The most common “office” diseases

The text is presented for informational purposes only. We urge you not to self-medicate. When the first symptoms appear, consult a doctor. Recommended reading: “Why not self-medicate?”. The realities of modern life are such that every year the number of people working in offices is increasing. Office workers spend most of the day sitting at their desks and computers. At first glance, such working conditions look quite comfortable. But this situation has another side. Sedentary work and a sedentary lifestyle often cause a violation of posture, visual impairment, and also develop bad habits in office workers of frequent smoke breaks and excessive coffee consumption. Plus, all this should be remembered about office dust, the harmful effects of air conditioners, constant contact with a large number of people who are carriers of viruses and bacteria. That is, if you look at work in the office from this side, it becomes clear that it is not so safe.

Scientists have compiled a list of the most common office diseases, and also gave white-collar workers recommendations on how to avoid poor health.

Blurred vision

The eyes are the most vulnerable spot of most office workers. People who work at the computer all the time sooner or later begin to notice the consequences of their employment. However, by following simple rules, you can avoid myopia.

Despite the fact that “aerobatics” is the ability to work with a computer keyboard, looking not at it, but at the monitor, ophthalmologists have a different opinion. Scientists have noticed that those people who, when typing, look not at the monitor, but at the keyboard, put their eyes at less risk. That is, while typing, according to doctors, it is more useful to look at the screen, just to check for typos.

Eye problems in office workers are often caused by very dry air and dust that cause the eyeball to dry out. In recent years, more and more people suffer from the so-called dry eye syndrome. ^[1]. And ophthalmologists call this disease typically office.

How to protect yourself

To prevent drying of the eyes, every half an hour it is necessary to take a break from working at the monitor for at least 5-7 minutes ^[2][3]. It is also important to regularly ventilate the office and, if possible, work behind a monitor with good eye protection. It is important for office workers to wash their hands frequently and avoid touching their eyes to avoid irritation and infection.

To prevent office work from causing visual impairment, it is useful to do eye exercises every 2-3 hours every day. Such a workout will take no more than 3-5 minutes, but will help prevent many ophthalmic problems.

The first and most simple, but effective exercise: close your eyes for 5 seconds, repeat 5-7 times.

Second: sit comfortably and rest against the back of a chair, look at the ceiling, relax your eyes, and then blink at a fast pace for 30-60 seconds. Repeat the exercise 2-3 times.

The third exercise: close your eyes and massage your eyelids with your fingertips in a circular motion for 30-40 seconds. Repeat at least three times.

Fourth exercise: alternately look at objects near and far for 5 seconds. Repeat 5-7 times. Finish your eye workout with an eyelid massage.

Excess weight

A sedentary lifestyle, snacking “on the run”, usually chips, cookies, sweets and sandwiches, soon make themselves felt by body fat. Usually, after six months of eating in this mode, women have a wider waist. ^[4]and men have rounded bellies. In addition, many office workers develop a bad habit of constantly chewing something while sitting at the computer. Interestingly, in this case, the person himself does not even notice how many extra calories he consumes in this way every day. And it also leads to rapid weight gain.

How to protect yourself

To avoid obesity while working in the office, you need to understand that all people need proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals on a daily basis. But depending on the lifestyle and activity, the need for these nutrients is different. That is, the daily calorie intake for an athlete and a person who spends almost all day sitting is significantly different, since their energy consumption is radically different. Therefore, it is very important for office workers to avoid the so-called empty calories in the form of fast food and junk food. ^[5]. If the office has a microwave, you can take pre-cooked food with you, for example, cereals, boiled meat, fish. It is also useful to satisfy hunger with salads, fresh fruits and berries.

It is very important for office workers to exercise regularly. If it is not possible to visit the training room, then you should at least do exercises in the morning, and load your muscles as often as possible during the day. For example, if you need to take something from another office, do not ask colleagues to “grab on the way”, but walk around the office on your own. It is also useful to walk at least part of the road from home to work. This will help offset the excess calories received during the day.

Dyspepsia

Many office workers complain of heaviness in the stomach. This is usually how dyspepsia manifests itself – indigestion, which is also called lazy stomach syndrome. Improper nutrition, snacking on unhealthy foods sooner or later cause malfunctions in the digestive tract. Experts have calculated that about one in three office workers is faced with digestive disorders.

Dyspepsia is often diagnosed among fans of the so-called street food, instant coffee from vending machines against the background of a lack of diet, as well as due to frequent stress. Stagnation in the digestive tract also occurs due to a sedentary lifestyle.

How to protect yourself

The best advice for people with lazy stomach syndrome is to regulate their diet, make their diet from healthy food and move as much as possible.

Chronic stress

At first glance, it may seem that working at a computer in a comfortable chair is practically a vacation. In fact, almost all office workers regularly feel the pressure factor (“burning lines”, failed deals, urgent extraordinary tasks, conflicts in the team), which causes constant stress, psychological fatigue, and then professional burnout.

The effects of stress cannot be underestimated. Against its background, both mental and physical disorders can develop. ^[6]. Digestive and cardiovascular problems ^[7], as well as diabetes often occur against a background of stress. People exposed to frequent stressful situations often suffer from depression, become unnecessarily “twitchy”, their concentration is disturbed, and they have difficulty making decisions.

How to protect yourself

The best way to protect yourself from chronic stress is to take at least a few days off and change the environment. It does not matter how to spend the day off – go on a trip to another country or visit your grandmother in the village – the main thing is that a person will spend these days away from the office, colleagues and talking about work.

