How to Stay Healthy When You Work Long Hours
Posted January 11th, 2018
Not everyone works a traditional 40-hour work week, especially if you have joined the management ranks. While an occasionally extended schedule might not have a significant impact on your well-being, frequent long hours can take their toll, leaving your feeling overworked or even burned out.
Luckily, there are things you can do to protect your health when you regularly work beyond a traditional schedule. Here are a few that you can start using today.
Don’t Forgo Breaks
While remaining focused on the task at hand can be important, you always have to occasionally step away from your work to help maintain your well-being. Often, extended periods spent concentrating on one thing can actually harm your productivity, but even a short break can leave you feeling refreshed, making it easier to keep pushing forward.
Exactly how often you should take a break can vary. However, when in doubt, make sure you follow a similar schedule to your employees and step away from your work at regular intervals.
Exercise Regularly
When you are particularly busy at work, your exercise routine is generally one of the first things to be sacrificed. But, unless your duties are fairly physical in nature, skipping your workouts can be detrimental to your health.
Exercise can relieve stress, and anyone who works long hours likely has some built up that should regularly be expelled. Plus, working out can help maintain your physical condition, leaving you less likely to become ill or suffer from a variety of health issues.
If you can’t fit in a regular work out, try using your lunch break to take a walk or squeeze in some quick exercises during your breaks. Ultimately, something is better than nothing, so squeeze in a few minutes here and there whenever you can.
Have Some Fun
When you work long hours, your days often begin to align with a cycle of sleeping, eating, and working, without much else. But having some fun can do wonders for your health, even if it is just once or twice a week.
Try to find a few hours where you can spend time with your friends and family, take part in a favorite hobby, or even catch up on some television. Without fun, you could become resentful of your job, and that means burnout will soon be on the horizon, if it isn’t here already.
Stay Hydrated
Both your body and mind require optimal hydration to work properly, and skipping water can do a significant amount of harm very quickly. Make sure you make water your go-to beverage to keep hydrated, using items like lemon slices to flavor it if you find plain water too boring.
Even if you work long hours, it is important to make time to take care of yourself. Otherwise, your health will soon suffer, making it harder to keep up the pace you are trying to maintain.
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