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This Genius Way To Relax Your Neck At Work Features A Watermelon

It's 'bring a watermelon to work' day.

Let's have a chat about watermelon. It's delicious, refreshing and bursting with flavour.

It also has approximately the same weight as your head. Four to five kilos, to be exact.

Think about that for a second. And now, think about the strain that is putting on that neck of yours to balance it in place.

If you're an office worker who slumps through your 9 to 5 (and let's face it, that's a lot of us), this fun fact may have something to say about the stiffness that you're feeling in the base of your neck.

"When your head is balanced on your body evenly, it sits quite well and the muscles will activate it there," physiotherapist and Executive Director of Happy Body At Work Anna-Louise Bouvier explains in the above video.

"But when you slump forward, what happens is that you will end up with all of this weight forward from your centre of gravity. And so the neck muscles have to pull really hard to try to compensate."

This is your first step. Balance your watermelon.

As an alternative, Bouvier recommends hinging forward in your desk chair from your hips so that the weight stays balanced over your body. This way, your neck and core will align and work together.

"This is your first step. Balance your watermelon."

Relaxing your neck also does wonders for refocusing your brain. Every hour or so, "balance your watermelon" and stretch out your tension. Here are some more simple stretches to try.

Having trouble picturing it? The above video should help.

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