How to Work From Home and Stay Healthy

Working from home is one of the best and most freeing things that you can do. It offers you the ability to work in your own space, not lose out on time on a commute and save money traveling back and forth to an office. If you work for yourself you can set your own hours and if you work for someone else, you still have a much higher degree of flexibility. Yet one thing that a lot of people find when they work from home is that their health declines. You can go long periods of time without speaking to another person and have a very short journey from your bed to your desk and back again. If you are working from home and want to get back into being a bit healthier, we have put together some top tips that should help you along the way.

Benefits of working from home

You don’t have a lengthy commute to get to the office
You can be more flexible with your time
You save money by not needing to pay to get anywhere. This could be saved on petrol, train, bus, or taxi fares
You are in an environment without distractions so can get more done
You can work in a place you’re comfortable in and likely to be more productive

As stated above, working from home is great, but it can be harder to stay healthy. You don’t have as many chances to leave the house and it can be easy to just sit at your desk from 9-5. You might also find yourself snacking more and with the increased freedom to do what you like, you might eat worse than you would if you were going into an office. Here is how you can work from home and stay healthy:

Make time to get out of the house each day

When you work from home, it can be very easy to stay in the house from the moment you get up until the moment you go to bed again. You wake up, shuffle over to your desk and make yourself comfortable for the day ahead. You don’t even need to get dressed! While this is certainly a novelty, it’s important to make sure it’s not one that you indulge in every day. Make sure you take time out to get out of the house, even if it’s just for ten minutes. You could go for a walk to your local shop, take a quick drive somewhere, or go for a jog round the park. No matter what you choose, it will enable you to see some fresh scenery and give your mind a break. You’ll find you work a lot better once you get back!

Ensure you have hobbies outside of work

When you work from home it can be tempting to work longer hours than if you were in an office and you could shun your regular activities to work. This can leave you feeling down and not as happy as you usually are. To combat this, ensure you still do your regular hobbies that you love and enjoy. It could be you enjoy finding out about and investing in gold, you might love to paint, or you could enjoy playing computer games. No matter what it is that you enjoy, there are so many benefits to continuing to do this. You don’t want the week to pass you by and all you’ve done is work – you want to take care of your mental health and make time for the things you love as well, it will make a real difference.

Take regular scheduled breaks

When you work from home, it’s very easy to just work through your lunch break, stopping only to grab something to eat at your desk. When you work in an office, if you’re surrounded by others who take regular breaks, you’re much more likely to take yours too. You can head out with each other for coffee, or just find yourself getting up when everyone else is too. With the added incentive of the social aspect, it is much easier to take breaks. At home, it can be a good idea to set alarms to remind you to get up and take breaks when they’re needed. This can help you to avoid becoming burnt out and more stressed throughout the day.

Speak to others throughout the day

Isolation is a leading cause of mental health issues and working from home can easily make you feel isolated. Without the camaraderie of your colleagues to speak to, you can soon feel very lonely. This is why you should ensure you still speak to people throughout the day, not just on messenger services. Give your colleagues a call via the phone or video, or meet up with a friend for a drink or lunch. This will help you to offload and not feel so alone during the day, you’ll be surprised at what a difference it can make.

Make healthy food choices

Desk work isn’t known for its healthiness and it’s very easy to just indulge in snacks all day, particularly when your kitchen is within a few steps reach. This is all well and good to start with, but you’ll find you soon start becoming lethargic and unhappy, which really doesn’t help with your physical or mental health. To avoid this, do a healthy food shop where you get together a range of delicious yet nutritious meals and snacks that you can enjoy. Healthy snacks include things such as nuts and seeds which are low in sugar and high in protein and fiber.

Get ergonomic furniture to keep your posture in the best position

If you’re working from your dining room table on a hard wooden chair, you’ll soon find you pay for it with your back. Same as if your screen is too bright and your keyboard and mouse are not set up correctly. To avoid you suffering from RSI (repetitive strain injury) make sure you invest in some ergonomic desk furniture. There are desks that you can purchase which enable you to stand and you can get chairs that are specifically designed to support the different areas of your back. You can get foot stools to keep your legs elevated and computer screen covers that ensure it doesn’t hurt your eyes when you are looking at it for hours on end throughout the day.

These are just a few things you can do to work from home and stay healthy. Being able to work from home is a real privilege but you don’t want it to start taking a toll on your health. By ensuring you follow the steps that are outlined above, you are at much less risk of becoming unhealthy and putting your health on the line. Plus, the better you take care of yourself both mentally and physically, the better your working performance is sure to be and that is a real benefit all around. With regular exercise, keeping yourself hydrated, and speaking to colleagues, friends, and family, you’ll find you are a lot happier and more productive when you are working and during your time off too. Do you work from home? If so, what are some ways that you like to keep yourself healthy? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you.