Remember those days when we used to work in our offices and thought it would be really great if we could work from the comfort of our homes. But since the pandemic has brought a whole lot of changes in our lives and made us work within our four walls we are now yearning to get back to our office workstation.
This is mainly because we don’t have a proper workstation at our home and it has ruined our body posture. Even though we are at home we can’t go all lazy, we still have to do the same amount of work and sometimes long hours with the screen which may give us a muscle spasm, pain in the back, neck or shoulders.
How can bad posture affect your body?
Sometimes we find it really comfortable to sit on our bed while working on a laptop. Although we know it is going to give pain for our body, the coziness makes us continue in that posture for a long time, maybe for an entire day.
Working from your bed not only causes pain in lower back or legs but it can certainly impact your sleep as your body starts associating wake hours with the bed, instead of sleeping hours.
It is not a matter of sitting on a bed, wherever it is if you didn’t keep your posture correct it could lead to many severe health conditions. A bad position can put stress on the spine, muscles and bones, causing pain and weakness. It can make one feel uncomfortable throughout the day.
Poor body posture can also disrupt blood circulation that can cause varicose veins. Moreover, bad posture can affect breathing as improper body alignment restricts one from breathing optimally.
So let’s take a look at some of the key rules to maintain a good posture while working from home:
Use your eyes, not neck
When working on a laptop or phone, people mostly tend to tilt their heads forward to the screen of their device. You should always keep in mind to place the device at a proportionate height with your eye level.
You can either use a monitor stand to adjust the height of the laptop or even hardcover books will help to avoid straining your neck to look at the screen.
Looking after your back
Sitting in the same position for long hours can cause pain in your lower back. So it is really important to make it as comfortable as possible. You can use ergonomic chairs which can adjust the height, back position and tilt or even cushions. Always try to sit straight, as it is the best way to support your back.
Make a 90-degree angle at the elbow joint
People who use computers especially typing for long hours tend to have elbow pain commonly known as ‘shooter’s elbow’, a case of strain caused by overwork. To avoid such a situation you have to use the magic angle which means your forearms should form an L-shape or 90-degree angle with your upper arm. If you find your forearms are too low or too high, adjust the keyboard to fix it or use chairs with hand rest to ensure this posture.
Avoid phone strain
If your job demands talking on the phone very often, then use speakers or earphones to speak on the calls. If you have to hold the phone to your ear, hold it with your non-dominant hand so you can write with other one but never use your shoulder to hold the phone against your ear. It is always better to make calls hands-free.
Take regular breaks to stretch
Do not keep sitting on the chair for long hours. You can set alarms for regular intervals like for every 30 or 40 minutes and get up. During the break, you can take a round or two of your house or do some simple stretches for your body as well as your eyes.
