9 Easy Ways to Be Healthier at Work

From inflexibility and stiffness to back pain, eye strains and headaches, spending your workday glued to your chair can really take a heavy toll on your mental and physical health. Here’s how you can fight these issues without affecting any of your work.

1. Stay Active

Take a walk while talking on the phone or take a walking meeting. This will give you a mental change of pace and some fresh air. Fidget while you have to sit at one place for a long period of time. The blood circulation is good for your health.

2. Change Up Your Sitting Positions

Swap out your everyday chair for an ergonomic chair, an exercise ball, or even a bean bag. Standing desks also help straighten your back and help with proper circulation. Being stuck to one position all day can increase stiffness and lead to chronic pain problems.

3. Talk to Your Co-Workers

Instead of emailing your colleagues, walk over to to their desks and talk. Walk to the kitchen area and chat with a co-worker over coffee. This will not only improve blood circulation and reduce eye problems, but also help you build better relationships with the people you’re around five days a week. This method has also been known to reduce tension, both of the muscle and the mind.

4. Go Out for Lunch

Although we’re all for homemade, healthy food (and we highly recommend meal planning), a lunch away from your chair and desk can be just as good for you. This way, you get to go out and pick up lunch, take a quick stroll in the park, get a little Vitamin D, and stretch your legs. You’ll come back with more energy and fresher ideas!

5. Take a Break From the Screen

Never spend the day looking continuously at a computer screen (or any screen for that matter). Occasionally, focus your eyes on something else for at least a few minutes. This will relax your eye muscles and help reduce headaches and eye strains.

6. Meditate

Close your eyes and let go for just 10 minutes. Meditation has gradually become the most effective and popular way to reduce all kinds of stress and pressure at work. It helps you stay focused and retains energy even in a stuffy conference room. Breathe in 10 times when you first get to work or when you sit down with your morning tea or coffee.

7. Hydrate

Get up once in a while to refill your coffee or tea. Make it a point to get up at least once during the day to refill your water bottle.

8. Stretch, Tone, and Burn Calories

There’s a vast range of stretching exercises you can do while sitting at your chair. You definitely never want to distract your co-workers from their work, but who knows? They may join you in your endeavor to stay healthy at work.

9. Get the Energy You Need…

…With Foods Rich in Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Consuming a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids can have a positive effect on your brain. Our body is unable to manufacture essential fatty acids, which is what the brain is mainly made up of—so it becomes important to consume fatty acids regularly. Salmon, herring, mackerel, and sardines are some of the commonly found cold water fishes being rich in fatty acids. Flaxseed and walnuts can also work wonders for your brain with regular consumption.

…With Complex Carbohydrates

The brain gets its energy from glucose, which is abundantly found in carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates are found in whole-wheat products, oats, barley, brown rice, soy, and beans, and help to reduce the speed at which glucose gets released in the body—thus helping you feel full for a long time and provide the brain with a continuous source of energy.

…With Lean Protein

The nervous system in our body communicates with each other and other body parts effectively only when the food consumed by us is broken down into small particles—which make neurotransmitters like serotonin work as they should. This is why lean protein—turkey, eggs, beans, and chicken—should be consumed regularly to keep the levels of serotonin balanced.

Adam Robertson is a professional in the office furnishings industry. He works for Allard Office Furniture, an office furniture company that has 18 years of shared experience in office desks, chairs, supplies and accessories.