8 Manageable Ways to Be Healthier at Work

Are you feeling tired or worn out easily in the afternoon? Do you go home with headaches, back aches, or other muscle pain? It might be one of two reasons. Either it’s from your job or it’s time to work on healthier habits at work.

If it’s time for a job change, check out our job board for new opportunities. If it’s time to develop healthier habits, follow these tips.

Drink More Water

You may have heard this tip time and time again. It’s important! A big sign of dehydration is fatigue and low energy. Being hydrated will boost your productivity and help you focus. Dehydration can also cause headaches and other pains in your body at the end of the day. To help you drink more water, set goals for yourself. Bring a 16-ounce water bottle to drink by lunch time. Fill it up, finish that by 3p.m., and repeat to finish your 3rd water bottle by 5p.m. This will help you keep track of your water.

Take the Stairs

A set of stairs isn’t enough to burn calories for the day, but if you start your day taking the stairs in the morning, it will get your heart working harder and improve your circulation for the day. Tip: Taking one step at a time is more effective than two at a time.

Snack Healthier

Ditch the junk food. The contents of most junk food affect your mood and make you feel more tired than you already are. Bring in fresh fruit or vegetables to snack on when you get hungry instead. Not only will you be healthier, but you will feel more refreshed.

Big Breakfast, Smaller Lunch

For all of you “no breakfast eaters,” it’s so important that you change this habit. Eating breakfast kickstarts your metabolism for the day. You’ll maintain a healthy weight and feel much less groggy. You should also consider portioning out your meals. Your breakfast should be big and high in protein. Your lunch should be smaller than your breakfast and your dinner should be the smallest meal. You don’t have to stick with boring salad to eat healthier. As long as you maintain a smaller portion, you won’t feel that tired 2 p.m. feeling. For example, instead of two slices of that greasy delicious pizza, try one slice and some vegetables.

Stretch More Often

If you work a desk job, it’s important that you get up and stretch throughout the day. Sitting for long periods of time affects your whole body. Stand up and stretch your legs every half hour or so. Stretch your arms, neck, and shoulders because sitting can put stress on your upper back.

Exercise Your Eyes

Your back, neck, and legs aren’t the only areas affected. Eyestrain is another big problem with working in front of a computer, which nowadays is a big part of most jobs. After a long day in front of a computer, you may experience headaches, difficulty focusing, and increased sensitivity to light. The best solution to this is making sure your computer is at the appropriate distance away from your eyes and doing some exercises to refresh your eyes occasionally.

The distance between your eyes and the screen is an arm’s length. You should be able to read from this distance, but if you’re having trouble, make the font bigger to accommodate. Every 30 minutes when you get up and take a 5-minute break, refresh your eyes with at least one of the exercises below:

Eye Exercises:

Prepare by rubbing your palms together and laying them over your eyes for 10 seconds. Repeat before and after every exercise.

  • Figure 8 Exercise: Look at a distant object about 10 feet away and use your eyes to trace a figure 8 in front of the object. Do this 5 times.
  • Zooming Exercise: Hold out a “thumbs up” and stare intently at the tip of your thumb. Move your thumb slowly toward your face and away while staring at the same spot on your thumb. Do this 5 times.
  • Focusing Exercise: Find two objects in your space (one near you and one far away). Shift your focus from the one close and the object far away from you 5 times.

Clean your Desk

You may be feeling a groggy and fatigued feeling at the end of the work day because your body is fighting off germs and illnesses in your office. This is why it’s crucial that you clean your desk regularly. You touch your keyboard and mouse the most, so be sure to clean those on a weekly basis. Wipe down your desk often.

Breathe Deeper

If you’re dealing with high levels of stress due to an important project or meeting, then make sure you take a moment occasionally to close your eyes and take 3 deep breathes to put yourself at ease. The tension that stress causes can affect every aspect of your health, including weight management. You should also remember to be positive and think optimistically. Whatever the situation, there’s always a rainbow and silver lining. Your positive attitude will make you feel happier and healthier.

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