Many people are being forced to work from home in an effort to stop spread of the coronavirus. But that positive health move, experts say, has potentially negative consequences, too.
Working from home can lead to bad habits that may actually be detrimental to our health. According to the Daily Mail, house-bound employees often opt to stay in their pajamas all day and work in their bed, making their place of rest into a makeshift office.
“If you start to merge the boundaries between work and rest, one will intrude into the other,” says Dr. Sophie Bostock, a sleep expert. Bostock says that bringing your laptop into the bedroom will disrupt your sleep, damage your posture and make you less productive in the long run.
Another expert, Simon Long, founder and CEO of a company called WeLab, advises setting up a work space designated exclusively for business.
“This creates a mental shift which helps you transition into ‘work mode’,” he says. “That way you have a sense of routine, reduce the potential distractions around you, and provide comfort for working. This can significantly increase your productivity,” he said.
Bostock recommends setting your home office next to a window.
“Exposure to natural light during the day, especially in the morning, also helps to fully wake up your body clock, so that by night time, your body is ready for sleep,” she says.
She adds that reclining on a bed, curved over your laptop, is bad for your back.
“Try and set up a work space that you typically use at work—either seated at a desk which allows you to maintain a straight back, or you could try and set up a standing desk,” she advises.
Another danger of working from home is that you may find you are working too much, say the experts at Workawesome.com.
“It’s too easy to get involved into your work stuff after office hours, because your work is in your home,” they point out. “You have to set time limits when you work at home and set clear boundaries — with yourself and with your family.”
To do this, stop working when the office time ends to allow your batteries to rechange so that you can be more productive the next day.
“Respect your free time, so you get more done at work.”
Lynn C. Allison ✉
Lynn C. Allison, a Newsmax health reporter, is an award-winning medical journalist and author of more than 30 self-help books.
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