Working from home. Part 3 - Prevention
It's always better to prevent a problem from happening in the first place, the cost of early intervention often far outweighs the cost when something breaks down. In Part 1 and 2 we touched upon some of the problems that can arise from prolonged desk based work, so what can we do to fix some of this? Check out; Time, Functionality, Counter pose .
Time - One of the big factor is the length of prolonged time in a sedentary and folded position. We need to break the flow of 'rest' and start convincing our bodies that we're about to be active and it needs to fire up the engines to keep the energy burning.
Preparation - Have a plan and stick to it, decide at the start of the day or week what the structure will look like, including breaks, objectives and even exercise or activities. The hard part is having the discipline to follow the structure when you have no one to keep you accountable to the plan. There will always be other jobs, tasks or reasons to deviate from the plan so see if some of the other suggestions can help stay focused.
Dress for the part - If you're working from home, why not get dressed into workout clothes, that way you're able to do something spontaneous and it saves time. It has the added bonus of giving you the reminder about being active and in that mindset. If we're in formal work wear are we likely to want to do something active?
Accountability - Be accountable to yourself or maybe even someone else in the house to check you're following the plan. Consequence is an important factor for when we don't follow it what happens then? Maybe reminders about the importance of the plan.
Breaks - It is better to schedule smaller breaks more frequently than one large lunch break. These could be scheduled either based on time of day or specifically around tasks and objectives of a project. 5 minutes is plenty of time to move around and get the heart rate pumping.
Triggers - This could be a scheduled time based on the plan or it could be more inventive around your day, for instance at the end of every conference call do 20 Squats, or 1 Squat for every 5 minutes of conference call time? Maybe triggers when a specific word is said, every 500 words typed, or anytime you read or hear a specific topic word, I'm sure you can think of a common theme running in the news right now, try leaving the news on the radio/tv and see how you get on with a trigger word.
Alarms - A simple and effective reminder to get up and get active, if you find it's too easy to switch off and carry on, try placing it on the other side of the room but loud enough that you have to get up to go and turn it off, while you're up why not do a few squats or jacks to raise the heart rate or a quick counter stretch?
Exercise - Did you know that exercise can help the cognitive function and creative aspects of the brain. There is research to show that performing tasks that don't require much thinking such as exercise, allows the creative side of the brain to flow. Try scheduling a section of time for something straight forward like a run or bike ride, if you're doing something that requires a lot for technical thinking such as Olympic lifts or following an exercise to music class you might find that the concentration is too much for the creative benefit. It doesn't have to be exhausting just simple.
Functionality/Workspace - Similar to the alarm across the room, take a look at your room set up, it has probably been set up to make work life easier, scratch that and make it difficult. Spread things out around the room or house that force you to get up and move to the printer, books or files.
Functionality/Ergonomics - This is something that has been around for many years and employers have a duty of care to ensure that employees work spaces are ergonomically set up. This simply means that the work space is appropriately set for the individual, including desk and chair height, computer screen, mouse and keyboard distance. This could mean that if you need a new chair or desk set up at home, your employer may be obliged to contribute toward it as part of their duty of care,, explore what the HSE have to say about it;
Remember that as part of the work stations we need to consider whether we are leaning to one side as we use a mouse, or reaching and twisting continually to a printer or filing system?
Much like any exercise or movement, it is important to learn, practice and enhance our ability for subtle adjustments in the body such as pelvic tilting so that our hips and lower back are in good alignment, even shoulder protraction and retraction for a safe and stable thoracic (upper body) position. Spending time in workouts such as Pilates will help teach the mind and body how to feel what good alignment is like so that we can keep ourselves in good posture.
Counter pose - If we are spending 7 hours seated in a folded position, we need to spend a significant portion of time counter posing/stretching this position to allow the muscles to re-lengthen;
Opening through the front of the hips because of the flexed hips
Stretching the back of the thighs because of the flexed knees
Lengthen through the back and neck because of a dropped chest and forward head
Opening through the chest as the arms have been tucked in from typing
Lengthening the elbow joint from bent arms, and the mobilise the forearms from repeated short range movements.
For some more information on how to stretch and perform them correctly, arrange for a Free Consultation, to discuss your questions and how to set up an effective preventative plan.
In the final part of this series we'll look at some of the remedial actions necessary to improve on some of the conditions mentioned that have already started to present themselves.
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