A Healthy Environment for Your Home Office

If you spend more than half a day in your home office then the surroundings in that home office are extremely important in maintaining a healthy environment--one which is balanced and conducive to your well-being. There are many components which can turn your home office into a safe and healthy environment, one of them being a solid, ergonomically correct office chair. You should choose your office chair carefully, making sure it is comfortable for long stretches of time and that it comes with adjustable height and arms. When you sit straight in the chair with your feet flat on the floor, your arms should be at a near-90 degree angle when you are typing on your computer. If you have to strain or stretch then you are putting unnecessary stress on your back and shoulders.

Add Some Greenery to Your Home Office

Plants can offer much more than beauty; many green plants can clean the pollutants from your air as well as add oxygen and humidity to your indoor environment. Aside from adding color and interest to your home office, plants constantly filter the air, fighting against disease-common houseplants can convert chemical air pollutants into harmless substances.

Ivy, which is an exceptionally easy to grow green plant, does an excellent job of cleaning the air of toxins, most especially benzene and TCE. Chrysanthemums are another good office plant as are Philodendron, Chinese Evergreen, Peace Lilies and Parlor Palms. Indoor air quality is the United States' number one environmental health problem, so in addition to adding plants to your home office, it can be a good idea to buy a negative ion air purifier which can lead to 52% less dust and 95% less bacteria in your home's air.

Correct Lighting Increase Human Productivity

Making sure you have good lighting in your home office can reduce fatigue and stress while allowing you to increase your daily productivity. Replace fluorescent tubes with full-spectrum tubes and your environment will be almost instantly enhanced. Full-spectrum lighting is the closest you can get to sunlight indoors; it brings out true colors, eases eye fatigue, improves mood, reduces cortisol levels, slows aging of the retina and reduces glare-all excellent reasons to replace your light bulbs today!

Protect from EMF's

Electromagnetic fields are emitted from high tension wires, industrial radar, microwave beams, electric current, computers, cell phones, televisions, fluorescent lights and other electrical appliances  and have been found to be detrimental to both mental and physical health. If you work for extended amounts of time within highly charged electromagnetic frequency zones, you can suffer from fatigue, frustration, tension and illness.

Signs of overexposure can include constant drowsiness, chronic aches and pains, sleep disorders, irritability, low energy and even more serious health conditions. There are protective devices which can be used in your office or put on your computer which gives fairly good EMF protection such as the Safe Space II which neutralizes harmful electromagnetic fields.

Color, Music and Frequent Breaks

Colors elicit certain emotional reactions from humans; useful colors in the office include orange, which stimulates creativity, yellow, which intensifies the intellect and heightens motivation, red, which energizes and blue which tends to be calming. Green has been shown to fight irritability and have a healing effect on your body. While you might not want your walls painted orange, these colors can be used as accents in your office to complement your own preferences. Background music can affect emotional well-being, physical health, social functioning and communication abilities, and can provide mental stimulation while you perform monotonous everyday tasks, reducing your stress levels.

Even the most focused person will need frequent breaks throughout the day to eliminate stress and recharge the body. Going outside for a ten-minute break can get your blood flowing and clear your mind, making you more productive when you return. Putting in some extra time and money in making sure your office environment is healthy will pay off with future health benefits and increased productivity.