Global Health Asia-Pacific April 2021 April 2021 | Page 19

The bed was never meant for office work

Horizontal working can cause muscle stress and migraines

Cidney Frank , the drinks impresario who brought Jaegermeister to America , famously conducted most of his business in pyjamas from bed . Hugh Hefner , the Playboy tycoon , worked from a circular bed when not inspecting his grotto . And Truman Capote , the famed author of Breakfast at Tiffany ’ s , once stated , “ I am a completely horizontal author . I can ’ t think unless I ’ m lying down .”

Since the pandemic , millions more have joined these eccentrics . From accountants and stockbrokers to secretaries and advertising executives , much of the working population has turned their comfortable mattresses into office cubicles .
But no matter how tempting this is , working from bed can take its toll on the body .
The advice from the Cleveland Clinic is that “ there ’ s going to be a lot of negative consequences ” of doing so that range from poor sleep and productivity to pain and musculoskeletal disease .
Rachel Tan , head of sports science at Rehamed Therapy , a physiotherapy centre in Kuala Lumpur , has been treating an increasing number of patients who have strained themselves as a result of working from bed .
“ The action of having to sit in that weird position where your neck is sort of sticking out trying to read your laptop is called forward head flexion , and it puts a lot of stress on the neck , upper body , and shoulders as well ,” she told Global Health Asia-Pacific .
Over time , the muscles of the upper body , and especially the chest and neck muscles , tighten up . As a result , the back muscles in the neck and upper body can become stressed and weak due to hunching over . Some people will suffer from migraines because of the imbalance in their muscle structures .
It ’ s possible , Tan says , to find a more ergonomic posture , but doing so won ’ t suit everyone . Using pillows and the headboard to prop up the back vertically , similar to an office chair , would position the bones and muscles of the torso in the right place , but then something needs to be done about the position of the laptop and the arms for full benefit .
“ In an ideal world , you want the computer screen to be at head level so you ’ re not looking down . But you also want the keyboard to be chest height so that the
shoulders aren ’ t shrugged . It doesn ’ t really work with a laptop because you can ’ t exactly split the laptop and the screen because they ’ re stuck together ,” she said .
Experts say that anyone working from bed should make an effort to get up every 20-30 minutes and stretch to relieve tension from their muscles , though this should be good practice for any working situation . Not everyone is like Sidney Frank , Hugh Hefner , or Truman Capote , though . As the pandemic endures and working from home becomes the norm , more people are moving from the bedroom into makeshift home offices for more comfort . While that ’ s a good development , it remains to be seen what health issues and poor work habits the work-from-bed era will leave behind .
GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com APRIL 2021
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