Remote work has brought about some amazing benefits like freedom to work from anywhere in the world. If that anywhere is your bed or couch, you could face some health issues in the future. Creating a home office for working from home is ideal but if you don’t have it yet, bad posture is hurting more than just your back. While a work desk doesn’t magically give you good posture, it helps maintain your body position. It’s important for you to maintain good posture while working from home to avoid any long-term health problems.

Before we help you with some tips and exercises, let’s understand why it’s necessary to pay attention to good posture.

Adverse Effects of Bad Posture

Bad posture isn’t just a short term annoyance but can become a lifelong nuisance if you don’t pay attention to the way you sit while working remotely. It’s okay to relax on the bed once in a while. However, working from your bed for eight hours becomes less of a relaxation and more of a problem because that’s not what beds are for. Leaning in a chair or slouching on your desk isn’t great either. Here’s what bad posture can do to your body. 

• Back and Shoulder Pain

Poor posture can put pressure on your neck and shoulder, causing pain. Constant bad posture can lead to muscle tension and stiffness. 

• Poor Circulation

Sitting for long hours on a bed, couch or even a chair with bad posture can cause improper blood circulation. This could cause high blood pressure and expose you to the risk of developing heart problems early in life.

• Spinal Deformity

Poor posture can cause changes in your spinal structure. This can lead to conditions that cause limited mobility and severe pain such as scoliosis or kyphosis. Scoliosis is caused when you lean to one side for long periods of time. The spine too curves to one side, 

Kyphosis is caused when your spine curves outward. This straightens your lower back which is supposed to be curved.

• Poor Lung Performance

Slouching forward causes shortening and tightening of your chest muscles. This may lead to shallow breathing. Bad posture also puts pressure on the diaphragm making it harder for you to take a deep breath and if you can't get the oxygen you need, your internal organs and tissues won’t function properly.

What Is Good Posture?

How is good posture defined? How will you know whether you’re maintaining good posture or not? Here are certain markers of good posture. Keep these points in mind when you start your work day and adjust your posture from time to time. 

• Chin should be parallel to the floor.

• Shoulders should be even.

• Your spine should be neutral. Don’t flex or arch your spine. 

• Knees should be even, pointing ahead. Avoid crossing your legs while sitting for long hours.

• body weight needs to be distributed evenly. Avoid leaning to one side.

Tips to Maintain Good Posture While Working From Home

Nobody wants to suffer from musculoskeletal pain and heart problems. It’s best to follow some tips and daily exercises that don’t consume much of your time but can save you lots of money on medical expenses in the long-term. Good posture while working from home is possible. Here’s what you can do:

1. Small changes For Better Posture

• Avoid sitting/lying on your bed or couch while working from home.

• Create a workstation with a desk and chair if possible.

• Use a comfortable chair.

• Sit an arm’s length away from the device screen.

• Take a 10 minute break after every hour of sitting.

These are just some of the things you can take care of every day to avoid poor posture. You can also go for some simple exercises to maintain good posture while working from home. These exercises can easily be incorporated into your work-from-home schedule.

2. Chin Tucks

Chin tucks are easy to do. You can start your day with them. You can also go for chin tucks when you take breaks while working from home. They’re great for aligning your chin and keeping your head straight.

Video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gIBoxQ6AlS0

• Move your head back so that your ears are aligned with your shoulders.

• Keep your chin down and try to achieve height through your head

• Hold in this position for 10 seconds.

• Repeat 10 times

3. Thoracic Extension

Video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=twGnMnUapAs

• Lay down on a towel or foam roller like is shown in the video. 

• Hold this position up to one minute

Thoracic extensions are a great way to maintain good posture as they help with better shoulder mobility and improve your spinal curvature. You can go for thoracic extensions before the start or after the end of your work day.

4. Figure-4 Hip Stretch

Video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=84RTN6lUmYM

• While seated on a chair, bring one leg up and place it’s ankle on the other knee/thigh.

• Press your knee down.

• Hold this position for 20-30 seconds.

• Repeat for the other leg.

The exercise is as interesting as it’s name. It’s so easy to do that you could perform it easily while you’re working on that tedious work project!

5. Wall Posture Exercise

Video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a96ELNFzKOA

• Stand up against a with your heels, upper back/shoulders, buttocks and the back of your head touching the wall. 

• Keep your shoulders back and maintain the chin tuck position.

• Keep your spine neutral without arching or flexing. 

• Hold this position up for one minute before repeating.

Good Posture While Working From Home is Your Key to Better Health

All of these tips and exercises for good posture can help you maintain good musculoskeletal and heart health. Working from home doesn’t have to be a back-breaking and painful experience for your body anymore. Just 15-20 minutes of these exercises every day can change the way your body sits and works. 

No matter how inviting the bed looks, it’s not bedtime yet, so remember that the work desk and a chin tuck are your best friends at remote work!

Author Bio:

Aneesha is a Content Contributor at https://thinkremote.com. Her love affair with writing began when she was only ten years old. As she grew up, filling the pages of her diary with poetry transformed into writing real life stories, experiences and informative articles for national and international publications. With more than a decade long experience in content marketing and business development, her love for all things "communication" is seen in everything she does.