List ways to stay healthy when you work at a desk

The busy lifestyle we lead can make a lot of people feel like it’s difficult to work on their health & fitness adequately. This is especially true if you are someone who sits at a desk for 8 hours or more a day. Working at a desk for long hours can make our life sedentary and can increase our risk for many chronic diseases and health problems.

Staying fit or living a healthy life combines eating the right food, getting enough exercise, and taking care of your mind. Ignoring any one of these aspects puts us at a risk. And while it may sound like a lot, it is possible for all of us to achieve good health, even if you work at a desk.

Does your job involve sitting behind the computer screen for long hours?

Are you looking for ways to fix things and stay healthy?

Here are a few crucial tips to make staying healthy easy, despite your desk job!

Watch Your Posture: Practicing good posture is extremely important to keep your body pain-free, especially if you are sitting at your desk for long hours. Constantly hunching over the desk can cause neck, shoulder, and back pain along with spine alignment issues. There are many ways to set up a workstation to keep your posture in check. Some people also enjoy working at a standing desk for working during the day, these come with adjustable heights, and so can be a great addition to keep your body posture and activity in check while working. Using a desk treadmill can be an add on to complete your daily step counts while working.

Keep Active: Keeping active is very good for our body. It is especially important when you are forced to remain sedentary sitting at your desk for most of the day. Keeping active while working on a desk is all about making smart use of your breaks and the rest of your day. It is also a great idea to get up every hour while working for a few minutes to take walks and/or stretching breaks.

Walk 10,000 Steps A Day: Walking is extremely beneficial for both our body and mind. It is a recommended habit to walk 10,000 steps a day to stay adequately active. This may seem like a difficult goal to achieve, but you will be surprised how small little measures such as taking walk breaks and going for morning/evening/night walks can help you achieve this goal. Other ways to keep active and get your steps in include walking or biking to and fro the office, parking far from the building and walking the distance, skipping the elevators and taking the stairs, walking in a safe environment while talking on the phone, etc.

Engage In Workouts And Different Activities: In addition to keeping active throughout the day, it is a great idea to do your dedicated workouts 4-6 times a week. Working out has been known to be great for both our physical as well as mental health. If you find it difficult to hit the gym, you can take on activities such as playing sports, running, yoga classes, hiking on weekends, etc. These are a great way to burn calories while learning some new skills.

Eat Nutritious Food: There is no substitute for the right nutrition. Our nutrition is what makes our body. The worst thing you can do for your body is not give it the adequate nutrition it requires. If you find it difficult to manage cooking and eating healthy food while at work, I would highly recommend planning your meals and meal prepping on weekends. Avoid eating junk, processed, and unhealthy foods as much as possible, and make sure to always eat healthy snacks. Make sure your meals have an adequate amount of protein, high-quality fat, and complex carbs, fibre and essential micronutrients to provide you with long-lasting energy and focus throughout the day.

Get Adequate Sleep: While sleep lays the foundation of our health, it is the most underrated aspect of health and fitness. We need to give our bodies adequate rest and sleep to perform our best internally as well as at work. Make sure to get in bed and wake up at the same time every day. Sleep for about 7 to 9 hours every night. You will feel the difference in your ability to function after just one night of good sleep.

Slowly incorporate the above-mentioned ways into your everyday lifestyle to feel the change. Additionally, ensuring you have a healthy environment, social life, and good support at work can go a long way in staying mentally as well as physically healthy in the long run.

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