Simple and Effective Health Tips For Programmers

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3 Minutes Read

You might have seen (or be one of them) so many tech android app developers and web developers worry about their expensive cars more than they care about their bodies.

Neither your car, house or any of your prized possessions are yours forever.

In reality, the car is your second vehicle, your body is your first vehicle, and your body is the only thing you own that will be with you until the end of your life.

Long hours of sitting in front of a computer, coding all day long and sometimes all night long, dealing with bugs and deadlines. Being a software engineer is not a very healthy profession.

Sitting at a desk won't kill you, but studies have shown that it isn't as healthy as you might think. 

As you might expect, it's critical to incorporate movement into your daily routine if you want to maintain a healthy body and mind.

Luckily, it's surprisingly easy to make some changes with very little effort. 

Incorporate the physical activity of your choosing into your life, whether it's playing squash in the afternoons, taking yoga or swimming courses, or trekking with some buddies.

We have compiled a list of some simple health tips which will assist you in taking care of your mind and body in a holistic manner.

1. Exercise regularly

One of the biggest misconceptions (or excuses) people have about exercise, is that it would take too much time. It doesn’t, people just stretch it out unnecessarily. 

Running is a very effective form of aerobic exercise that you can do without any equipment and a very useful one out of the health tips for programmers we recommend. Of course, you have to do it for 40 minutes before you even start feeling exhausted, if you jog slowly on a flat street. But that’s just a relaxing stroll while enjoying a nice view.

If you also want to improve your posture and get stronger (and better looking), add a weightlifting routine to your weekly schedule. Again this doesn’t require a huge time investment.

People think that you have to lift 3 hours per day, at least 5 times a week, and only eat boring food all day to get big and strong, but that’s not the case at all.

2. Fix your posture

Pain caused by bad posture is one of the biggest and most common problems for computer workers because the longer you sit in front of a PC, the less you tend to pay attention to how you sit there. The foundation for a proper posture is a good chair.

 Let’s be real here, no one’s gonna sit like that for hours on end. I certainly don’t. But at least try to pay attention to your posture from time to time and adjust it a bit.

After a while, you will make sitting properly a habit and can keep it up without having to actively focus on it. Later in the post, we will talk about taking short breaks and standing up from your desk regularly, and this is also a good opportunity to get back to work with a corrected posture.

3. Maintain a Balanced Diet

A healthy diet is the cornerstone of a healthy lifestyle. That doesn't mean that you can't have a snack or that you need to cut out everything from your diet that's unhealthy. That's not what this health tips for programmers section are all about. It simply means being conscious of what you eat and when you eat it. That simple act can make a world of difference. drinking water is pretty much the very best thing you can do for your health.

4. Get adequate sleep(one of the highly underrated health tips for programmers)

There is nothing more important in the world than getting a sufficient amount of sleep no matter what your profession is. However, this is something that is particularly ignored by programmers.
The reason for this negligence is usually the long hours before project deadlines in software development company or the urge to finish a task before taking a break. Long nights leading to an early workday means programmers often skip on getting a proper night’s sleep. At least 7 to 9 hours of sleeping is sufficient for our body.

 

5. Optimize your monitor configuration

Your monitor configuration goes a long way toward preventing Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). Fortunately, with some forethought, you can help protect yourself from some of the damage!

  • To begin, if you wear glasses and do not have the proper prescription lenses, your eyes will have to work harder to focus. This produces muscle exhaustion, which leads to headaches and deterioration of vision.
  • Second, place your monitor 20 to 40 inches away from you. This is about the size of your arm. You're too close if you can give your monitor a high five. You're too far away if you can't touch your monitor.
  • Third, adjust the brightness of your display in relation to the rest of the room.

6. Follow the 20/20/20 rule to protect your eyes.

Exercising your eyes is just as important as taking brief walks! To avoid focus fatigue and eye-locking (also known as accommodative spasm or "programmer's gaze"), follow what eye experts call the "20/20/20 rule." The rule is to glance at anything 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes. You can improve on this by increasing the distance and duration. Try turning your head for 30 seconds, or even a minute!

7. Try Simple Yoga Posture

Yoga reduces the physical effects of stress hormones. Even doing simple yoga postures for 30 minutes can help you relax, maintain blood pressure, boost your immune system and digestion process. Simple pranayam, meditation, and asanas can help you enhance your overall mental as well as physical health.

As you can see, there are numerous simple steps you can do to keep your mind and body in excellent condition. Do them on a daily basis to reap the benefits of feeling happy and healthier! These are only the tip of the iceberg, but they are the most effective.