Quick Health and Fitness Reminders for Work-from-Home Moms

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Telecommuting or working for yourself from home can feel like a heaven-sent opportunity. You get to spend more time with your kids, you don’t have to worry about getting dressed for work in the morning, and you get the coffee machine all to yourself! It can come with its own risks, however. Don’t miss these quick health and fitness reminders:

Exercise

It’s so easy to let daily fitness fall to the wayside, especially when you work from home and find yourself handling chores, cooking meals, or tending to the children when you’re not at your computer. Frequently skipping exercise, however, poses many health dangers to you including increased risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes.

If you are having trouble working exercise into your work from home routine, try some of these quick tips:

  • Schedule it into your day, even for just 15 minutes. Add it to your calendar, your ToDo list, whatever you use to structure your day and set reminders to make it happen!

  • Sit on a stability ball instead of an office chair and take advantage of bouncing, balancing, and moving more while you work.

  • Do something fun! Exercise doesn’t have to be an intense run. Instead, sprinkle fun physical activities throughout your day like doing 10 squats on the hour every hour, running up and down your stairs a few times, or taking a 15-minute yoga break between assignments.

  • Walk or bike where you need to go, i.e. to check the mail, to get the kids at the bus stop, or to run a nearby errand.

Posture

If you work from home, chances are you are tackling some type of computer-based work that involves lots of sitting. As a mom, you may also find yourself dragging your laptop all over the house from the desk to the dining room table, even your bed to squeeze in some late-night hours. Don’t let poor posture habits give you chronic back pain:

  • Take advantage of the wide range of laptop desks available to make working more comfortable no matter where you are sitting – the bed, couch, you name it.

  • Avoid craning and tilting your head forward when using your computer by making sure the monitor is raised up so the top of the screen is level with your eye.

  • Use apps like Posture Zone or Perfect Posture to have your smartphone alert you when it senses you are starting to slouch or slump.

  • Get a hands-free headset so you can join calls without having to hold the phone to your ear (or worse, cradle it between your ear and shoulder) for extended periods of time.

  • Use a standing desk or a treadmill desk to encourage less sitting and more moving while you work.

  • Get up and stretch every hour or so to loosen joints and relieve muscle tension.

Eating

Are you one of those moms who grabs a quick snack in the morning before the kids are off to school and then forget to eat again until it’s almost time to pick them up? Going non-stop all day can negatively impact how much and how often you consume the nutritious food you need to maintain a healthy weight and get all your essential vitamins and minerals. Make eating better while you work from a home a priority by:

  • Assembling healthy bites at the beginning of the week for easy snacking, i.e. roasted sweet potatoes, carrot sticks, cottage cheese with grapefruit, whole grain tortilla chips with fresh salsa, nuts, and fresh fruit.

  • Setting reminders on your computer or smartphone when it is time to eat lunch or have a quick snack.

  • Drinking lots of water throughout the day to stay hydrated and stave off cravings.

  • Taking supplements to increase your workout intensity
  • Limiting caffeine consumption in the afternoon to promote better sleep

Your health and fitness shouldn’t suffer because you’re lucky enough to get to work from home with a family. Taking simple steps to eat better, exercise more, and practice good posture during your workday not only benefits your own physical and mental health, but can also boost your own productivity too!

 

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