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Health Risks For Internet Marketers

By: Tom Lane

You may have seen some of the recent headlines: professional bloggers are putting themselves at long-term health risk! After you finish laughing, though, stop and think about it.

Bloggers and other people who work online, like professional internet marketers and researchers, do have some unique problems. They sit for hours staring at a computer screen, causing eye strain. They get little exercise. If workspaces are not properly ergonomic, they can hurt their backs and develop carpal tunnel syndrome. Less known problems like plantar fasciitis can result from long periods of inactivity, especially compounded with the obesity that may also be caused by sitting still.

And how do bloggers eat? Fast. Whatever they can pick up and eat over the keyboard. Sandwiches, chips, donuts, chocolate, lots of coffee. Rarely do they move into the carrot, tofu, or granola parts of the cabinet.

Most Internet marketers are entrepreneurs. This means that when they don’t work, they don’t get paid. And that means they will likely only go to the doctor if they think they’re dying. Add to this the likely lack of health insurance, and there’s even more incentive not to go to the doctor.

So, sedentary work, repetitive motion, eyestrain, poor diet, poor exercise habits, and a reluctance to visit a doctor. Though the headlines may have been a little overblown, as headlines so often are today, there is real truth to the story.

So what can you do?

First, be aware. Chances are good that you, the marketer, the blogger, or the webterpreneur, have fallen into bad habits just by not thinking about it. First a burger, then a whole day of not moving, and suddenly you’re realizing that you are wearing sweats all day because they’re the only things that fit.

Make exercise a regular part of your day. Not only is it healthy, it releases endorphins that make you feel better, and the little break periodically throughout your day can make it much easier to be creative. Try short fifteen-minute breaks every two hours – take a brisk walk with your pet, do a quick aerobics on tape routine, take a dip in the pool or the ocean, whatever you can. Carpal tunnel is going to be a normal risk, but minimize it by setting your keyboard to where your hands will have minimal strain. Get a wrist brace, and wear it if you find yourself bending your wrists more than 45 degrees. All this will help.

Address the food issue at the source: what you bring into the house. Get rid of all that high-fat, high-sugar stuff. You can’t get rid of the coffee – God forbid! — but you can drink diet soda instead of the sugary stuff. Clean out your fridge, get a bunch of those disposable plastic containers, and prepare a week’s worth of crunchy healthy snacks: carrot and celery sticks, fruit, easy-to-heat meals, etc. Limit your visits to fast food joints to once a week.

As for the medical care – you really should see a doctor once a year at least, and that won’t cost too much if you plan for it. You don’t have to have an HMO or anything, but you should shop around for catastrophic health coverage – a plan with a high deductible that only really kicks in if you need surgery or have a serious illness.

Remember, better health means more productivity. Your measures will pay for themselves, and you’ll be happier and healthier as well.

 http://spiderzen.healthstar.hop.clickbank.net/

Tom Lane

http://moonsaki.com/

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 at 10:51 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.