5 Reasons Why You Should Not Work From Your Bed

5 Reasons Why You Should Not Work From Your Bed

Living in the current pandemic era (read: COVID-19) means that most of us are spending more time at home, including staying at home to work. Working from home may sound like a good idea since you don’t have to worry about commuting or driving to work. But if your idea of working from home means working from bed, this is basically a recipe for disaster. Below are the 5 Reasons Why You Should Not Work From Your Bed.


1) It Affects Your Productivity Levels

Bed and work are like oil and water: they do not get along. Besides, working from the bed will more or less affect your productivity level. Instead of concentrating on finishing your work, you will find yourself having a tough time fighting the inevitable urges. And those urges in question happens to be taking a nap, particularly if you get too cosy and comfortable sitting or lying on the bed.

Why You Shouldn't Work From Bed #1: Affect Your Productivity Level
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2) You Will Mess Up Your Circadian Rhythm

A circadian rhythm refers to your brain’s natural sleep-wake cycle throughout the 24-hour period. It is essential because the circadian rhythm plays an important role in both physical and mental health.

Put it this way, a proper circadian rhythm aligns your sleep and wakeful hours with day and night. In other words, during the day when you’re exposed to light, the circadian rhythm is sending signals that make you stay awake. And when the night comes, your body starts to produce the crucial sleep hormone otherwise known as melatonin. This hormone helps you to fall asleep through the night.

This brings us to a bad idea of working from bed. The bed is like a sanctuary meant for sleep and sex. By working from bed, you trick your brain into a messed-up situation where the lines between work and sleep become blurred. Plus, if you make this a habit, you may end up constantly feeling like you are at work.

Why You Shouldn't Work From Bed #2: You Will Mess Up Your Circadian Rhythm
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3) Your Sleep Quality Will Be Ruined

Do you remember when was the last time you had a good night’s sleep? As in 8 hours straight without waking up in the middle of the night and find yourself struggling to shut your eyes? If you are one of those who love to work from bed, you are basically jeopardising your sleep quality.

Anything stimulating, or stressful activities like work and study are among the huge part of the wakefulness. The kind of wakefulness that shouldn’t be associated with you being on the bed. This, in turn, cause you to have difficulty falling asleep when it’s actually time for bed. And more so if you already have an existing sleeping problem (e.g. insomnia).

Another reason? Staring at your laptop screen before bedtime can affect your sleep quality too. Blame it on the blue light from the screen, which is largely responsible for reducing your melatonin production. Even if your laptop has a function where you can adjust the screen’s blue light to a warmer colour, that doesn’t mean your sleep quality won’t be affected.

Why You Shouldn't Work From Bed #3: Affect Your Sleep Quality
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4) Poor Posture Happens

Lying on the bed on your stomach while working on your laptop may sound or look like a comfortable thing to do. But the truth is, you are risking your body posture since the surface of a bed isn’t similar to an office chair. Not to mention it’s hard to maintain a correct posture no matter if you sit or lie on the bed. Keep doing so will eventually cause the likes of backache and neck pain.

Why You Shouldn't Work From Bed #4: Poor Posture
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5) The Bed Is A Hotspot For Bacteria

Did you know that your body sheds around 15 million dead skin cells every single night? And yes, we are talking about the skin coming in contact with the bedsheets. Spending most of your time working from bed means you are contributing to more bacteria buildup. All those dead skin cells that you shed become a breeding ground not only for bacteria but dust mites as well. This is especially true if you hardly wash your bedsheets and pillowcases often. When such a situation prolongs, you will be risking yourself with allergies (e.g. runny nose) and skin diseases.

Why You Shouldn't Work From Bed #5: Bad Hygiene
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