You may not be aware of it, but poor ergonomics can affect your sleep greatly. Whether you work at a desk, on your feet, or behind the wheel, our daily task affects our bodies and our sleep. That’s why it’s important to use good ergonomics at work and at home and to start the day off with some minor exercises.
Behind the desk or wheel- In these types of jobs you need to focus on your back, legs, wrist, hands, shoulders, and head. If you have a safety manager use this resource to learn the proper positions and exercises for each of these areas. If this resource is not available use the internet to learn about proper positioning and supporting exercises. How does this affect your sleep? If you are constantly using poor ergonomics day after day, your muscles get stressed, which affects your nervous system. One good example is the shoulder strap used when driving. The shoulder strap puts pressure on your shoulder, which affects your neck, which can cause migraines, keeping you up all night. A simple fix may be to purchase an extended safety strap to relieve this pressure or to do a few neck and shoulder exercises to prepare yourself as an athlete would.
Standing up all day- In these types of jobs, you need to focus on bending, lifting, turning, twisting, and the distance you are walking. If you do not practice good ergonomics and do a few exercises, your body will develop bad habits, increase muscle fatigue, tendonitis, and cramps, all which can affect your sleep. One good example is the walking back and forth your job may require. Calculate the distance you walk to perform a task and the number of times you make each trip. It may seem minor until you calculate it and find that you are walking several miles a day. So do you have the best shoes possible for supporting your feet and taking stress off your legs? Can you change your work area to decrease the distance your covering, or eliminate any twisting or turning? Any of these small improvements can make a huge difference in getting a good nights sleep.
So the bottom line is; take note of your daily task, learn about practicing and implementing good ergonomics, and do a few exercises to prepare your muscles and joints for the tasks of the day. It will help relieve some of the stress and fatigue and help you sleep better at night.
