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Health Benefits of an Ergonomic Office
Guest post
Save money and live better by making your office a healthier place to work
If you work 40 hours a week throughout your adult life, you’ll spend about 10% of your life at the office. That’s why it’s so important to make sure your workspace is a healthy, comfortable place to be: even in a white-collar work environment, repetitive activities and unhealthy posture can add up to create discomfort now, and potentially serious health risks in the long term. Here are some of the health benefits you can enjoy by improving the ergonomics of your office.
1. Improved circulation
A decent office chair is worth a reasonable investment—after all, on weekdays you may spend as much time in your office chair as you do in your bed. Sitting for prolonged periods in any chair—but particularly a hard, uncomfortable one—can create circulation problems in your legs. Similarly, repetitive use of a non-ergonomic mouse pad and keyboard can cause circulation difficulties in your wrists and fingers. Buy an ergonomic office chair, and take a short walk about once per hour to ensure healthy blood flow to your knees and legs. Ergonomic padding for your mouse and keyboard will also keep the circulation in your hands moving.
2. Improved nerve health and function
One of the most dangerous factors in a non-ergonomic work environment is the prolonged pressure it can create on your nerves, especially those in your thighs, back, and wrists. A stiff, unforgiving chair and desk can damage nerves by cutting off blood flow or even pinching them directly. Many white-collar workers experience sharp, stabbing pains through the sciatic nerve in their legs because of this phenomenon. Again, a good chair and regular physical activity can mitigate sciatica—if you are overweight, getting in better shape can also reduce the pressure on these nerves and help your body heal.
3. Reduced joint pain and muscle aches
Repetitive activity of any kind, including low-intensity activities such as typing or writing, can cause pain if you don’t make time for breaks. The human body is not designed to be still and repetitive—but real life often prevents office workers from maintaining healthy work habits. An ergonomic keyboard and mouse will reduce the fatigue and strain on your muscles by aligning your arms and hands in a more natural configuration. In the long run, this can mean better joint health and less chronic pain as you get older.
4. A healthier back and neck
Most office chairs and computer displays are terrible for an office worker’s spinal health. Low displays and non-ergonomic seat backs encourage a stooped, slouching posture that can create havoc with your skeletal health in general, and create long-term back pain. It’s not something that just goes away if you stand up straight; in the long run, a persistent slouch will cause your neck and core muscles to strain and develop off-kilter, making it much more difficult for your body to repair the damage. Buy a Ergo-friendly Eames chair that encourages good posture, and a display that meets your eye level, so that you don’t have to contort your body unnaturally in an attempt to maintain good posture.
5. Avoiding serious chronic injury
The danger of chronic injury from white-collar environments is understated. Many office workers assume that since they’re not working around chemicals or heavy machinery, their workplace is without health risks; but many chronic injuries in the workplace can be avoided using ergonomic office equipment and furniture. Carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive strain injuries develop over time, but sudden injuries like herniated disks and muscle spasms are made more likely and more severe by a non-ergonomic work environment.
About The Author
Gina M Casillo is a staff writer for Serenity Living Stores, your Ergo-friendly place of choice to buy an Eames chair. Gina enjoys writing about home décor—especially when it comes to the spaces she’s most intimate with—decorating the perfect play spaces and bedrooms for her two active twin boys, and decorating the ideal work sanctuary. You will often find Gina tucked away in her cozy home office concentrating on her favorite pastimes, which are writing and blogging about interior design, and seeking inspiration from the world’s most famous household goddess: Martha Stewart.
