Ergonomics at Home during COVID
Since the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic, many people and businesses have shifted their operations. Most companies are closed and many people do not show up at work because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has resulted to many people from all over the world, working from home. The pandemic has forced people to stay at home and work from places which are not meant for work. Some patients have complained how they find working from their laptop on their bed tiresome and stressful. Others have also complained about not having a chair in the kitchen to make their work from home as easy as possible. Regardless of the situation at hand, it is always important to maintain a healthy posture when working. That rule still applies even during the pandemic.
Setting up an ergonomically friendly work station can be very challenging. However, with the right and appropriate guidelines at hand, you can have the chance to maintain a good posture and maintain a healthy spinal system during these crazy times. Maintaining a good posture helps in keeping you productive throughout the time that you are working from home, and enables you accomplish all the tasks you had at hand. Some of the tips that you can adopt for your workspace include the following.
Tips for your Workspace
- Find a workspace that is not a couch or a bed
Working from a couch or a bed is one way of sending yourself to sleep early. However much you are willing to work and get things done, you will find yourself getting comfortable and warm when you are in bed or on the couch. This keeps your body warm and the resultant factor is always sleep. You will wake up the next morning regretting why you chose that workplace and you might end up getting in trouble with your employer because you have not gotten the work done as agreed.
An example of a good work station is a counter with enough space, a table and a desk. When choosing the chair that you want to use for your work station, choose a chair with a height that when you sit on, your knees are bent to 90 degrees and your feet are flat on the floor. When using your laptop, the keys and mouse should be at the elbow height.
- Monitor level for Neck Posture
The level of your monitor is important for the neck posture. When arranging this set up in your work station, ensure that the top of the monitor is slightly above the eye level. This will help you look at the monitor with ease and prevents you from straining your neck by looking down at the monitor. Look down as little as possible, and if possible, avoid looking down completely. Looking at the monitor from an upper angle is effective in giving the neck a more neutral posture as compared to looking down at a computer or your cell phone. Working from a monitor that is arm’s length is easier because it keeps you in a more comfortable position.
- Stretch
Stretching is also another form of no-equipment that helps in removing tension from the body. Since almost everyone around the world is working from home, it might be tempting to work endlessly without any breaks. However, taking a five minutes break from work is important because it keeps you active and ready to tackle the next set of assignment that you may be having. Holding your head back, try pinching your shoulder blades together for about 20 seconds. This exercise helps in alleviating pressure on the upper back and the neck. Getting out of the chair also enables you stretch your lower back.
While most of us cannot go to work and to our normal ergonomic setups, it is essential that we put in effort and work with what we have at home. Working from home has become the new normal in the world today. However, many people are still trying to adjust from waking up early and going to 9-5 jobs, to waking up at any time and working. While working from home might be challenging for most people, it is important that we do the best we can.
In addition to that, we need to recognize that the “new normal’ will not last forever. A time is coming when things will be the way they were before and we will be able to pick up from where we left before the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, work station and sitting posture also plays an important role in how effective one can work from home. Ensure that you work in a place where you have a desk, chair and your laptop. Working from the bed or the couch makes on comfortable and you may end up not completing the required tasks. You also face other distraction such as watching the television or kids running in and out of the room.
Consequently, having the best posture is important in keeping you active and motivated throughout the time. A chiropractor can do a spine check up to ensure that everything is in good condition. Normalcy has taken a different turn and people are slowly learning to deal with everything happening. Stay healthy during this period and you can do this by starting with the spine. The spinal cord is part of the nervous system, meaning that it help in coordinating the brain to do an activity.
Lastly, you can also book an appointment with a chiropractor to get a spinal check. Those who are enjoying working from home are people who have normalized working from home and have adapted to the different working condition in their respective spaces. Getting hold of a good chair and table is one of the ways of having a good posture. Leaning towards the laptop makes the back to have a curved shape, and when you sit in this posture for longer periods, you will end up suffering from extreme back pains.