15 Healthy living Tips for Workers

As an employee working a 9–5 job, it’s difficult living a healthy lifestyle. We all know trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle as a Nigerian is quite expensive. Employees are encouraged to focus on their physical and mental health to remain active and productive at work. Here are 15 tips for healthy living as an employee without having to spend too much.

1. Take daily walks: Research shows taking a walk outdoor helps in different ways including; decreased obesity risk, increased flexibility, and even improves immunity.
2. Get Sleep: Every working individual should get an average 6hrs of sleep for the body to function properly. The less sleep you get, the more likely you will feel quick to anxiety and a host of other unpleasant feelings.
3. Connect with colleagues: Interpersonal relationship is critical to good health. Stop by a colleague’s desk for a brief chit-chat, or when you go out for lunch breaks to maintain a sense of closeness as a team. Social connection is a key element of healthy workplaces.
4. Consume immunity boosting foods: It’s important to maintain a strong immune system. Eating healthy foods with protein and vitamin C (like cherries, oranges, egg, meat, fish, milk etc.) can give you the antioxidants needed to fight off infections.
5. Reduce your sit time: With more employees working remotely, you may feel like all you do is sit all day long! Research shows sitting for five-plus hours daily is equivalent to smoking 1.25 packs of cigarettes. When possible, get up, stretch, or do a mini-workout to get your heart rate up and circulation going.
6. Try positive thinking: Being optimistic with your thoughts can help you as an employee during tough times. Plus, feeling happy can improve overall health and wellness.
7. Drink more water: Make sure that you are drinking enough water throughout the work day. Keep a reusable water bottle nearby if possible. Drinking enough water has plenty benefits like skin health improvement and beauty, blood pressure maintenance, healthy circulation of blood, regulated body temperature, among others.
8. Create a meal plan: When you create and stay consistent with a meal plan, it becomes easier to save money and eat healthier. Make a list of your favorite meals that are easy to prepare during the week and stick with it.
9. Take breaks: We all need breaks from work. Every 50 minutes or so, make a plan to step away from your workspace. It will refresh your mind and get your circulation moving as you stand up and walk around your workspace.
10. Do workouts you love: Do your best to move your body daily. Ideally, you want to aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise each day. You’re more likely to stick with it if you do an activity you love, whether it’s yoga, walking, kickboxing, salsa, or something else.
11. Read daily: Reading is a great stress reliever and an easy way to learn new information.
12. Don’t be too hard on yourself: When you find yourself quick to offer negative self-talk, see how you can change the script to a more positive, encouraging internal dialogue.
13. Reduce sugar intake: Too much sugar intake has been linked to obesity, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and inflammation. Watch your daily sugar intake to ensure you’re not enough to cause any damage to your body system.
14. Do eye exercises: With the increase in employees working remotely from home, and a lot of us using digital devices now more than ever. That might mean an increase in digital eye strain. Make it a point to look away from your phone or pc screen often and do eye exercises to reduce issues like eyes dryness and headaches.
15. Clean your equipment: Whether that includes a keyboard, pc, work desk, file rack, etc. make sure the items you touch daily are clean.