention, it is easy to forget about hydration. Adequate amount of fluids is essential for the proper functioning of the body - it participates in all processes occurring in the body, regulates blood pressure and simply makes us feel good. Too little water can cause headaches, fatigue and decreased concentration, which is particularly important in the context of mental work. The recommended daily amount of fluids is at least 1.5 liters. It is advisable to start and end your day with a glass of water, and to drink water at least once every 1-2 hours during the day. If you feel thirsty it means that your body is dehydrated. Do not allow this situation to occur!

6. Say stop to sweets!

Irregular meal times encourage us to reach for sweet and salty snacks. They contain large amounts of empty calories and provide us with energy usually in the form of simple carbohydrates, which make us able to satisfy our hunger only for a while, and unused sugar is deposited in the body in the form of fat tissue. Such snacks providing us in a short time a large dose of sugar make us feel as stimulated as after two espressos, but unfortunately it is a short-term effect of insulin secretion into the blood. After a while it comes back to a lower level than the initial one, so we feel sluggish and tired. It is worth reaching for snacks which are rich in nutrients, e.g. nuts, dried fruit (in small quantities, as these are very calorific), snacks in the form of rice wafers or even small carrots. There are also many recipes for cereal bars on the Internet, which you can make yourself and have a snack ready at once, even for the whole working week.

7. Make sure you have an ergonomic work station.

Desks with height adjustment, which makes it possible to work both sitting and standing, are becoming more and more popular. Another element is the right chair - one with adjustable seat and backrest height, as well as adjustable armrests. In addition to this, attention should be paid to the contoured backrest, which is adjusted to the lumbar lordosis. The chair can be used interchangeably with a rehabilitation ball, but it is important not to spend more than 30 minutes on it at a time. A very important element in the context of ergonomics is the position of the wrist and forearm - care should be taken to ensure that they have adequate support. Inappropriate positions, such as hanging forearms, twisting or bending the wrists, can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome.

From the point of view of the eyes, it is important to position the monitor at an appropriate distance from the eyes and the image parameters. The monitor should be viewed from a distance of 60-70 cm, and the picture parameters should be set to ensure a sharp picture.

8. Take care of your eyes

The organ of sight is the most important organ providing us with contact with the surrounding reality. We usually do not appreciate it and we remember about it only when we start facing problems with sharpness of vision, dry and tired eyes or simply progressive vision impairment. While working at a computer, the eyes are exposed to many harmful factors: blue light, limited eye muscles work, and staring at the screen makes us blink less often, which in turn can lead to a dry feeling. To prevent this, it is worth using the 20-20 rule, i.e. every 20 minutes you should stare for 20 seconds at a distant point, for example at the trees outside your window. Exercising your eye muscles can also be useful: look successively: maximum to the right and left, then up and down, draw a circle and a triangle with your eyes - first in one direction, then in the other.

9.Use the phone call as an opportunity to get away from your desk and take a walk.

Every opportunity to change from a sitting position is a good one, so take advantage of every opportunity. A phone call, an urgent matter to the colleague in the office next door - get up and walk around instead of typing an email. Also, if you have the opportunity, try to stand or walk during meetings.