Who has the time or inclination to stay fit and healthy while you’re stuck in front of a computer all day, and possibly all night too? These tech rebels among us just love their machines, and can’t work or even live without them — but there comes a time when your technology might be doing you way more harm than good, and your health and overall appearance can suffer.
Let’s start with sitting. We’re now told that a largely sedentary life is as bad as smoking cigarettes, such are the negative health effects of being immobile for much of the day. Modern man (and woman) is an entirely different creature to our ancient ancestors, who roamed the plains of Africa and elsewhere, and had to move about to find food, escape predators and, ultimately, survive. Today, everything is right there at our fingertips and we barely even have to move a muscle. Here are some ways to overcome tech-work hazards and prevent yourself from taking a giant health slump that could totally diminish your quality of life.
IMAGE: PEXELS
Moving On Up
Just because many of us are working at desks all day doesn’t mean we have to stay there all day. Getting up and walking about every 15 minutes, for example, can do wonders to counteract the negative impacts of sitting for long periods, which include the potential for developing heart disease, dementia, a shortened lifespan, and other health horrors.
At least you’re not in a job where you can’t move for much of your working day (like truck drivers, airline, pilots and others), which means you can take back control of your sedentary life and gain a raft of health benefits. Even investing in a standing desk and using it either in conjunction with a regular one or exclusively will do you a world of good, as would taking the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator, and getting off a bus, train or car ride a few stops before your office so you can get in some healthy walking steps.
Eye Site
It also turns out that sitting and staring at computer screens all day is a killer for our eyes. Pesky, and harmful, blue light is emitted by the screens of all electronic devices, and it can cause an array of health conditions that go beyond the eyes. These include headaches, shoulder and back pain, insomnia, and even blindness.
You can help alleviate some of these symptoms, if they’re already present, by taking a break from the screen every few minutes: our eyes, after all, are not meant to be focused on one thing for long periods, but rather on different objects and at different distances. So looking around you every now and then as you work will mean less eye fatigue and strain, as more than one muscle is engaged. It’s also a good idea to install software on your computer or a screen that blocks blue light, or buy a pair of blue light computer glasses that will do the light-filtering job.
Stub Out
If sitting for long spells is bad for your health, sitting and smoking are worse altogether. If you work in tech and you’re mostly sedentary throughout the day but aching to get fit and healthy, clearly, the best thing you can do it quit smoking now and start moving about more.
Stubbing out cigarettes for good is no easy task, though, and many smokers spend years trying to quit their unhealthy habit and keep on failing. Thankfully now, there’s a far easier way to stop smoking: it’s the e-cigarette, and more evidence is emerging that it’s a sure-fire way to quit for good. You can get your hands on vape kits with ease, which have everything you need to get vaping in a flash, including the all-important vape juice that comes in an incredible range of fruity and other flavors.
Snacks Attacked
All of these bits of advice come to nothing, however, if you don’t also look after what you eat and drink. When we’re stuck to our desks for hours on end, it’s all too tempting to reach for that bag of chips and endlessly glug on sugar-stuffed sodas as though our life depended on them.
It doesn’t, and real health and fitness depends on real, not processed, foods. Come into work with your snacks prepared — fruit, nuts, water, green tea, and more of the good stuff, so there’s zero temptation to rush to the calorie-laden vending machine. Whole and natural foods taste so much better anyway, and your body will thank you as the pounds drop off and you become a lean, mean, tech machine.
If you are interested in even more lifestyle-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels then we have a lot to choose from.
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