Experts identify side effects of working from home
Sitting for long hours constantly can lead to weight gain, and weakened muscles and bones.
After Covid, many organisations adopted a work-from-home or hybrid model, which has benefited employees in numerous ways, including better sleep, the ability to maintain a healthy work-life balance, and financial savings on transportation. However, working from home has a number of drawbacks that cannot be ignored in terms of general health.
We may become less active as a result of the model, which may also have an impact on our health in other ways. Working from home requires many people to spend long periods of time in the same posture, and when they don’t frequently exercise or walk, they run the risk of developing bone, muscle, and joint problems, according to specialists.
Not leaving the house can also lower vitamin D exposure, which can influence calcium absorption and bone health. Lack of environmental change can also make one drab and deplete energy. Dr Prof Puneet Mishra, Additional Director & Unit Head Orthopaedics, Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh says work from home is a self-created silent misery for the human body and also says ‘sitting is the new smoking’ as prolonged sitting hours make you gain weight, damage your back muscles and bones and also puts you at risk of clotting your legs known as deep venous thrombosis (DVT) that can also lead to fatal pulmonary embolism (clot migrating to lungs).
While there is no direct scientific proof that work-from-home arrangements make people’s bones weaker, Dr. Saksham Mittal, Senior Consultant, Orthopaedics, Pristyn Care says there are several remote work-related variables that could potentially have an indirect impact on bone health.
For one to lead a better, healthier lifestyle while working from home, people should aim for regular whole-body stretches and exercises for at least 45 minutes a day and avoid prolonged sitting for more than 20 minutes at a stretch. Avoid using computers in bed or on a couch for work as this is the worst posture for the entire back. Instead, adopt a good sitting position at your desk that supports the curvature of your back and neck. Installing a standing desk can also help in eliminating some of the risks mentioned above.