If you can’t take a vacation, you should at least change your usual work schedule. First of all, it is important to stop taking work home, and spend your free time with family, friends or doing your favorite hobby. Yoga or any other sport, visits to a beauty salon, a walk in nature helps to cope with stress. By the way, regular walks in the fresh air help not only improve the psychological state, but also strengthen the immune system, increase tone, and improve blood circulation.

Diseases of the musculoskeletal system

Every third office worker complains of pain in the back, neck, arms or legs, discomfort in the muscles. The reason for such conditions is low mobility. Office workers, as a rule, spend several hours in a row in the same position. In this case, the position of the body, most often, can hardly be called correct. As a result, most office workers sooner or later begin to experience back pain, especially in the lower part of the spine. ^[8].

When a person moves very little, lactic acid accumulates in the muscles. Under normal conditions, the body uses it to release energy. But when there is no physical activity in the proper amount, muscle pain occurs due to excess acid.

In addition, while sitting at the computer, many do not monitor their posture, which is why the load on the spine and spinal muscles is distributed incorrectly. As a result, a curvature of the spine is possible, stoop appears, osteochondrosis develops with all the ensuing consequences.

How to protect yourself

In this case, there is only one advice – to move more and monitor your posture. There are also some exercises for the back that can be performed right at the workplace.

For example, sitting on an office chair (it should rotate), lift your legs off the floor, grab your hands on the table and rotate in one direction and the other at least 5 times.

You can also do neck exercises right at your desk. And these are the usual tilts, turns and head rotations in different directions. Each movement is useful to repeat 10-15 times.

Regular breaks can help reduce the risk of back pain. Every hour it is useful to get up from the table for at least a few minutes and walk around the office.

Allergy

In recent years, specialists have increasingly resorted to the term “office allergy”. Officially, there is no such disease, but typical conditions in most offices cause employees to experience symptoms of an allergic reaction. Heavy, dusty and dry office air often contains substances that cause chronic coughs and runny noses in workers. The presence of air conditioners, printers and other office equipment in the room increases the risk of toxic substances entering the air, which for many are allergens.

How to protect yourself

All office equipment, furniture and personal belongings of office workers should be regularly wiped with a clean, damp cloth. This reduces the amount of dust in the room. In addition, wet cleaning is a good prevention of the accumulation of viruses and bacteria. By the way, researchers advise paying special attention to the keyboard, computer mouse and phone – these items, as a rule, accumulate the most harmful bacteria and viruses. It is extremely important to regularly carry out wet cleaning during an epidemic of influenza and SARS.

Cardiovascular diseases

It may seem strange to many, but, according to researchers, office workers are one of the main risk groups for developing cardiovascular disease. Researchers attribute such disappointing statistics to low physical activity, malnutrition, chronic stress and sleep disturbance. ^[9].

How to protect yourself

Typically, office workers lead a very sedentary lifestyle. All day long – in the office at the computer, and when they come home, such people want to relax: have a delicious dinner, lie comfortably on the bed and watch TV. But this is the worst thing that a typical office worker can offer his cardiovascular system. This lifestyle increases the risk of cardiovascular problems several times. To avoid this, on the contrary, it is important to go in for sports in your free time, walk in the fresh air for at least an hour before going to bed and eat only healthy foods.

Headache

Headache attacks happen to almost all office workers. There are many reasons for its occurrence. The most common is eye fatigue caused by prolonged work at the computer. Also, discomfort can occur due to banal overwork. ^[10]. An equally common cause of pain is muscle spasms in the neck. This happens if a person takes the wrong posture during work. For example, bending too low over a desk, bending the spine or neck.

How to protect yourself

You can always get rid of a headache with the help of over-the-counter pain medications. But it is important to understand that it is more correct to eliminate not the symptoms of discomfort, but its cause. In the case of an office headache, you first need to learn how to monitor your posture, sit with a straight back, control your movements and not linger for a long time in a position with a curved spine. For the prevention of headaches, it is useful to be outdoors more often and engage in physical exercises, in particular from the category for developing spinal flexibility (for example, yoga) and improving blood circulation (cardio training). If the headache attacks are very strong and recur often, it is necessary to undergo a medical examination.

Viral diseases

Problems of a viral nature are included in the list of typically office diseases. And if you take a sober look at this situation, questions and surprises about such a classification immediately disappear. An office is a place where a lot of people usually stay for a long time every day. Each of them is a potential carrier of infection. Closed office spaces are the optimal environment for viruses to multiply. By the way, in order to become infected, it is not necessary to sit in the same office with the carrier of the infection. Often a short indirect contact with germs that have “occupied” doorknobs, office equipment or stationery is enough. ^[11]. To catch the disease, it is enough to touch the infected object with your hand, and then to your face.

How to protect yourself

The golden rule for all office spaces is regular ventilation. Even if it’s cold or raining outside, the windows in the offices still need to be opened. If possible, ventilate the room several times a day. At the time of ventilation, it is better for employees to leave the office, and, if possible, create a draft in it.

Also, in order to protect against infection, it is very important for office workers to maintain their immunity. To do this, you need to follow a healthy diet rich in vitamins, minerals and other components useful for the body. As with most typical office ailments, it’s good to be outdoors regularly, exercise, and take a healthy break.

For many years, white-collar work seemed to many to be ideal, not requiring much physical effort, and therefore beneficial to health. But the latest observations of scientists have forced the world to reconsider its opinion about the safety and, moreover, the benefits of working in the office. Let’s say more, in our time, office workers are often referred to as the most painful group of people in the labor market. However, office work is by no means a death sentence. In order to maintain good health and activity for as long as possible, you just need to monitor your lifestyle and nutrition.

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