Working From Home: How to Improve Your Posture

Since 2020, many of us have taken on hybrid working or full time working from home. In an office, typically, there will be specific chairs, tables and accessories that you have access to, to keep your posture straight. An office should be able to provide you with necessities you need to prevent back and neck pain.

However, since moving to at-home working, many people suffer from poor posture. This may be due to developing bad habits such as working from bed, the couch or chairs with poor height. Here are some tips on how to keep your posture intact at home:

Don’t slouch

An obvious but vital tip is to avoid slouching when working. It is easy to slouch over a desk when looking at a computer or reading a book, however this does damage to your spine over time. Be aware of this and try to bring your back to a straight up-and-down position.

 

Stand Up

Take breaks to stand up. Sitting down for long periods of time is not healthy for back bones and muscles, including neck posture too. Try to stand up and walk around when possible to prevent pain and damage.

Many people, during the pandemic, have bought standing desks. These allow you to stand whilst working to improve posture, and people believe it makes them more productive too.

 

Stretch/Exercise

Doing stretches or exercises such as yoga can significantly improve your posture over time. It allows your muscles to become flexible and avoids stiffness and injury. Before or after work, try to incorporate this into your daily routine to cancel out room for poor posture.

‘Text’ Neck

We are all guilty of spending too much time looking down at our smartphones. The issue with this, is the strain it causes on our neck. Try to limit the time you spend looking down at your phone, or try to form the habit of bringing the mobile phone upwards towards you, instead of moving your neck down towards it.