28 August 2002

Are you feeling wharfed out?

Working in an office environment can be very stressful.Rushing from train to tube to start the day, sitting in front of atemperamental computer, typing with one hand and answering the phone with theother, coming out of one meeting and straight into another. Sound familiar?

The office environment can wreak havoc on the health ofthe 42,000 people who work in Canary Wharf. Which is why occupational healthadvisers at BUPA have put together a list of top 10 tips to help city workerskeep healthy at work.

1. Stress - Try to be aware of stress symptoms early on.We can become 'acclimatised' to our symptoms without realising how serious theyare, and we work longer and longer hours to try to gain 'control', withoutquestioning how much this is damaging our health, relationships and recreation.Take a hard look at your life to make sure that you are creating a work/lifebalance that will lead to long-term health and happiness.

2. Computers - Staring at a computer screen all day canlead to eye strain and neck ache. Take breaks throughout the day and relax theeyes by focusing on an object in the distance. Also make sure your chair heightand posture are correct which will help avoid neck ache.

3. Food - Start the day with a healthy carbohydrate-basedbreakfast to give you energy. At business lunches avoid eating heavy, richfoods, which take longer to digest and leave you feeling tired. Try to avoidsugary snacks and snack healthily during the mid-morning and afternoon periods.Fruit is ideal.

4. Sleep - Lack of sleep will slow down your thinkingtime, affect your concentration and efficiency. Make sure you are gettingenough sleep at night.

5. Exercise - A lack of exercise can lead to sluggishness.Take a stroll each day and get some fresh air. Also cardiovascular exercise forabout 30 minutes three times a week will raise your energy levels.

6. Vitamins - Many people who work in air-conditionedoffice environments find they get colds fairly often. Keep healthy by eatingfresh fruit and vegetables and ensure an adequate vitamin and mineral intake. Acollective daily total of at least five portions of fruit and vegetables isrecommended

7. Hydration - The recommended daily intake of water isbetween 1.5 and 2 litres to keep hydrated and to prevent fatigue and headachesand keep you feeling sharp. This should increase to between 2 and 3 litres ifyou exercise on a regular basis. Replacing this with tea and coffee won't workas excess caffeine causes dehydration and also prevents absorption of iron.Drink whether you feel thirsty or not because by the time you are feelingthirsty you are already dehydrated.

8. Stay calm - When dealing with delays, overcrowdedtrains and other transport problems try breathing exercises to stay calm oreven try getting off the tube a stop early and walking a few minutes longer towork to help start the day in a positive mood.

9. Relax - Make sure that you make enough time foryourself. Relaxing helps to boost your system.

10. Treatment - When you are in pain your body is tryingto tell you something, so make time to go to the doctor or dentist. Mostproblems don't go away on their own, and will only get worse.

Mandy O'Toole, operations manager at BUPA Wellness inCanary Wharf, says: "Workers often have such little time to worry abouttheir health and wellbeing yet work-related ill health is such a big cause ofsickness and absenteeism. At our three BUPA Wellness centres in Canary Wharf wesee a lot of city workers who are suffering from occupation-related illnessesor conditions.

"We hope that people will become more aware of somesimple things they could do themselves to feel healthier and lessstressed."