The Benefits of Regular Stretching for People Who Work from Home

Contents

Stretching: The Unsung Hero of Remote Work Wellness

A Step-by-Step Guide to Stretching While Working From Home

Enhance Your Work-From-Home Experience with a Relevant Training

The Bottom Line To Stretching While Working From Home

Imagine this: you wake up in the morning, groggily stumble to your home office, and spend the entire day hunched over your desk, cranking out emails and reports.

You barely move from your seat, and by the end of the day, you’re feeling stiff, tense, and all sorts of uncomfortable. Sound familiar?

It’s an all too common scenario for people who work from home. But don’t worry, there’s a simple solution that can make a world of difference: regular stretching!

In this article, we’ll dive into the benefits of regular stretching for remote workers, how to incorporate it into your daily routine, and how your employer can provide wellbeing webinars and workshops to help improve your overall health and productivity.

Stretching: The Unsung Hero of Remote Work Wellness

Regular stretching offers numerous benefits for people who work from home.

First and foremost, it helps alleviate the aches and pains that come with sitting for long periods.

When you stretch, you’re increasing blood flow to your muscles and promoting flexibility, which helps prevent muscle stiffness and soreness.

But that’s not all!

Regular stretching can also help improve your posture.

When you’re hunched over your computer all day, your muscles can become imbalanced, leading to poor posture and potential long-term issues.

Stretching helps counteract this by reducing the stiffness in the muscles that contribute to poor posture, aches, pains, etc.

Moreover, stretching can help boost your overall wellbeing.

Taking a break to stretch can serve as a form of stress relief, helping you clear your mind and refocus. Plus, the increased blood flow and oxygen to your brain can help improve concentration and cognitive function.

Now that we’ve covered the benefits, let’s look at how to incorporate stretching into your work-from-home routine.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Stretching While Working From Home

Set a Stretching Schedule

Make a habit of stretching by scheduling regular breaks throughout your workday. You could stretch for 5/10 minutes every hour or take a longer 20-minute break every couple of hours.

Find a routine that works best for you and stick to it.

Choose Your Stretches

Focus on stretches that target the areas most affected by sitting, such as your neck, shoulders, back, hips, and legs. Some examples include:

• Neck rolls: Gently roll your head in a circular motion, clockwise and anticlockwise.
• Shoulder rolls: Roll your shoulders up, back, and down in a circular motion.
• Seated spinal twist: While seated, place your right hand on your left knee and twist your torso to the left. Hold for a few breaths, then switch sides.
• Hip flexor stretch: Stand up and take a step back with your right foot, bending your left knee. Gently press your hips forward until you feel a stretch in your right hip. Hold for approximately 30 seconds then switch sides.
• Hamstring stretch: Stand with your feet hip-width apart, then bend forward from your hips, keeping your legs straight. Reach for your toes or as far down your legs as you can comfortably go. Aim to hold for approximately 30 seconds.

Warm Up Before Stretching

Before diving into your stretches, make sure to warm up your muscles with a brief walk or some light movements. This can help to make your stretches more effective.

Breathe Through Your Stretches

Remember to breathe deeply and evenly while stretching. This helps relax your muscles and encourages blood flow and oxygen delivery to your tissues.

Don’t Overdo It

Stretching should feel good, not painful. Listen to your body and never force a stretch. If you feel pain, ease up and adjust the stretch to a more comfortable position.

Your body should know the difference between a relieving stretch and an aggravating pain.

Enhance Your Work-From-Home Experience with a Relevant Training

In addition to incorporating regular stretching into your routine, it’s also a great idea to ask your employer to explore resources like wellbeing webinars and workshops for remote workers.

Services like these can provide invaluable tips, tools, and techniques to help you optimise your work-from-home experience and prioritise your health.

For example, Working from Home Best Practice Webinar is a fantastic resource for learning how to create a healthy and productive home office environment.

By attending this webinar, you’ll discover strategies for setting up your workspace, maintaining a healthy work-life balance and implementing activities to help your body feel at its best.

Meanwhile, Employee Wellbeing Webinars offer virtual training sessions that teach employees how to manage stress, improve physical health, and boost mental wellbeing.

These webinars are an excellent opportunity to learn new skills and techniques while connecting with colleagues who also work from home.

The Bottom Line To Stretching While Working From Home

The benefits of regular stretching for people who work from home are clear: it alleviates muscle stiffness and soreness, promotes better posture, and helps improve physical wellbeing.

By following our step-by-step guide and incorporating stretching into your daily routine, you’ll be well on your way to a healthier, happier work-from-home experience.

Moreover, don’t forget to encourage your employer to take advantage of resources like wellbeing webinars to further enhance your work-from-home wellness.

Remember, a little stretching goes a long way. Start incorporating it into your routine today and reap the benefits of a healthier, more productive work-from-home experience.

Happy stretching!

Author 

Tyler Lowe – Health & Wellbeing Speaker

BSc Sport & Exercise Rehabilitation