Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Eat Lunch At Your Desk

You might know that eating lunch at your work desk is a bad idea, yet you don’t refrain from doing it. In spite of being aware of the various wellness programs at your workplace, you can’t resist yourself from opening your lunch box while staying at your desk. What you might not know that staying put to your work desk can actually lead to a decrease in your productivity and also accentuate your stress and anxiety levels. Aside from that, sitting for a rather long period of time can lead you to develop certain health issues such as knee pain, back pain, as well as heart disease. Hence, getting up from your desk at regular intervals is imperative if you want to improve both your physical and mental health. The following are some physical and mental health ailments that you might get from eating at your desk frequently.

Sore Joints

If you continue eating lunch at your work desk, you are more likely to develop sore joints. Staying seated for a longer period of time can cause tension in your joints and muscles. It also tends to weaken your core muscles, which eventually lead to a number of problems in other vital parts of your body. If you really need to stick to your seat, there are some exercises and stretches that you can do in order to thwart the negative effects of sitting at your desk throughout the day.

Stress

Incessant work can easily result in stress. But, having lunch at your desk can make it more stressful than you can imagine. If you don’t get up and move around a bit, you wouldn’t ever get the opportunity to recover, which can lead to more fatigue and burnout. Moreover, if you take some time out to relax and stretch, your productivity would gradually increase. So get your lunch box and eat outside.

Lack Of Balance

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. You must have heard this old saying. Working continuously without taking a break makes a person bored as well as boring, and it’s an easy way to burn out. If you want to avoid that, choose certain periods of time when you can actually take a break from the monotony. Once you are done with a particular set of work, grab a cup of coffee or opt for a brisk walk. If you involve yourself in such activities, you would feel refreshed. Consequently, you can focus back on your work with ease.

Reduction In Productivity

If you think multi-tasking is easy, you need to ask yourself again. If you think you can sip some coffee, have your lunch, read, and type at the same time, you need to reassess as multitasking is no way similarly effective as putting your entire focus on one particular thing at a particular time. Irrespective of how highly you think about your ability to multitask, you probably are not that good. Quality work is not easily attainable. You must be deeply involved with it and deep work is devoid of any distraction, be it of any kind.

Brain Fog

When you have loads of work to complete, you might think it’s a good idea not to waste time and grab your lunch while sitting at your work desk. That’s probably your foggy brain that’s giving you such a suggestion. You seriously need to be active and move around from time to time. That will help in pumping fresh blood and oxygen to your brain. There is a limit to the psychological energy that you can utilize in a single day. All the efforts that you give and all the hard work you do come from that psychological energy. If there is depletion in that energy source, you automatically become less effective and hence, your productivity at your workplace diminishes. This inability pours out into your personal life as well.

Now you know why you need to avoid grabbing your lunch while sticking to your work desk. There are a few tips that would help you do that. Make some plans with your buddies like hanging out for lunch. You can also perform a few stretches or get involved in some workouts. Try them out and see the difference!