Post by David Pierce. Find me on Twitter.
We all use computers these days–for a growing number of us, computers are even a critical part of our work and play. Over time, this can create some serious strain on your body. As someone who spends an ungodly amount of time in front of a computer every day, I constantly find myself achy despite not moving for hours—that’s a low, low moment, folks.
Whether you work at a desk in an office, or in coffee shops and libraries, or any number of other places, there are a few simple steps you can take to make using your computer a lot more body-friendly, and keep your eyes, hands or back from giving up on you after a long work session.
Here are eight easy ways to ease the strain while you’re working:
Prop it Up
The best place for your computer screen to be is exactly at eye level. That way, there’s little strain on your neck and shoulders, because you’re not looking constantly up or down, but your head is centered.
If you’re at a coffee shop or a library, you’d look a little ridiculous piling books up to prop up your laptop. If you can find a lower chair, or even one, single thing to put your computer on—anything to take some of the strain off your neck—you’ll notice how much easier it is to work for a long time.
Un-tilt it
My biggest pain, after being at the computer for a long time, is my wrists. And it’s not just pain—carpal tunnel is a very real problem for a lot of computer users. The way to prevent that from happening is to make sure that, when you’re typing, your wrists aren’t cocked at all, but that they’re on the same level as the keys you’re typing on.
Many laptops have a place to rest your wrists next to the touchpad, which is excellent; if yours doesn’t, a sweatshirt usually does the trick for me—just move your wrists up slightly, so your hands are over the keys, not tilting to hit them.
Notice the Light
Light is a killer for people who spend a long time with computers, both for your eyesight and your battery life. Whenever you can, dim your screen a bit and use light from another source, like the sun, or a lamp, or a road flare. Try to avoid being on the computer in total darkness—that’s total destruction for your eyes.
It’s all in the elbows
A totally underrated ergonomics question is the height of your chair. Comfort’s all well and good, and the cool levers and spinny thingies are great, but take a minute to notice the height of your chair. When you’re typing, especially for long periods, you want your elbows to be at a right angle, hanging down at your sides. No flapping your wings, or being Frankenstein: they should be hanging comfortably, and able to stretch out your arms at a normal angle.
Use Your Lap
Believe it or not, the position of sitting in your bed with your laptop is actually the best one for you, ergonomically speaking. There’s a great chart of ten different positions, and where each is bad for you—the only one that doesn’t have any bad spots is reclined, knees up, laptop on lap. Maybe that’s why it’s called a laptop…
Bring a Mouse
Using an exeternal mouse, rather than the included trackpad on your laptop, is the first recommendation anyone makes for improving the ergonomics of your computer habits. With an external mouse over to the side, you don’t have to contort your arms in some goofy way (you never notice doing it, but you do it) to use the trackpad that’s directly in front of you. Put the mouse in what’s called the “Neutral Reach Zone”, and your arm and shoulder can be positioned much more normally.
Move Around
I think the times I feel most tired and sore are when I’m getting off a plane, or getting out of the car after a long drive. Why? Because without giving my blood a chance to pump around, or any activity, your body just gets pooped. Even during marathon computer sessions, get up and do a few jumping jacks—or at least go grab some water from the kitchen. Move around a little bit, frequently, and it’ll make a huge difference in how energetic and awake you feel.
Of course, these aren’t the only ways to make sitting at a computer less painful or stressful for your body. There’s a great feature by Ergo in Demand, some ideas courtesy of WebWorkerDaily, and even some tips and thoughts from the US Department of Labor.
As we move increasingly away from physical labor and toward computer-based work, understanding how to keep your body at its best is equally important. It’s just not as obvious.
Got any tips? How do you keep your arms from falling off during all-night coding sessions?
The ideal ergonomic situation. And colorful, too.
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Dan Sharkey
