Healthy Advice for Working from Home

‍Overhaul Your “Desk”

First, let’s be honest with ourselves — our kitchen tables and couches are NOT good substitutes for an ergonomically correct workstation. If you will be working from home for more than a few minutes, investing in a proper desk and chair will allow you to minimize strain on your body. Here are suggestions for the two most common workstations:

Seated Workstations

1. Use Bluetooth, speakerphones, headsets, etc. that keep you from bending your neck.
2. The top of your computer screen should be 15 degrees below eye level.
3. Position your monitor close enough to avoid leaning forward or straining (for most people that will be approximately at arm’s length).
4. Sit with relaxed shoulders and your elbows bent at 90 degrees. Position your mouse and keyboard so that you don’t need to move your arms or bend your wrists to reach them.
5. Keep a 90-degree bend in both your hips and knees.
6. Use a lumbar roll for lower back support. If your chair has one, make sure to use it!
7. Keep your feet flat on the floor.

Standing Workstations

1. Standing workstations place different stresses on the body than sitting at a desk. So like any new activity, start slowly and progressively increase your standing time as tolerated.
2. Choose an ergonomic office chair or stool with adjustable height that will allow you to switch between sitting and standing positions every half hour.
3. Avoid slouching or excessive forward lean. Imagine that you are being pulled up by a string attached to the top of your head so that you keep your head, neck, torso, and legs approximately in line.
4. Maintain a slight bend in your knees.
5. Keep your feet flat on the ground and shoulder-width apart. Wear shoes with proper arch support. Anti-fatigue mats that limit pressure help as well.

Eat Healthy

It is easy to overeat when our “office” is only a few steps from our fridge! Having an eating plan and avoiding snacking temptations is just the start. Our bodies work best with quality food. Limiting the presence of processed foods and refined carbohydrates (e.g. sugar, white flour) in our homes helps - you can’t eat what isn’t in your home to begin with! Having fresh fruits and vegetables around for snacks as well as being part of all our meals is a great place to start.

Stay Hydrated

Just like your favorite house plant, we too require adequate hydration for good health. Keeping a reusable water bottle at your workstation is a great start - make it into a game by trying to empty your water bottle as many times as needed until you get the recommended six to eight glasses of water each day (48 - 64 oz / 1.5 - 1.9 L). Following up on the healthy eating tips above, limit sugary and caffeinated beverages as well.

Stay Active

Take 20-second micro-breaks every 20 minutes to move or stretch. When possible, taking work calls while walking is beneficial as well. However, merely walking between our bedrooms, kitchen, and couches is not enough to stay healthy. Our bodies were made to move and motion is lotion! So schedule 30-60 minutes of heart-pumping activity 3 - 5 times per week. For general health, it's more important to get regular activity than the specific type of activity - find something you love to do and you’ll be more likely to do it and therefore more likely to reap the healthy benefits of regular activity.

Stay Social

We are social creatures by design. Working from home we have fewer opportunities than before to make meaningful personal connections. So be sure to initiate (and take advantage of!) opportunities to spend time with others each day. Some ideas to initiate social opportunities include sharing a meal, inviting someone for a walk, or scheduling impromptu meet-ups with friends and family.When in doubt, if anything does not feel right with your body when working from home, contact our office to schedule an appointment with Dr. Elahi to find and treat the root cause of your discomfort!‍