Common Health Pitfalls White-Collar Workers Should Avoid
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Persistent negative development may lead to related psychological or mental disorders; remind people to slow down and overcome modern lifestyle diseases. Despite having a pile of tasks, they still scroll through Weibo and WeChat, chat, browse online stores, and procrastinate until midnight before working; even when exhausted, they play a few rounds of mobile games, never going to bed early. If they leave home without their phone or it runs out of battery while out, they feel utterly lost.So what trendy ailments should office workers avoid?
1. Screen Face
Typical symptoms: Rough skin, dull eyes
Prolonged computer use causes pale complexions, dry skin, and severe cases may develop acne. Some also exhibit expressionless faces, stiff muscles, and vacant stares. Collectively, these symptoms form "Screen Face."
Prevention Guide: Wash your face promptly after computer use
Avoiding screen time is the most effective way to combat Screen Face. Reduce daily computer usage whenever possible. When using a computer, maintain a distance of at least 70 centimeters between the screen and your body.
Additionally, adjust indoor lighting to avoid direct glare on the screen. Take a 10-minute break every 60 minutes of computer use. Dietary adjustments include eating more vegetables and fruits to boost vitamin intake, and drinking plenty of water. After computer use, promptly cleanse your skin with mild skincare products, prioritize hydration, and avoid heavy makeup.
2. Anxious Mind
Typical Symptoms: Unexplained anxiety, irritability
Excessive, prolonged, and vague anxiety and worry without a clear cause. The fast pace of modern life makes people increasingly restless.
Modern individuals generally have relatively low psychological resilience. While everyone aspires to success, many seem overly impatient in their pursuit.
Prevention Guide: Calmness Requires Slowing Down
How can we quiet an anxious mind? Experts emphasize that "slowing down" is key. Decelerate your pace of life, ease the urgency of chasing goals, pause frequently to reflect on past experiences, and engage in self-reflection.
Reading more books, listening to music, and engaging in meaningful conversations are also excellent methods for psychological adjustment. Reading extensively and choosing quality books can enhance personal cultivation and guide the improvement of psychological resilience. Listening to music—especially light, pleasant tunes—not only provides aesthetic enrichment and enjoyment but also effectively relaxes the mind.
3. Fragile Stomach
Common Symptoms: Frequent stomach pain, bloating, etc.
Eating greasy foods causes stomach pain; oily meals lead to bloating. With stomach cancer rates rising before age 40, modern stomachs have become increasingly fragile—like glass, unable to withstand stress. The primary cause of this "fragile stomach" is irregular and unhealthy eating habits.
Prevention Guide: Eat on Schedule
Pay attention to meal timing, maintaining intervals between meals. While the gap between dinner and breakfast is longer, other meals should be spaced 4-5 hours apart.
Diversify your food choices. Aim for balanced proportions across breakfast, lunch, and dinner, adjusting according to your actual needs.
4. Couch Butt
Typical Symptoms: Flat buttocks, spinal damage
Whenever at home, you plop down on the couch and stay there for hours.The buttocks never leave the sofa, earning the moniker "couch potato butt."
Most sofas are quite soft. Prolonged sitting not only flattens the buttocks and causes muscle laxity but also strains the spine and lumbar vertebrae. The entire buttocks sinking into the sofa impedes blood circulation and may even lead to prostate issues in men.
Prevention Guide: Restlessness is a Good Thing
Anxious people often fidget, unable to sit still or stand comfortably, constantly shifting positions. Couch potato types should embrace this restlessness. On one hand, take seriously the harm of prolonged sitting and understand its importance; on the other, limit continuous sofa time to no more than half an hour and frequently change positions.After sitting for a while, get up and move around—turn your head, bend your waist, or kick your legs. 5. Headphone Ear Typical Symptoms: Hearing loss, dizziness, headaches Experts vividly describe symptoms like hearing loss, tinnitus, ear pressure, and headaches caused by prolonged headphone use as "Headphone Ear."
Prevention Guide: Keep Headphone Volume as Low as Possible
When using headphones, maintain a volume level where you can still hear others speak while listening to music to avoid overstimulating your ears. Avoid prolonged continuous use—remove headphones and rest after every half hour. Adolescents should ideally avoid headphones altogether. If necessary, choose over-ear headphones from reputable manufacturers, as they generally offer better sound quality.
Moreover, hearing damage often occurs gradually and unnoticed. Many people only seek medical help when their hearing loss is severe, missing the optimal treatment window. Young children may not express their difficulties verbally, but parents should be alert if they frequently appear inattentive, struggle to focus, or exhibit slower reactions. It's advisable to take them for a hearing screening to detect issues early.
6. Mouse Hand Syndrome
Typical Symptoms: Finger numbness, pain, and weakness
Prolonged or improper mouse use causes sustained muscle fatigue in the hand, leading to pathological changes and clinical symptoms in the hand, wrist, elbow, and even shoulder joints. This condition is commonly known as mouse hand syndrome.
Prevention Guide: Wrist Stretches After Mouse Use
Mouse hand is entirely preventable. When experiencing discomfort from computer use, minimize mouse usage, adjust posture, and reposition the wrist. Choose a mouse with a comfortable grip and consider using a wrist-supporting mouse pad.After every 40 minutes of mouse use, perform hand relaxation exercises like gripping and shaking your hands, or gently massage the muscles.
If wrist pain or finger numbness—symptoms of mouse hand—already exist, try soaking your hands or wrist joints in warm water nightly.The heat helps relax tense ligaments and muscles while reducing localized tissue swelling in the carpal tunnel, thereby alleviating symptoms. Of course, if symptoms persist without improvement, seek treatment at a specialized medical facility.
7. Economy Class Leg Syndrome
Typical Symptoms: Leg swelling, leg pain
Prolonged sitting impairs blood circulation in the legs, increasing the risk of blood clots.This condition frequently occurs in passengers traveling in economy class on airplanes, hence the name "economy class leg."
Economy class leg, also known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT), arises when prolonged sitting in confined spaces slows blood circulation, facilitating the formation of deep vein clots. If these clots dislodge and travel to the lungs, they can cause acute pulmonary embolism, which may be fatal.
Prevention Guide: Start with Varicose Veins
Preventing economy class syndrome ultimately requires staying active. Whenever possible, lie down instead of sitting, sit instead of standing, and move whenever you can. Varicose veins are common but pose a gradually worsening risk. Therefore, individuals with varicose veins planning long-haul flights are advised to seek treatment to avoid developing economy class syndrome.
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