For those of us lucky enough to be doing what we love, involved in the development of software and websites, we are unfortunately working in a predominantly sedentary environment. Yes we are desk jockeys, and when we are immersed in what we are doing we can lose track of time and be sitting for an extended period of time - not healthy! We’ve all sat down to do something that we thought would take 30 minutes and lifted our head only to realise we have been at it for hours. While enjoying what we are doing is great, we need to take the time to look after our minds and bodies too.
Move
While being in an office doesn’t always lend itself to being an active environment, we can all take a bit of time during the day to move. Going for a walk during a break is a good way to clear your head, allow your eyes to adjust to natural lighting and get your metabolism moving a bit quicker. I find exercise clears my thought processes, its amazing how often a solution to a problem will become apparent during a walk. At the least take the time to stand up and walk around the office one an hour, a little movement will make a difference.
Enjoy some Sunlight
Sunlight is a rich source of vitamin D, I believe it is a really important part of our wellbeing, being office bound, unless we make the effort we don’t get much exposure to the sun. Taking the time to catching a few rays during a day will help with you general outlook. While there are obvious risks in over doing exposure to the sun exposure in moderation can be a good thing, just don't turn out like a rasin!
Music
Interestingly, music in the workplace can help with our health, when we listen to music we like, we feel happy and when we are happy we are generally healthy. The challenge in an office environment is sharing music that everyone enjoys, when this isn’t possible, put on your headphones and tune into some sounds that you like, it helps!
Work Life Balance
We’ve heard the cry that we all need to find a good work life balance, when working in code this can sometimes be difficult, when it comes to after work and the weekend, it is difficult not to pick up a device of one sort or another and begin browsing or coding. Our bodies need a break, try to make extended times when you are not at work, device free, easier said than done I know but it will be helpful – your eyes will thank you for it.
In Conclusion
In conclusion for those of us working in IT roles that we enjoy, we may not be aware of the emotional and physical challenges we are exposing ourselves too, we need to take the time to understand how we are working and invest the time in allowing our body some respite.