Beat WFH stress with a stretch

Make it a point to stand up every 30 mins

Let’s face it: since the enhanced community quarantine was imposed mid-March this year, we have found ourselves increasingly glued to our laptops, tablets, phones and even TVs.

Some of us may have started working longer hours, spending much of our time in front of our laptops and phones to do reports, attend several Zoom or Teams meetings in a day, and send e-mails back and forth to colleagues. To cap off a tiring day, we would usually turn to social media to unwind, or to streaming apps like Netflix, HBO Go, iFlix for entertainment.

But what many of us don’t realize is that while we spend so much time sitting down in front of our devices, our body is taking a massive beating. Yes, sitting down for prolonged hours is bad for your health—it can increase your risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, dementia and even cancer. Easily, it can cause stiff neck, back aches and weakening of muscles. Even your mental health may be affected.

So what do you do? If you find yourself still working at home over the next month even as Metro Manila eases into a general community quarantine, you might need to take stock of these tips to help keep yourself healthy.

Do some stretching in between writing reports and Zoom meetings at home.

Take a break

Make it a point to stand up every 30 minutes. If you find yourself in a middle of an important meeting and unable to stand, make sure that you do so the moment you finish. Try walking around (even just within your space) so you can move your legs. See if there are things you can do while standing—maybe while reviewing a report or reading an article. Any physical activity is crucial as this can help maintain muscle tone and your ability to move.

Do some stretching

Stretching exercises can do wonders for your body. It can help keep you flexible and allow you to move better. It can, to a certain extent, help correct poor posture and address back pains. Thankfully, you can find many useful stretching exercises online today.

Do hand exercises

Your hands may be suffering too. With your fingers and hands doing most of the work lately (if you’re mostly typing away, scrolling and searching), you will need to keep them in shape, too. You can do finger stretches, use a stress ball to strengthen your grip and pinch, play with clay or warm your hands with water or a heating pad.

Medicard Lifestyle blog

Find a trusted partner

It’s still reassuring to know that you can have a trusted medical partner in Medicard Philippines Inc. amid the difficulties of being under quarantine. This leading health maintenance organization offers useful tips for self-care, healthy eats and exercises to keep yourself in tiptop shape, through its website, medicardlifestyle.com.

But if you think you need to seek medical help, Medicard has free-standing clinics; offers telemedicine, wherein you can have primary care consultation with the doctors at Medicard Lifestyle Center without having to leave your home; and has MyPocketDoctor, which is an app that allows you to make an appointment and consult with your doctor over Viber, Facebook Messenger and Facetime.

Sources: medicardlifestyle.com, webmd.com