For anyone who is stuck inside at an office job, it can be a challenge to find ways to promote a healthy lifestyle chained behind a desk. Regardless that you are sitting behind a desk eight hours a day, five days a week, there are creative ways you can promote a healthier lifestyle with very little extra effort. Follow some tips to stay fit and healthy when you are working sitting on chair and behind desk.

So, what happens when you sit continuously at a place without stretching?

• Fatigue, headaches and breathing problems
• Risk of arthritis due to improper bone alignment
• Stress on the ligaments holding your spine
• Neck and back pain
• Dry eye syndrome

How can you overcome these problems and stay fit? Below are some tips for sedentary workers

• Keep your shoulders relaxed when using the keyboard or mouse.
• Adjust the height of your seat to achieve proper posture. Maintain your posture at 90 degrees or more at the hips and knees.
• Sit on your chair with your back fully supported by the backrest.
• Every now and then, get off your chair and walk about.
• Every now and then, give your eyes a break by looking at a distant object.
• Alternate your tasks so that various muscle groups works equally and effectively.
• Perform stretching exercises at your desk or even better, away from it.
• Have the top of your screen at, or slightly below, eye level. The screen should be about one arm’s length away.
• Make sure your desk or work tray is high enough for legroom.
• Your wrist should be relaxed when using the mouse, or use a wrist rest.
• Use minimum force when typing on the keyboard.
• Support your feet with a footrest if necessary.

Other way to stay fit when you are a sedentary work.

1. Stand Up: Sometimes instead of sitting and working on your laptop or PC, place your computer on stack of books, a printer or high table (like center table in kitchen room) and stand to work on your computer.
2. Get Moving: You can walk while you are on the phone, walk to communicate with others in your office (instead of e-mailing), and even conduct walking meetings. Make it a point to get up from your desk at least once every hour and walk around. This means go get some water, go to the bathroom, or simply deliver a memo in person to another in your office rather than emailing or calling them. Also read: The Best Weight Lifting Books

3. Monitor Your Screen Height: As mentioned above whether you are sitting or standing, the top of your computer screen should be level with your eyes, so you’re only looking down about 10 degrees to view the screen. If it’s lower, you’ll move your head downward, which can lead to back and neck pain. If it is higher, it can cause dry eye syndrome.
4. Imagine Your Head as a Bowling Ball : Avoid craning your head forward, holding it upright instead. In addition, while you are at it, practice chins retractions, or making a double chin, to help line up your head, neck, and spine.
5. Have lunch outside: Take time to bring your lunch somewhere other than your desk to eat, possibly outside where you can get some fresh air for thirty minutes. If it is summer go out and have lunch sitting on bench or outside in nearby park.
6. Take a walk: When you get little breaks throughout the day, rather than hit the water cooler for gossip, take a walk outside and get some fresh air. A simple walk around the building could re-energize your body for the rest of the afternoon.
7. Practice yoga: If you are a yoga person practice simple yoga while you are at your desk- stretching in sitting or standing. If you prefer do meditation for few minutes to keep body and mind calm.

References:

1. http://www.nexercise.com/ 
2. http://health.howstuffworks.com/
3. http://ergo-plus.com/

Image credit: Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash (Free for commercial use)