Below are some great self-care tips to try if you regularly sit at a desk (or drive) for long periods of time, whether for work, study or a hobby.

Article written by Maggie Saunders

Exclusively for energisedperformance.com

Working a desk job is harmless at first glance. Typical tasks involve reading, writing, typing, and talking on the phone—all of which don’t impose much danger on your health. However, this post on The Mirror reveals some health hazards you can experience from sitting down all day at a desk job: weak legs and weight gain due to lack of movement. Moreover, you may experience stress and burnout from daily tasks and responsibilities. These can affect your mental health and make you feel drained or hopeless about your job.

Fortunately, you can prevent these by practising self-care at work. Here are a few ways to do so.

Practise better posture

Long periods of sitting down can cause you to hunch your back and strain your neck to get closer to your desk or computer screen. In the long run, these can result in prevalent back pain and injury. This is why an essential self-care tip is to practise better posture. Not only will this improve your back health, but it can also improve your productivity by removing distractions—like pain and discomfort.

Try these stretches here, this blog also includes a link to Head Coach Kim’s Smallest Hotel Room Workout, great for small areas and limited kit! You can also book in with Coach Gail for 1:1 Pilates sessions to really target your core strength, book here.

If you can’t consciously straighten your back, use an ergonomic chair. This article by Pain Free Working informs that the best ergonomic chairs support your neck, shoulders, back, and hips, letting you get into a more comfortable position. They also encourage blood circulation by providing support for your limbs. The Herman Miller Embody Chair is a great option, as it optimally distributes your body weight to benefit your spine’s natural alignment.

Stay hydrated

When working a desk job, you may focus on your tasks for hours and forget your basic needs. In particular, you might forget to drink water regularly. Even seated, your body requires water to complete processes like digestion, lubricating your joints, and maintaining a normal body temperature.

Keeping a water bottle at your desk can remind you to drink regularly and prevent dehydration, especially if you work jobs like customer service that rarely allow you to step away from your desk. Choose a bottle that can contain at least 1.8 litres since this is equivalent to 8 glasses—the recommended amount of water doctors recommend you drink daily.

Protect your eyes

Staring at a computer, tablet, or phone screen strains the eyes. This is because they emit artificial blue light that can shut down the cells in your retina after long-term and consistent exposure, as discussed here on The Telegraph. Since staying away from screens in this digital age is inevitable, you can instead prevent eye strain and damage by investing in blue light glasses. As its name suggests, its filters can block blue light, protecting your eyes.

Still, checking if the glasses you purchase are effective is crucial since some glasses do not have filters. Those from Ocushield are developed by optometrists, third-party tested, and recommended by health experts, so you can rest assured that they’ll be effective.

Decorate your workspace

Self-care doesn’t only include physical health. You need to guard your mental health against stress and burnout, too. Otherwise, you’ll perform poorly and dread going to work.

One way to motivate and inspire yourself to do your best and stay optimistic is to organise and decorate your space. Physical clutter can result in mental clutter because it will only add to the tasks you have to finish. To prevent this, you can use storage boxes and label them for quicker access, as we’ve recommended in one of our blog posts that you can find here. Consider hanging inspirational quotes or photos of family and friends on a corkboard if your workplace allows it. If not, change your computer’s wallpaper background to something that can motivate you, like a vision board or a photo of loved ones.

Self-care at work is important to avoid health risks like burnout and body pain. Practise these tips when you go to work for a happier and healthier you.

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