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Written by: Rosario Feuillade & Daniela Sayago
With the work/lifestyle changing over the past several years, have you ever wondered how it has been affecting your health? Do you find yourself to be more irritable? Less patient? Feeling sluggish? Feeling overall unhealthy? Take a look at a few tips and tricks listed below to help combat the “new normal” feeling and allow for happier work environments to promote healthy cultures and increased productivity.
Mood & Food: How does your mood affect your food choices?
The goal of this section is to help you go beyond food and to learn about how your mood affects the choices you make when it comes to food. The food you eat has a two-way relationship with your emotions and your body and you can find yourself experiencing specific cravings, generally associated with sweets, cakes, refined flours and sugar or some food with ultra-processed oils.
For example, when you are feeling angry, do you find yourself craving food with a high content of refined flours? This food has an effect on the liver and its food processing capabilities. When you have a sweet craving, do you notice it might appear when you are feeling emotionally insecure? This food reaction has an effect on your stomach functions. And finally, when you feel fear, do you notice that your consumption of foamy or sparkling food and beverages increases? This affects the kidneys.
So, how do we combat these cravings? It is necessary to identify what’s the origin of the emotion you are feeling to understand these cravings.
How do we do that?
First, before you reach for a food or beverage item, take 30 seconds to think about how you are feeling and explain to yourself the reason you want that food or beverage item?
Second, identify a health alternative, whether it is a different food item, physical activity, or a screen break, check in on yourself to see if there is another option that will address your emotion while satisfying the craving.Incorporate in your diet foods like apple cider vinegar, vegetables, unsaturated fat, animal protein and whole grains or complex grains (quinoa, buckwheat, oats, millet, rice....) into your overall diet to reduce cravings.
During your work hours it is especially important to maintain healthy food habits so you don’t lose energy and focus on your tasks and performance.
Physical Burnout: How can you avoid it?
Let’s admit it. It is difficult to sit and stare at a screen all day, or at least for eight hours of it. By the end of your work day, you may feel your eyes getting tired, red, or itchy. You may also feel some fatigue from maintaining the same posture all day. There are some things that can help you avoid this “physical burnout”:
Take a break from the screen: You can apply the famous 20-20-20 rule, meaning that for every 20 minutes spent in front of your screen, look away for 20 seconds and focus on an object at least 20 feet away from you.
Use the night shift setting in your computer, dark mode, or lowered brightness, if your eyes do not adapt well to the artificial lighting, you can also use your settings to increase the size of the icons and locate yourself further away from the screen.
Take small breaks, do not stay at your computer for hours, every 30-45 minutes get up and walk a bit around the room, and stretch your muscles, readjust your posture.
Ergonomics.
Ergo-what? What does ergonomics mean?
Ergonomics is the study that focuses on optimizing the workspace and its tools in order to prevent injuries and postural issues in time.
With the trend of more fully remote and work-from-home roles in the past few years, the workplace has shifted from a thoroughly designed office to our own homes. And let’s be honest, our homes were not places initially designed to work. A lot of remote workers overlook that in order to maintain a healthy environment, it is necessary to adapt our home spaces with a focus on ergonomics. This can mean a lot of changes like investing in the right equipment, such as an ergonomic work chair that promotes a good posture, leveling your desk and using an ergonomic mouse and keyboard to accommodate your arms in a relaxed position, and using a notebook or screen stand so you do not curve your neck.
We do understand that this inevitably means an economic cost at the beginning, but we encourage you to think of it as a long-term investment, given that it will provide an improvement to your overall health and mood overtime.
Everything shared has been contributed with the hope of giving a few tips and tricks learned from those that have had to adjust their work environment, their food choice, and their screen time viewing. Prioritizing healthy habits will not only be beneficial for your personal well-being, but it is proven to also boost work performance by enhancing cognitive abilities and mental clarity, resulting in increased energy levels and improving your overall mood.
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