It can be difficult to keep ahead of your health in an environment where you are always rushed for time and always under pressure. The 9-to-5 working life of most people extend now well overtime, into the darkest hours of the night, and starts with a large coffee to go on the next day. While taking care of your health might sound impossible to coordinate in a busy office, there are thankfully a few easy tips that can keep your natural defenses strong and high, and save you from dragging a feverish cold all winter long.
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Fuel Your Body With Natural Energy
The human body is a wonderful machine that is able to generate its own energy from the food you eat. This is an exercise that starts from the morning and continues all day long until your evening meal. Healthy eating will naturally help your body to function at its best all day and fuel you with plenty of long-lasting energy. In short, ditching the fast food lunch or the yummy motivational doughnut in the afternoon is the best thing you can do for your body. Businesswomen who stay healthy all year long have in common healthy eating habits. You can pick many options depending on your tastes, but a good example of a healthy breakfast could be chia seeds and berry porridge with a cup of green tea to feel revitalized, or if you prefer savory options why not start with a poached egg and a warm plate of spinach? It might sound like small and unsatisfactory meals, but your body will be grateful for those. Additionally, when you need a quick pick up, it is a good idea to stay away from caffeine and energy drinks, as they will create a small boost that will leave you feeling more exhausted when it has passed. Often, this is how you land in a vicious circle of high caffeinated drinks. Stick to a glass of fresh orange juice to give you all the vitamins you need to stay awake.
Take Regular Breaks
Modern work environments consist of a digital screen, a table, and a chair. Health and safety regulations suggest regular breaks, at least every two hours, to refresh yourself and keep your eyes away from the screen. Working on computers and laptops all day is one of the most health-damaging day-to-day activities in the workplace as it can cause a variety of health issues.The most common complaints from those who sit at a desk with a computer all day relate to back and headaches and come from maintaining an unhealthy position in front of a source of light for too long. There is no way of sitting in a healthy manner with a computer. Human beings are not built to sit all day. Consequently, when you see your boss pacing up and down the office every few hours, she is not looking for someone in particular: She is relaxing her muscles and her eyes. Modern technologies such as digital watches and apps come now with a built-in movement reminder so that you are encouraged to move more often, even within a small space, which is ideal for office workers. When your body is not weakened already by the prolonged work position, it will be stronger to fight germs and infections. Remember that breaks relax your mind too. A body without stress can be strong and healthy. If you have your own office, you can also incorporate a short fitness workout to release tension in your stiff muscles.
React Fast To The First Signs
For modern workers, the difficulty is not about staying healthy at all times, because it is not possible. The difficult task for people in an office is to identify the first signs of illness or fatigue quickly and to be able to react accordingly before it gets worse. The first issue is in recognizing that there is something wrong. Often, if you lack regular breaks and don’t fuel your body with healthy food, you will develop a permanent state of tiredness and sore muscles that can hide more serious infections. Also, shortness of breaks causes stress, to which people respond in different ways. Some get a regular headache, others grind their teeth which can cause a durable sensation of a toothache, etc. So, you need to be attentive to your body as it is not easy to make the difference between day-to-day workplace health and the apparition of a new problem. Therefore, it is essential to react fast to it as, by the time you notice that there is something wrong, there is no way of telling how long it has been wrong. You will find useful to save the numbers and addresses of your medical advisors and doctors in your phone. Additionally, it is important to be aware of emergency options for all the boo-boos that need to be taken care of immediately, such as after hours dentists that are more likely to be available without waiting and the local clinic. A fast reaction can save you a lot of troubles in the long term!
Become Germ-Aware
Germs are everywhere, all the time. It’s an ugly truth that you can’t forget: You are surrounded by germs and bacteria. Your body will naturally fight most of them without even you noticing it. But there are simple things that you can do to help it:
- Take a chewing-gum if you can’t brush your teeth at work, as this will kill most mouth bacteria.
- Always wash your hands when going to the bathroom.
- Call in sick if you have a cold, a cough, or a stomach bug, as these are extremely contagious diseases.
- Don’t keep used tissues in your handbag or your pockets. Discard them at the earliest occasion.
- Don’t touch someone or stay close to someone with a runny nose, a cough, a stomach bug, as you risk catching their disease.
- Don’t share drinks or food at work.
- Don’t share toothbrushes and other toiletries with anyone else.
