Desk jobs have us sitting for 8+ hours a day and let’s be honest, the stiffness, aches, and discomfort plus the sometimes lack of mental stimulation is no joke. We have put together 5 physical and mental stimulation tips to reduce the effects of long-term sitting. 

1. Keep Your Desk Organised. Feeling stressed out? Take 5 minutes to organise and de-clutter your desk. Most of us don’t realise how much the environment plays a part in our productivity and mood. How you keep your environment is a good indication of what’s going on in your mind. For example, the more cluttered your desk, the more cluttered your mind. Taking a second to clear everything reduces overwhelm and gives you a great standup break. Don’t forget your desktop, we know we are all guilty of an untidy desktop and the relief of deleting all those screenshots and getting everything organised into folders also has a great impact and leaves us feeling refreshed.

2. Keep Healthy Snacks and Stay Hydrated at Your Desk. There’s nothing worse than trying to work when you’re hungry and you feel your productivity weaken, as your blood sugar lowers and energy dips. Beat the late afternoon struggle by keeping high-protein and high-fibre snacks at your desk. A protein bar, nuts, or seeds can work wonders!  Give our cocoa and raisin energy balls a try! Keep a bottle of water at your desk and keep sipping. Find out more about staying hydrated here. 

3. Adjust Your Screen Height. When it comes to hacks for desk jobs, when your screen height is too low or high, it strains your neck. Make sure it’s at eye level, so you’re not tilting one way or another and creating tension at the top of your spine. Some people find adjusting their screen to have periods of being able to stand at their desk beneficial too.  

4. Disconnect From Work During Lunch. When you work from home or at a desk, it can feel like work just follows you everywhere. You can never escape. This is why it’s so important to disconnect whenever you can, especially at lunchtimes. Try not to be on your phone or eat your desk if you can. Make your lunch the main event! This is even more important to do so if you’re working from home. It allows you time to reset and prepare for the rest of your day.

5. Schedule in a 5 Minute Work Stretch. You never know how much you need to stretch until you finally take those 5 minutes to get out of your seat! You can feel your muscles craving some form of movement. This doesn’t have to mean running a mile during your breaks. Even the simplest of stretches can have amazing benefits, like increasing blood flow and boosting your mood. Just imagine you have been sat on a plane for a long time, a good stretch always works wonders.

Take a few minutes every hour to stretch your neck and even your wrists from typing on the computer all day. You can even get up and just do a loop around the office or your home to stretch your legs. Simply giving your feet, toes and hand a little wiggle can also help! 

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