TIPS ON - “STAYING HEALTHY” WHILE BEING AN AGENT

An environment of drinking, smoking, caffeine and fast foods is linked to a typical call center.  It takes discipline and effort to keep your body in tip top shape.

So here are some tips to keeping healthy.

1 ) Eat fruits and veggies
Since you now have erratic work hours and you often do not get enough sleep and exercise -- make up for it by eating healthy foods.  Do not let a day pass without eating some sort of vegetable or fruit.  It's hard to avoid fat and junk foods, so at least compensate.

2 ) Try to lessen drinking and smoking
This may be impossible for some people since smoking and drinking are their only means to socialize --  but it's either be lonely or you die early.  If you cannot remove it, then at least lessen it.  Take in the reality that you are now working a graveyard shift. This means your body is twice prone to sickness & diseases.

Try to lessen socializing with vices and start thinking of the future more. Find nerdy friends who have no vices (joke).

Anything you do to your body now will definitely catch up after a while.

Also a trainer once mentioned to me that the best way to stop smoking was to quit “cold turkey” – this means that you just decide to quit…just like that.

3 ) Take Vitamin C
Before I was very susceptible to colds -- If my seatmate sneezed on me (yes, the uneducated person did not cover her mouth), I’ll get the sniffles in a few hours. I then went to mercury drug and bought a Rhea Vitamin C bottle (since this is the cheapest, 100 tablets cost about 115 pesos). I drank a 500mg tablet everyday and found that getting colds were less frequent.

4 ) Drink lots of water
A no brainer - Google this for more information.

5 ) Find time to exercise
Another no brainer -- we need exercise, but how do we do that when we are so exhausted after our graveyard shifts?

What works for me is that I try to climb the MRT stairs whenever I can, or walk to wherever I’m going.  30 Minutes of brisk walking is a good amount of minimum exercise.  If I have time I try to do stretches when I wake up and jump-rope around the house.

I tried enrolling in a gym once, but I was often too sleepy and too tired to exercise -- I just wasted my membership. I also bought hip-hop abs DVD, and I just ended up laughing at the girly muscular dancing dude. Find something that works for you. A simple routine is better than nothing.


6 ) Choose Sleep over Gimik (socializing)
Gimiks and socializing is also important if you are a normal human being.  But if you have to sacrifice sleep just to attend a party, then think twice before attending.

7 ) Bring Alcohol
Not alcoholic beverages - but the Green Cross alcohol kind.  The Call center environment is conducive for lots of viruses (flu viruses, cold viruses, the HIV and AID's virus). Use rubbing alcohol if needed or Alcogel.

For guys, just wash your hands often and use soap after you pag-pag.

8 ) Avoid multiple partners
Just make sure that the sexy chick you are dating is not the office slut, or that the guy you sleep with does not have herpes.  One night of bliss can be equal to a life of pain and suffering.

In the end you just really need to use common sense to stay healthy.  If you have any other practical health tips, then feel free to share them.

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