How Stretching Can Make Your Life A Lot Easier At Work
Did you know that in 2018, 2.8 million work-related illnesses and injuries were reported in the United States alone? It comes with no surprise that our daily workplaces have a significant impact on our health, and those with desk jobs are especially at risk.
Office employees spend on average more than 7.7 hours sitting every day, and work from home employees spend more than this. But, ‘What’s the harm in that’, you might ask? Well, research has discovered a direct link between prolonged sitting and health problems like:
Musculoskeletal disorders like tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, back -, neck -, and shoulder pain.
Eyestrain
Cognitive fatigue
Insomnia
Stress, anxiety, or depression
Higher risk of developing heart diseases like heart attacks, strokes, blood clots, or type 2 diabetes
Weight gain
One solution to combat these harmful effects is moving your body more often and stretching. With our busy schedules, however, we often believe we’re simply too busy to find time to move. We search for the ‘magic pill’ and just numb the symptoms, but we can actually change that by addressing the underlying reason and guide our bodies to recover itself. Movement is medicine, and below we’ll discuss how stretching can help, the benefits, and provide you with 5 easy stretches to behind your desk.
HOW CAN STRETCHING MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER AT WORK?
When we sit behind our desks for prolonged durations, our bodies are placed under sustained loading. The static load through your spine leads to muscle fatigue increased pressure through spinal joints, which causes deoxygenation and, in turn, stimulates degenerative changes. The constant small repetitive movements of your fingers, hands, and eyes, also trigger muscle strain and inflammation.
Luckily, stretching will relieve tension in tight muscles, increase circulation, and improve mobility. Plus, the short break will also improve your productivity and ability to focus.
6 BENEFITS OF STRETCHING
1. Improves flexibility
Improved flexibility is essential for your general health as it will enhance your physical abilities and maintain mobility as you age.
2. Increases blood flow
Regular stretching enhances the blood flow to your muscles and surrounding tissues. This is beneficial to improve recovery, relieve muscle soreness, and increase overall cellular health. Additionally, increased circulation will also improve your heart - and brain health.
3. Improves posture
Tight muscles resulting from prolonged sitting, often lead to muscle imbalances which cause poor posture. Fortunately, stretching encourages improved alignment and relieve tension in tight muscles, to improve your posture.
4. Prevents injuries & discomfort
Besides, influencing your posture, tight muscles also predispose you to strain or injured muscles and joints. Stretching can, however, help keep your muscles strong and in a healthy condition to prevent injuries and problems like headaches, and neck- or back pain.
5. Calms your mind & relieves stress
When you incorporate stretching in your day, you also take a mental break. And because tight muscles result from physical - and emotional stress, stretching will also ultimately relieve emotional stress.
6. Improves productivity & mood
As we mentioned above, stretching acts as a mental break. Research has proven that short breaks, ranging from a few seconds to several minutes, can effectively enhance productivity, mood, and job performance.
Now that you know why you should include stretching into your working day, let’s look at some easy stretches to start with.
5 EASY STRETCHES TO DO AT YOUR DESK
The stretches in this video below can easily be done by your desk, so you won’t have any excuses. Try to do them at least once every hour or two, to truly experience the benefit.
Certain stretches may feel uncomfortable at first, but shouldn’t be painful. So, if this is the case, try to make the movement slightly smaller or leave it out for now. Hold each stretch for 10-15 seconds and repeat on the opposite side.