Tips for Improving Your Posture in the Home Office
Working from your home office has become a thing these last few months. More and more people moved their workspace to the comfort of their houses. It can be beneficial in many ways, as you can see here. But there are some minor disadvantages you’re probably not aware of.
As you’re already working from home, you can be more relaxed than in an office. You might not use an office chair, but a comfy armchair or even a couch or a lazy bag. That sounds like a dream, but it’s always better to keep your posture is correct.
You probably assume you’re doing the right thing by just sitting up straight. That improves the alignment of the spine and prevents back and neck pain. But you can’t sit like that all the time. There are still many things they should work on.
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Keep Shoulders Back
The first of these simple tips for improving your posture while working at home is to keep your shoulders back a bit. But don’t force this position too much. Just let the shoulders be loose and keep your elbows close to your body. That’s how your hips won’t sway towards your knees.
Make sure that you don’t slouch while working at your computer. That will only strain your neck and shoulders internally rather than externally. Maybe pulling your shoulders back will be challenging at first. But if you acquire that routine, you’ll start doing that every time you sit on the chair.
Get Up
If you need to sit at a desk for at least six hours, plan to walk a couple of minutes every hour. When working at home office, no boss monitors every move of yours. So you can get up and take a walk for a few minutes. That will help you stress out the accumulated lactic acid in your muscles.
Use the Right Chair
Another simple tip for improving your posture is to use the right chair. Ergonomic chairs are a real example of what proper sitting should look like. You should always work with a chair with a backrest, even if you are using a lumbar support cushion.
When your back is leaning on the backrest, you should pay attention to your neck. Try to fix your neck, as explained on Posture Correction Ireland, and don’t tilt it forward. Move your eyes up and down instead, and try not to have wasted movements. That’s why you should keep everything within arm’s reach.
Try to rest all your weight on your feet. Open them no more than shoulder-width so that the hips don’t suffer additional pressure. If you sit on a chair with your feet apart from the floor, you put unnecessary stress on your hips and legs.
Change Positions
One more tip for improving your posture while working at home is to simply change positions. Most people are not aware of how long they sit in the same way. That shouldn’t last more than an hour, as the pressure your spine suffers can cause damage to spinal nerves.
If you don’t reset your sitting position frequently, you will put undue stress on certain muscle groups, causing pain and stiffness. By changing the way you sit, you will be making yourself less likely to be at risk of discomfort. That can help you to not only relieve pain but also to improve your posture overall.
Pay Attention to Sleep
You can act on improving posture even when you’re not sitting in your home office. It’s essential to take care of the quality of sleep too. Your bed, i.e., mattress, should be hard enough and anatomically adjusted to your back.
Sleeping on your back on a firm mattress is by far the best way to keep your spine straight and to avoid unnecessary pressure on your lower body parts. Even better, if you change positions frequently during sleep, it helps you not to be stiff and bent in the morning.
While working at home, you are often too busy and don’t notice that your spine is suffering. That will impact your health over time. By introducing the regular physical activity and following the tips described, you will improve your posture and get rid of discomfort.