Are you ready to unveil the tips of staying healthy while sitting at a computer the whole day? In the age of paperless workspace, computers have helped our work become manageable, convenient, and efficient. Today almost all offices, whether in public or private sectors, have computers that store their data safely.
Computer work requires you to sit down for prolonged periods of time. Physical inactivity through a prolonged sitting has inevitably led to serious health problems, including obesity, cardiovascular diseases, anxiety, depression, poor posture, and varicose veins formation.
Having a strong work productivity depends on becoming healthy through conscious and diligent work habits.
What are Computer-Related Health Problems?
Your excessive computer usage has a high impact on your health. While you are sitting too long and focus too much on a computer, research says 40 t0 50 percent of work productivity has decreased due to poor practices in using computers and environmental factors that contributed to it.
Furthermore, computer-related health problems often complicate your vision and musculoskeletal functions of your body.
Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS)
From the term itself, excessive computer usage damages your vision and discomforts your focus while staring at a certain subject.
According to the American Optometric Association, your poor lighting, poor sitting posture, uncorrected vision problems, and improper viewing distances are causes of Computer Vision Syndrome.
Furthermore, the common symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome are drying of your eyes, eye strain, headaches, blurred vision, and neck and shoulder pain.
Nevertheless, Computer Vision Syndrome is temporary, meaning that it only declines after stopping a computer work or using a digital device. Otherwise stated, some users may experience this syndrome and are highly encouraged to undergo an eye examination.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
In order to stay healthy while sitting at a computer the whole day, you need to make sure that you take care of your wrist, or else you can obtain carpal tunnel syndrome.
The study of Rosemont, an IL-based American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, suggests that Carpal Tunnel Syndrome takes place when tendons of your wrist swell, which apply pressure to the median nerves that run through your forearm and into your hand. Common actions that lead to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome are repetitive motions, like typing, or any wrist movements that you do over and over.
As a result, you may feel pain, numbness, and general weakness in your hand and wrist.
Moreover, everyone is potential for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, especially if you are sitting too long and working too much at a computer.
Formation of Varicose Veins and Deep Vein Thrombosis
Your prolonged sitting at a computer the whole day causes your legs to form varicose veins. Here, your blood pools in your leg, increases its blood pressure in the valve of the vein, and forms a varicose.
According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of U.S. Department of Health, you may be at increased risk for varicose veins affecting your ability to stay healthy while sitting and standing, having a sedentary lifestyle, being overweight or obese, or having a family history of varicose veins or deep vein thrombosis.
The symptoms of varicose veins include bulging, bluish veins, swelling, aching pain, a feeling of heaviness in the legs and feet, itching, and changes in skin color.
Treating varicose veins can require surgery. Elite Vein Clinic offers safe, noninvasive treatments for varicose veins that does not require surgery and gets you back up and running the very same day!
Tips on Keeping Active and Healthy while Sitting Down at a Computer All Day
1. Sitting down properly
Your neutral posture requires you to pose completely straight from head to toe. In contrast, if you sit in a slouching position, your spine sores, creating muscle tension and nerve pinching.
Hence, you need to maintain your computer’s monitor at eye level, pull your shoulders back and flat against the chair, and put your feet flat on the ground without crossing ankles or legs.
Essentially, experts also recommend that you need to use a lumbar support tool to support your upper back and avoiding slouching in order to stay healthy while sitting.
2. Stretch your body during breaks
According to Harvard Medical School, stretching keeps your muscles strong, firm, and flexible to maintain a range of motion in the joints. Otherwise, if you do not stretch your muscles, your muscles become shorter and tight, putting you at risk for joint pain, strains, and muscle damage.
During a long period of sitting at a computer, you need to stretch your body every 30 minutes to avoid tight hamstrings in the back of your thigh.
For example, you need to shrug your shoulders to avoid neck and back pain.
In executing, you need to raise the top of your ears until you feel slight tension in your neck and shoulders. Hold for 3 to 5 seconds, then slowly release the tension by putting your shoulders down into their normal position.
3. Stand up and shake your body
According to Dr. Nima Azarbehi, a Phoenix Varicose Vein Doctor, ”To stay healthy while sitting in your job, you have to put in queues to be reminded and maybe even force you to stop, stand up, stretch, deep breath, and even exercise if time allows. Movement is one of the keys to healthy living.”
As you take your break, you need to stand up and shake your body to release all the muscle tension, back pain, idle mood, and stress.
Mayo Clinic suggests that standing up for at least six hours throughout the day significantly reduces the risk of weight gain and obesity.
Also, substituting two hours of standing for sitting improved blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
4. Practice 20/20/20 rule
Eye breaks are essential when you are sitting at a computer to avoid eye strains that dry and irritate your eyes and stay healthy while sitting. Study shows that the glare, background, and blue light from your computer screen causes computer vision syndrome.
During eye breaks, you need to practice the 20/20/20 rule.
For every 20 minutes of screen time, you need to take a 20-second break, focus on something at least 20 feet away.
5. Keep hydrated
Keeping hydrated is the golden rule to maintain the homeostasis in your working activity. There are thousands of benefits you get by drinking more water every day, such as drinking water regulates your body temperature, maintains your blood pressure, helps excrete waste through perspiration, urination, and defecation, and maximizes your physical performance.
While dehydration is a silent killer, hydration supports your body’s strength, power, and endurance.
Key Takeaways
Sitting down at a computer all day should never impact your health negatively. Your wise and conscious actions will always affect your work productivity and potential.
The sedentary nature of sitting down at a computer the whole day may amount to serious health problems, such as Computer Visual Syndrome, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and Formation of Varicose Veins.
Your body needs a break.
Ultimately, to stay healthy while sitting down at a computer all day, you need to:
- Sit down properly;
- Stretch your body during breaks;
- Stand up and shake your body;
- Practice the 20/20/20 rule; and
- Keep always hydrated.
