A chair and a desk are at the center of many people’s working lives. When you work from home, your office furniture is vital to your career. However, many people who live sedentary lifestyles are at risk of developing health problems from minor annoyances to dangerous illnesses. Here are three things you should know about how office furniture affects your health.
Muscle Inactivity
When you are standing or walking, your muscles are engaged and help your body maintain its strength. When you are seated for prolonged amounts of time, these normally active muscles become dormant.
Inactive muscles become weaker, and your level of flexibility decreases. Eventually, this worsens your posture and makes you feel stiff and achy. Poor posture can cause pain throughout your entire musculoskeletal system: your neck, shoulders, back, hips, knees, ankles, and even wrists.
Poor Circulation
Similar to how your muscles will suffer from an overly sedentary lifestyle, blood circulation also slows for the same reason. When you are on your feet and active, blood circulates through your body, keeping it healthy and oxygenated. When seated, circulation slows and puts you at risk for developing blood clots. Although most people associate type 2 diabetes with a poor diet, this disease worsens considerably from low blood circulation that sitting too long causes.
Poor blood circulation manifests in physical discomforts such as tingling, numbness, and muscle cramps.
Negative Outlook
Believe it or not, sitting too much can contribute to mood issues such as depression and irritability. If you feel annoyed or unhappy much of the time, a sedentary work life could be a factor.
Lack of frequent exercise does not just affect your body. It can impact your disposition negatively as well, making you feel less happy.
The reduced sense of wellbeing coupled with the detrimental physical effects of sitting for hours each day unsurprisingly decrease your job productivity. Focusing on work is difficult when you are in pain and unhappy.
How Office Ergonomics Address Health Concerns
So does this mean that having an office job is intrinsically unhealthy?
Fortunately, investing in the right office furniture can prevent these ill effects entirely.
Ergonomic chairs increase your comfort and prevent slouching. These modern seating choices support your back with a design that matches the healthy curvature of the vertebrae. Customizable arms enable you to keep your wrists at a comfortable angle and prevent carpal tunnel syndrome.
The dangers of sitting too long affect even healthy people who exercise daily. To combat this, frequent breaks from sitting are a must. Adjustable desks enable you to transform a sedentary workstation into a standing desk whenever you please. Standing every half hour or so will increase your circulation and re-engage inactive muscles.
Accessories such as anti fatigue mats serve to cushion your joints against a hard floor while you work standing.
Monitor arms are other helpful office accessories that elevate work monitors above your desk so that you don’t slouch to examine your screen.
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