10 Ways to Stay Healthy at Work

These few simple steps will help you stay healthy while doing your duties at work.

Sleep and wake up at the same time

This is hard for those who work long hours or work on shifts. As much as possible, get seven to nine hours of sleep and don't watch TV into the night on a work day. Waking up groggy the next day reduces your alertness, thus reducing work productivity. When you sleep less, ghrelin and leptin - hormones that regulate your appetite - would be disrupted. This imbalance would induce you to eat more, which in turn can lead to weight gain.

Stretch before shower

If you can make time for a 30-45 minute exercise session when you wake up, do so. If not, even a ten minute stretching session would improve your alertness and help you focus better at work.

Always have breakfast at home

When you get all that sleep and wake up without having breakfast early, you are starving yourself. In actual fact, you have been fasting, going without food for a good 12 hours, since your last meal at dinner. When you wake up, you need to replenish yourself. Left too late, your body would crave for more food, making you overeat when you have that late breakfast. Now, if you do back breaking work like in construction, it makes sense, if not, have bread cereal, eggs or oats for breakfast - at home - its cheaper, cleaner and healthier. You just have to make time for it.

Pack your lunch

Put leftovers in a microwave safe container so that you can heat it up in the pantry. Or pack a sandwich. Of course, once a while it is nice to have lunch with your office mates but there is a tendency for you to eat oily, fried or fatty food that would make you feel heavy after lunch. Ever noticed why you feel sleepy just after midday?

Take a lunch time stroll

If you have had a light lunch and have some extra time, do some window shopping for exercise. But make sure that it's just window shopping, otherwise your quest for health may bore a hole in your pocket! Stretch at work. Every now and then, stretch at your workstation. Keep your back straight at all times during these stretches. Sitting down, lift your arms up and lock your fingers above your head. Hold for 30 seconds. Pull your arms to your back and do the same. With heals on the ground, lift your toes and hold for five seconds. Repeat 20 times. Shrug your shoulders, repeat 20 times. Make forward circular movements with your shoulders, hands hanging down, 10 times. Do backwards 10 times. Twist your body to the right, hold for 10 seconds. Then twist it to the left, hold for 10 seconds. Repeat five times each side. Now go back to work!

Drink lots of water

If you work in air-conditioned room, there is a tendency for you to be dehydrated. Drink lots of warm water. Being thirsty can be misunderstood as hunger. So when you are thirsty drink or you would have a tendency to snack.

Snack on fruits

OK snack, but on fruits or nuts (make that unsalted or unsweetened). Avoid biscuits that are creamy, sugary or high in trans fats.

Plan an after work exercise routine

If you could not make time for that exercise routine in the morning, plan for it in the evening. Aim to do it most days of the week - five to six days as this would increase your immunity and keep you body supple and alert the next day. Get some friends to join you.

Eat light at night

If you want to have rice, pasta or noodles, try to eat it at lunch and not at night as it's hard to fall asleep with a heavy stomach. If you have a heavy meal, you need four hours before you can doze off. Eat more proteins, grains, soups, vegetables, and fruits at night. Remember, the only activity you have at night is sleep. Of course, avoid gassy and caffeine drinks before sleep. Remember, all these must be part of our lifestyle and not merely a habit. Think of it as an investment for better focus, alertness and elevating work productivity. Your good health would be an asset to your work progress and career advancement. And remember yearly check ups with the doctor!