April 6, 2021 Sitting at Your Desk All Day Got You Down? Try These 5 Easy Hacks to Soothe Aches and Pains

Work is home, home is work. With the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in a surge of remote workers, more people than ever before have had to figure out how to transition from office life to WFH home life.

Many have enjoyed the perks. Working from your PJs, increased flexibility, and maybe even higher productivity…what could be better, right?

But working from home also poses its own unique set of challenges. Home life often bleeds into work life and vice versa. If you don’t have the proper office set up, you might be working from less than ideal conditions. And without your coffee break chats with coworkers, meetings throughout the day, scheduled lunch breaks, presentations and more – you may find yourself parked in your chair ALL day long.

Ever had one those days where you look up, only to realize that you’ve been at your desk for longer than you’d like to admit? It happens to all of us. But common or not, long hours in the same position at our desk all day certainly takes a toll on our bodies. You might find yourself complaining of sore muscles, feeling lethargic, or just plain stiff at the end of your work day.

“Sitting is the new smoking” they say! So without further ado, let’s get into five simple strategies to ease the aches and pains of too much desk time.

 

Get Up and Go For a Walk

While it may sound simple, how many times have you told yourself you’re ‘too busy’ to get up and go for a walk? Getting UP and out our chair and out into nature is one of the best ways to increase our energy and circulation in our muscles.

While often many dismiss walking as exercise, thinking it’s not “enough of a workout”, the benefits of walking are numerous. From improving fitness, cardiac health, mood and fatigue, reducing pain, preventing weight gain, reducing risk for cancer and chronic disease, as well as  improving endurance, circulation, and posture, the list for why you should be walking daily just goes on and on and on.

You’re never too busy to go for a walk! Even if you need to start small, do whatever it takes to just get outside, even if it’s only for fifteen minutes to start. To double up on the mindfulness benefits of walking, you could even throw on a walking meditation playlist.

 

Wear Compression Socks

There’s nothing worse than the stiff, sore feeling in your legs after sitting all day long. While sometimes you’re busy and it’s hard to avoid being parked at your desk, here’s a tip that will minimize stiffness and improve circulation – wear compression socks!

Sitting for even just 90 minutes or more can cause blood flow below the knees to decrease by 50%. This can lead to further problems such as clotting and blockages in your veins – no joke! Compression socks have proven to help with blood flow and circulation. Not only will you minimize long-term health risks associated with sitting all day, but you’ll FEEL better on a day-to-day basis too.

Try our Supporo fashion compression socks to put an extra pep in your step. Look good, feel good!

 

Try a Mindfulness Meditation

Sometimes we might be straining our muscles, like our neck, back or shoulders without even realizing it. Maybe you’re clenching your jaw, or furiously hunched over our keyboard typing away. We get so involved in the task at hand that we fail to realize what’s going on with our body.

A quick way to remedy this is to center ourselves through a mindfulness meditation. Meditation helps relax the body and calm the mind, and helps you bring intentionality back into your work day.

If you feel intimidated by meditation, you don’t need any special set up and you don’t need to meditate for a long time to feel the benefits. Even just a quick five-minute meditation at your desk can make a world of difference.

Need a bit of guidance to start? Check out a meditation app like HeadSpace or Calm to access a library of guided meditations!

 

Use a Hot and Cold Compress

Our fourth tip is to try using a hot/cold compress to soothe sore muscles throughout the day. Our Magic Bag Neck-to-Back hot and cold compress specifically targets all those little muscles in your neck, shoulders and upper back that get tense and strained as you sit at your desk all day!

It’s the perfect made-in-Canada, 100% natural tool for at-home stress and pain relief.

 

Get Moving with Simple Exercises!

By incorporating more movement and exercise into your daily routine, you’ll be doing your body a BIG favor.

Not only will you feel more energized when you DO return to your desk, but you’ll also end your work days feeling more refreshed and pain free.

Your exercise does not have to be strenuous or incredibly time-consuming. We’re not saying you have to hit the gym for three hours (although if that’s your thing, go for it!).

Even just taking a five minute break on the hour to do some quick stretches and exercises at your desk will help immensely. To end your day, a relaxing 15-minute yoga flow works wonders to wind down and give your muscles some much-needed TLC!

Remember: YOU deserve care and attention! Work and business will always demand our attention, but it’s up to us to incorporate little moments of rest, relaxation and self-care into our days.