Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have begun teleworking from home, where we will remain for the foreseeable future. In addition, the sale of laptops for work has skyrocketed in order to meet this requirement of working remotely from our homes.
But about one in eight Spaniards live in apartments, which can make creating your own office space very difficult. So it is normal that you are forced to turn your bed or sofa into a makeshift home office. But while doing this occasionally is fine, if it becomes your routine every day, it can start to take a toll on both your physical and mental health.
Physical effects of teleworking
There are many consequences of teleworking, especially physical. Although many focus on not being able to talk to colleagues or on the psychological impact of being at home all day, our bodies also suffer the consequences.
Pain in the back (and butt)
If you're sitting on your bed without good back support, it seems obvious that your back will start to hurt. But your hips and even your butt can do it too.
You have no room for your legs, so they have to be spread out in front of you or crisscrossed, which exerts pressure on the sacroiliac joint that connects the spine to the hips. Since the muscles in this position are also bent or flexed, they will become stiff and tight and may even shorten over time, just like wearing high heels every day.
The couch can also cause back pain, but for a different reason: It's too low to the floor, which strains your lumbar spine.
Neck and shoulder tension
If you're using a laptop, you're probably sitting on the edge of the sofa or bed with the laptop on your lap or on a coffee table. This causes you to slouch, rounding your spine and shoulders and pushing your head forward so that your head and neck stick out, like a turtle's.
This puts all kinds of pressure on the muscles of the neck and the upper part of the shoulder.
Jaw and teeth tension
This bad posture can also ruin your teeth. There has been an increase in dental patients with cracked teeth since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nerves from the muscles of the neck and shoulders lead to the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), which connects to the jawbone and skull. Poor posture and pelvic-up sitting result in a forward head posture, which curves the spine into a "c" shape, as a way for the body to naturally balance itself. This pose creates tension in the muscles attached to the jaw, leading to jaw pain, facial swelling, and migraines.
wrist pain
If you're working from your bed or couch, you'll most likely place your laptop mouse on a side table and also rest your wrist on the table. But this can decrease inadvertently the blood supply to the hand and compress the nerves, which can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome.
To avoid this injury, it is wise to purchase a wireless or wired mouse and keyboard. In addition, you can also buy a pad so that the wrist is not constantly in contact with the table. Although one of the best allies can be a vertical mouse.
Increased risk of getting sick
Any prolonged period of sitting, even on your bed or sofa, can be detrimental to your overall health.
An October 2018 study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, followed more than 125.000 men and women for 21 years and found that those who sat for more than six hours a day had a higher risk of death from all causes, included heart disease, cancer and kidney disease.
One reason may simply be that the more sedentary you are, the more likely you are to gain weight, which is a risk factor for many of these diseases. Another theory is that it alters the levels of certain hormones in the blood, such as insulin, which in turn may increase the risk of disease.
worst rest
Our minds associate places with activities, so if you were to work the bed, it's likely to interfere with your sleep sooner or later. This is because your body will start to link your bed with work, mistaking sleep mode for work mode and all the stressors that come with it, making it harder to fall asleep.
The best way is to get out of bed to work. In the case of not having more space and having to use the same room, we can buy a desk to at least change rooms.
Lower productivity
If you work from your bed or couch, it may be easier to adopt other behaviors, like not showering and staying in your pajamas most of the day (if you even bother to change).
Part of the benefit of working in an office, or office-like environment, is that it forces your mind into work mode, which helps you focus and be more productive. However, there are people who telework daily since before the pandemic and are just as productive as going to an office. In many cases productivity increases by not having external distractions.
Tips for a healthier telework
There are some recommendations that we can take into account to achieve healthier teleworking.
take frequent breaks
It is recommended to take a break from sitting every 30 minutes. One option is to run up and down the stairs quickly to relax all the muscles and joints. These types of breaks are also recommended in regular offices, although the pressure of being in front of more colleagues prevents us from doing these lifts every half hour.
Neck and jaw stretches can also help relieve tension in your facial muscles. We can take the opportunity to get up to drink water or spend 10 minutes doing small tasks at home. In this way we will be active, clear and focused on work.
Have an inexpensive tray table
This will help bring the computer closer so you don't slouch. You can place it on top of a pillow to raise your height if it is too low.
However, the best option is to have a table to support the computer and everything you need to work. Although the room may not be the ideal place due to lack of space, we can use other rooms in the house, such as the kitchen or the living room. Even in this type of tables we can place a tray table to set the height to our liking.
fill with pillows
Whether your momentary office is your home or sofa, pillows are your new best friends.
First, sit on a pillow, preferably a large fluffy one, to lift your butt up. This will cause you to open your hips a bit, so there's less stress on your back.
If you are on a sofa, you can also place a pillow behind you to support your back. While you're at it, invest in a pad for your laptop, too. This will help bring the top a bit below eye level.
Create your own standing desk
You can take a break from sitting (and mitigate many of its negative health effects) by switching to a standing desk model. Just switch to working at the kitchen counter or the comfortable table in the bedroom. Alternate between an hour sitting and 30 minutes standing. If you have a breakfast bar with stools, you might as well try sitting there once or twice a day.
Buy a wireless keyboard and mouse
Laptops weren't designed to be used for full business days of telecommuting, they were designed for portability.
If your arms and wrists are in a good place, your head will tilt to view the screen, but if you lift the laptop to get your head and neck in a good position, your shoulder and wrist muscles will be overworked and probably cause some pain.
Symbolically separates the workspace
In a perfect world, you would have an entire room, or at least a corner of it, that would be designated as your home office. But if you live in tight spaces or with a lot of people, that's not always realistic.
If you must telecommute from your bed or sofa, we recommend finding a way to designate it as a work space for several hours of the day; For example, removing all your bedroom pillows from your bed and nightstand and replacing them with work supplies like pens, paper clips, and staplers.
Another thing to do: change out of your pajamas before the start of the work day.