Working from home presents an ideal solution for many women; being able to work between school hours, being at home if the children are poorly, fitting in some housework during the day, not paying rent for office space…..we know all the benefits. But how can we ensure that our home working is healthy?
1. A decent office chair to ensure good posture is vital. Spending hours on a dining chair hunched over a computer, or perched on a kitchen stool is bad for backs and necks. Invest in yourself and your health and have a decent chair.
2. Be aware of the dangers of RSI. Computers have done much to revolutionise work, but long periods of computer use without a break can be bad for backs and wrists.
3. Good light to work in is important, without it you could suffer headaches and eye strain. Arrange your working space in a room with a window where possible. Although being able to see out can be distracting, natural daylight is far superior to artificial. If you work in the evenings then good artificial lighting is essential.
4. Working from home, the kettle and biscuit tin are constantly available. It is very easy to be drinking more caffeine than you realise and snacking throughout the day on biscuits and sugary snacks. Try and set a time for a morning and afternoon ‘break’ when you have tea or coffee and drink water in between. If you start the day with a good breakfast and eat lunch then you will be less tempted to snack.
5. Have a proper break. Working from home it is very tempting to just keep going to fit in as much as possible in the time you have. Having a break allows important time to re-focus and re-energise.
6. Working at home often means sitting at the computer and talking on the phone. Exercise is vital to help keep your energy levels up, strengthen your immune system and will release powerful ‘feel good’ endorphins.
Always remember, the most important element in your busy life is YOU – take care of yourself and then you can take care of everything (and everybody) else!
6 really good points here! May also be worth getting a work-place assessment done to check that your chair, desk & computer are all set up “right”. I recently had one done and have completely changed my work set-up. Definitely feeling less strain in my back & shoulders after working all day.
some top tips – point 4 in particular is really important. I’m working with Gurgle.co.uk who have just published top tips on how to eat healthily when pregnant – good habits to get into if you’re working from home – http://www.gurgle.co.uk/articles/Guide_To_Pregnancy/22895/Diet_for_a_healthy_pregnancy.aspx
Along with proper ergonomics, taking regular breaks from the computer to do eye exercises can help prevent or reduce the effects of computer eye strain.
Our eyes and vision were designed for viewing distance as hunters and gatherers, and not for ongoing near work as required by regular computer use. As a result, Computer Eye Strain is becoming one of the major eye complaints heard by eye doctors today.
Symptoms can include increased myopia, blurred vision, headaches, slow refocusing, difficulty concentrating, neck, shoulder and back pain
Eye strain can be reduced significantly by taking regular breaks from the computer, resting your eyes, stretching and doing eye exercises.
For a demo of 3 great eye exercises by Dr. Grossman, one of the Country’s leading behavioral optometrists, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W10j2fL0hy0
Dr. Grossman also offers his free eye exercise booklet at his website at Natural Eye Care Free Eye Exercises with his 11 favorite eye exercises and acupressure eye points to massage regularly.
Finally, there is also an excellent section at his website on “Computer Eye Strain” under “Eye Diseases” that provides a Computer Eye Strain “Self-Help“ section with great tips of relieving eyestrain due to computer use.
Also, a few research studies show that supplementing with 6mg per day of astaxanthin per day significantly improved eye strain at week 2 and 4 of the test period.
For more information, go to Natural Eye Care for Computer Eye Strain
Another great article Sam. Can I use part of it over on Family Friendly Working, with a link back to your site for people who want the full thing?