Did you know that sitting down all day is one of the key reasons for the rise of heart disease and other fatal conditions in our society? Even if you get the recommended amount of exercise per day, have a healthy body weight, blood pressure and diet, sitting down all day increases your risk of cancer, gives you a 54% higher risk of dying from a heart attack and also a higher risk of disease in general. It shuts down the action of lipase, a fat-absorbing enzyme, makes you prone to repetitive strain injury, back complaints, shoulder complaints, neck complaints and varicose veins. Yet alleviating the risk can be as simple as an ergonomic office chair and a little distraction! Here are 8 ways you can make a job which requires all-day sitting much healthier.
1. Ergonomic Office Chairs
Musculoskeletal strain is one of the leading causes of Workcover claims. However, it can be a lot more serious to your health than just a ‘pain in the neck’ – musculoskeletal pain is also one of the leading reasons that people don’t exercise. An ergonomic office chair ensures that your muscles, your bones, and your entire body is protected from the effects of sitting all day.
2. Walking Breaks
Stretch breaks are good. However, they have limited effectiveness unless you actually get up out of your executive office chair and start moving around! Actually getting up helps reset many chemical systems within your body as well as boosting circulation.
3. Monitor Arms and Keyboard
When we can’t see the computer screen properly, our natural response is to lean a little closer. When you spend most of the day hunched over, it doesn’t matter how well designed your ergonomic office chair is – you’ll develop serious strain. A monitor arm can make the repositioning of your screen easier and save your back. The same is true of adjustable height keyboard trays, which save your shoulders.
4. Exercise Outside Work
Without breaks, the benefits of exercise can be a little limited. However, increasing your heart and respiratory rate is still vital to good health … if only because it makes you more aware of the discomfort of staying still for too long!
5. Standing Desks
You might not even need an ergonomic office chair if you can make a standing desk work for you. However, standing up to work won’t be useful for everybody, especially those who spend a lot of time typing.
6. Rearrange Your Office
Have you arranged your office so that everything you use regularly is within arm’s reach, thinking that you’re saving lots of time? You might actually be wiping time off your life instead. Spread out a little, so that you need to get up off your chair to reach your reference books, get your printout, or even answer the phone.
Ergonomic office chairs are an essential start, but only the tip of the iceberg if you want to ensure that your office job is actually healthy.
Rosier Commercial Furniture stock a large range of ergonomic office chairs, office desks, filing cabinets and other office furniture to suit all budgets. Rosier is the perfect stop for Melbourne office chairs, executive office chairs and all office furniture, check out our great site today!
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