How a Poor Home Office Set up Can Wreck Your Health

A poor home office setup can cause a range of problems with personal health. As a direct result of a bad working environment, your personal physical and mental health can decline. From straining your eyes to increased anxiety, here are some of the most common problems.

Muscle, Joint, and Bone Problems

There is a link between poor health and a bad working environment. A poor working setup can cause issues such as muscle pain, joint problems, and even bone issues. These are mainly concentrated on the legs, arms, and back, and get worse if your home office isn’t fitted with adjustable furniture or enough space. A local service like The Carbon Co. Chiropractic can help address and realign some of the most common issues that occur when working from home.

Placing Strain on Your Eyes

Working from the home office means you are responsible for everything, including lighting. There’s a reason why office premises are well-lit, and that‘s because poor lighting can cause serious problems with your eyes, especially if you use a computer all day.  To give your peepers a rest, it helps to make sure you have adequate and adjustable lighting, such as a main light and supporting LEDs. Of course, it also helps to reduce glare, and blue light shields also help.

A Poor Home Office May Have Bad Air

Indoor air is typically much more dangerous than outdoor air, even if you live in a polluted area. Pollutants in indoor air range from 2 to 100 times higher than outdoors. While energy-efficient air conditioning can help, there are some simple changes you can also make for better indoor air:

• Keep windows open as long as possible to let fresh air in and reduce damp and mold.
• Position fans near windows so they draw in and blow out fresh air from the outside.
• Use accessories such as air purifiers with HEPA filters to remove contaminants.

Stress and Anxiety via Isolation

For many people, the only meaningful social interaction they have comes from colleagues. So, when you work from home, you are distanced from others, and not even Zoom calls are enough to alleviate feelings of loneliness. Even if you have a family, they will typically be out of the home all day while you work. Being alone at the home office can increase the stress and anxiety that comes from being alone. You can alleviate this by making time for scheduled social interactions.

Promoting a Sedentary Lifestyle

Working from your home office comes with many benefits, and it even suits some people perfectly. However, getting all your work done at a desk or sitting isn’t good for your health. You are more likely to suffer issues like weight gain and heart problems if you don’t move for an extended period, and this is likely to be higher with a comfy office at home. To counteract the negatives, take breaks and move more, schedule exercise, and perform some easy stretches.

Summary

Muscle and joint pain are just two ways that a poor home office can negatively affect your health. However, stuffy indoor air at the home office is also likely to cause breathing issues because of contaminants, while remaining seated for a long time causes physical problems.