Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels
Working from home sounds ideal, until you realize you’ve spent the best part of every day for months with a constant headache and dry eyes. The same setup that felt fine at first can start dragging your energy down in ways that aren’t immediately obvious. If you’re feeling wiped out after a full day at your desk, it’s probably not the workload- your home office might just be doing a terrible job of supporting your body.
The lighting is usually the first problem
Overhead lighting in a spare bedroom or box room rarely cuts it, and even if you’ve got a half decent lamp, most bulbs are far too warm for daytime work and don’t offer consistent brightness. Poor light makes your eyes work harder, which can lead to fatigue, tension headaches and trouble focusing by mid afternoon. Swap out standard bulbs for something like a daylight balanced 5000K LED, and get your main light source in front of you, not behind.
Position matters more than gear
You don’t need a Herman Miller chair or a £500 monitor arm. But if your monitor is too low and your chair keeps tilting your hips backward, you’ll end up hunched without realizing it. That’s the stuff that wrecks your energy because your body ends up doing micro corrections all day. Put your monitor at eye level using a few books if you need to. Sit so that your elbows are just below your keyboard and your feet are flat without effort. That alone makes a bigger difference than any expensive ergonomic tool.
Add physical separation
One of the worst things about working from home is the way it bleeds into your evenings. If you’re working from the corner of your bedroom then there’s no off switch. But in this situation, even a visual barrier helps. Ikea’s Lomviken panel or a portable room divider gives you a sense of transition, so your brain stops associating your bed with Teams calls. If you don’t have space, cover your monitor with a cloth. Sounds like a simple solution but it can really work for some people.
Add some decor
You don’t want it to be distracting, but making the place where you’re spending your work day look nice is no bad thing. Some plants, photos, maybe even personalized posters can put you in a happier mood when you’re at your desk.
Get your air right
Dry eyes, brain fog and even sore throats can come from stale or dry air. Open a window a few times a day, even when it’s cold. If that’s not enough, a cheap humidifier or air purifier can help more than you’d expect. Keep eye drops on the desk too, some eye drops are good if you’re staring at screens for long stretches, and it doesn’t have that weird sting some others do.
Don’t forget about noise
Background sound has a bigger effect on focus than you probably realize. If you’re working near traffic, pets or kids then try noise dampening foam tiles on the wall behind your monitor. They’re not expensive, and they do more than headphones alone. You might find that adding ambient sound through something like Noisli or a rain app actually keeps the brain from drifting too. Worth testing!
