Average working hours a day is 8 hours, in some cases is a little bit more, we spend most of our day working. A considerable percentage of the population works sitting in front of a computer, which brings great benefits in the workplace, but it is not so in the field of health.
People who are seated most of the time develop a series of conditions, especially those who are affected by sedentary lifestyle, vision problems and posture.
There are other associated problems such as carpal tunnel, low back pain or even spinal disc. That is why in this blog I’m going to share some of the most common conditions that people who work sitting most of the time probably have, as well as some easy exercises they can do to avoid these discomforts.
Column and cervical
When we are in the chair of our work we tend to adopt a hunched posture which can exaggerate the natural arch of our spine, in addition to the creation of this hump, the disks of the vertebrae are worn, which are shock absorbers and allow you to release the weight when standing, when these discs are compressed they wear out.
When staring at screens, we tend to blink less. If we reduce the flickering, the eye gets a bad lubrication. This means that if we spend many hours in front of a screen, we could suffer from dry eyes.
This symptomatology occurs in young patients, since their work activities tend to be linked to the use of computers and cell phones. In this case it is advisable to take small breaks during working hours, there are also drops to refresh the vision.
Another part of our body that are most affected are the hands, the bad position of our wrist can cause damage to our carpal tunnel, which causes excessive pressure on the median nerve. This is the nerve of the wrist that allows us to have sensitivity and movement on some parts of the hand.
Carpal tunnel syndrome can cause numbness, tingling, weakness, or muscle damage to the hand and fingers.
Another of the most common problems is work anxiety, the fact that certain things do not work out well in our work causes us great stress levels which can trigger anxiety, so I’m going to leave here some steps that can help us calm down a bit our anxiety:
- Breathe, just like when we feel nervous, breathing when we have anxiety at work is one of the simplest and most effective methods to calm down
- Move
- Talk to someone
- Listen to music
- Do not rush
- Ask for help
- Don’t block yourself
- And don’t forget to smile
More studies are needed on the discomforts that are caused by sitting and not having physical activity, and how this affects our health. However, it seems clear that sitting less and moving more generally contribute to better health. You can start simply by standing instead of sitting when you have the opportunity or looking for ways to walk while you work.
About 4Geeks: 4Geeks is a global product development and growth marketing company, and all-in-between, focused on 10X ROI for startups, small and mid-size companies around the world. 4Geeks serves industries like E-Commerce & Retail, Startups, HealthTech, Marketing, Banking & FinTech and Real Estate. Headquartered in United States, and nearshore development centers in Mexico and Costa Rica. Pura Vida!
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About 4Geeks
Founded in 2012, 4Geeks is a global software engineering and revenue growth consulting firm for Fortune 500, Global 2000 and fast-growing SMBs. Provides top solutions to multiple industries including Retail, Healthcare, Banking & Financial Services, B2B SaaS, Manufacturing and Education. HQ in the USA, and delivery centers across Latin America.