How To Stay Healthy At Your Desk Job

Staying healthy can feel difficult when you are busy working, no matter what your job is. However, it may feel even more difficult to look after your health properly when you spend the majority of your day sitting at a desk, staring at a computer screen. While a sedentary job may make it a little more difficult to stay in shape or get a certain level of physical activity into your day, the reality is that there are many things you can do to keep healthy while working a desk job.

Prevent Eye Strain

One of the first things you should make sure to do when you have a job that involves a lot of screen time is make sure that you look after your eye health. Blue light from screens can be harsh on your eyes and can cause things like dry eye, eye strain, and can even worsen your vision and overall eye health over time. To help prevent this, choosing eyewear like Blue Free Optical may be beneficial. Additionally, taking regular breaks from staring at the screen to blink and stretch can also be a good idea. If you experience dry eyes frequently, keeping artificial tears on hand can help, as can using a humidifier.

Take Regular Breaks

When you have a desk job, your breaks can be just as important as for those who have a physical job, if not more so. Not only do you need breaks for your eyes to help prevent eye strain and vision issues, but you also need breaks for the rest of your body as well. Having a job where you sit for most of the day can be uncomfortable, and can cause tension and strain throughout your body. Because of this, taking advantage of breaks that you get throughout the day to move and stretch can be a great way to keep your blood flowing and reduce tension and strain.

Eat the Right Diet

When you spend a lot of time at a desk, you may struggle to burn enough calories throughout the day. Also, you may feel tempted to eat junk food and snacks throughout the day out of boredom. While it is never beneficial to eat junk food, it can cause even more problems for those that are sedentary most of the time. To avoid consuming excess calories, making sure that you eat a healthy diet at home, as well as bring nutritious snacks with you to work can be a good idea. Choosing snacks high in protein, like lean meats and yogurt as well as fresh fruits and vegetables can be particularly important.

Get Regular Exercise

One way to help make up for the many hours that you spend sitting is to make sure that you have a regular exercise routine during your off hours. Not only can this help you stay in shape, but it can also help reduce your risk of many serious health concerns like heart disease, stroke and obesity that a sedentary job may put you at risk for. Additionally, it doesn't always matter what kind of workouts you opt to do, whether you're into cardio, weight lifting, or yoga, as long as you are moving your body and increasing your heart rate for at least 15 minutes a day, you can reap plenty of health benefits. Beyond that, regular exercise is also great for boosting endorphins and other feel good chemicals in the brain, like serotonin which can help you combat things like depression and anxiety, two mental health issues which can sometimes be common in those who spend long hours at a desk.

Practice Mindfulness

Many desk jobs are mentally taxing, so finding ways to relax and rejuvenate your mind can make a huge difference. One of the easiest ways to help reduce mental strain and relax your mind is to practice mindfulness, or meditation. Meditation can not only be great for clearing your mind, but it can also help improve your ability to focus and even change the way that your brain responds to stress, as well. This can be particularly great for those with desk jobs, as staying focused can often be a challenge, and being tied to one spot for the majority of the day can be mentally stressful. To reap the benefits of meditation, practicing at least once a day for at least 15 minutes a day is ideal. However, if you struggle to stay focused for that long starting at smaller intervals like 5 or 10 minutes and building your way up can be a good place to start.

Get Quality Sleep

Making sure you get good sleep at night can also make a huge difference for those working desk jobs. Lack of sleep can kill your ability to focus, and make it harder to perform mental tasks, which are what most desk jobs require you to do all day long. To get better sleep, avoiding screens before bed can be a good idea, as can making sure that you have a bedroom that is cool, dark and quiet.

Get Your Vitamin D

When you spend a lot of time indoors, making sure that you get enough vitamin D can be essential. When you are inside for large portions of the day, you may be missing out on getting enough vitamin D. While some may not think this is a big deal, the reality is that vitamin D has a wide ranging impact on many areas of your health, from your weight and bone health to things like heart health, sleep quality, and mood. Not only can a lack of vitamin D leave you feeling tired and sluggish, but it can also contribute to mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression, as well. The good news is that it doesn't always require large amounts of time in the sun to get the vitamin D you need for the day. Often, as little as 15 minutes of sun exposure a day can provide you with what you need. Additionally, if you struggle to get even 15 minutes in the sun, vitamin D supplements can give you a boost.

The Bottom Line

Staying healthy when you are always busy working can be difficult no matter what kind of job you have. However, for those who spend most of their time indoors and behind a computer screen, it may feel particularly challenging at times. That doesn't mean, though, that there's nothing you can do to improve your health or keep yourself on track. By taking regular breaks from your desk, to making sure that you workout, eat and sleep well when you're not at work you can help yourself to feel your best, no matter how much time you spend at a desk.