Working from home comes with a lot of incredible benefits, including not having to commute, having a quiet lunch hour at home and enjoying home comforts while working.
However, according to new research from Slouch, our setups when working from home are causing significant back problems.
In fact, 65% of 18-24 year olds are experiencing back pain and posture problems more than millennials and boomers, which probably isn’t helped by the fact that only 39% of people actually work at desks when working from home.
While you’d think that employers should be providing education around the importance of a desk setup at home, 45% of respondents claimed that workplaces hadn’t educated them on how to set up their remote working areas properly.
According to osteopath and performance coach James Davies, these bad habits could be having detrimental impacts not just on our posture but even on our breathing.
Slouching can lead to health problems
Davies said: “Poor posture occurs when the body expends too much energy to maintain a position, causing some areas of the body to overwork, disrupting important mechanisms in the body, such as breathing patterns.”
Not only that, but poor posture is bad for productivity, too.
Davies explained: “Muscles and joints can suffer from poor posture, leading to chronic pain in the back, neck, and shoulders. This pain can become a constant distraction, making it difficult to concentrate on work.”
He advised that slouching and hunching can limit lung capacity which restricts breathing and oxygen intake, which can lead to fatigue and headaches which will obviously impact your overall wellbeing and productivity.
“Good posture, on the other hand, allows your body to function efficiently,” he explained.
How to make sure your posture is good when working from home
Professional Pilates instructor, Eloise Skinner, shared her tips for getting your posture in check when working from home.
They said: “Good posture when working from home should involve both feet placed firmly on the floor with your hips level and at a 90-degree angle.
“Make sure your spine is in ‘neutral’ - this is its natural position, making sure to avoid arching the lower back or rounding the upper back. Ensure your neck is aligned with your spine (avoiding the chin moving forwards), the desk providing a 90-degree angle for your elbows, and computer screen at eye height.”
Skinner also advised that if you can’t work at a desk for any reason, try to make sure that you’re still moving around a lot: “Take regular breaks to stretch, reset and breathe deeply. Taking regular breaks to move is an important element of healthy working-from-home practice, even if you do have an ideal set-up”
Brb, need to check how my hips are aligned.