Chances are you are reading this article on some form of computer- a desk top, a lap top or a tablet. Let me ask you something: What position are you sitting in RIGHT NOW? How long have you been sitting in this position? How is your breathing? Are you taking deep breaths or shallow breaths at the moment?
If you spend significant amounts of time at your computer, the cumulative postural stress will begin to have adverse effects on your health before you realize it.
Here are some tips for sitting at your computer:
1. Optimize your position while you are there as much as possible. Have your monitor at eye level and directly in front of you. Have your keyboard at a height that your forearms are parallel to the floor, and your shoulders are relaxed. Have your feet flat on the floor or on a small stool. Do not cross your legs. (This is where laptops lose their advantage. While they are more convenient than a desk top in some ways, they tend to create more postural challenges if you are not careful!)
2. Be careful with bifocals! If you wear bifocals and you are tilting your head to read the monitor with the lower part of the lense, you are putting a great deal of stress on your neck. You may wish to consider trifocals or getting a pair of reading glasses for the computer.
3. Set a time limit before you start. Think about how your body is doing and what is a reasonable length of time you should sit, and then set a timer or alarm to let you know when you have reached that limit. When the time is up, either stop work or give yourself a 1 minute stretch-break to stand up, walk, have a drink of water or change positions before you resume work. It is easy to get engrossed in the computer and have hours pass by as you answer one more email or finish one more task. Set a limit, and stop when the buzzer goes. Even a 30 second break every half hour can make a big difference to the toll of postural stress on your body.
Parents: remember to monitor your children’s posture as they sit at the computer. As the twig is bent, so grows the tree. Help them to develop good postural habits and set limits on the time they spend in front of the computer or play station. Playing video games may increase hormones in the body for “fight or flight” and yet not give the body a physical release for the energy that is built up. Make sure your child has some physical outlets for energy, to keep fit and active.
Computers are here to stay as a part of our lives. Let’s learn to live with them in a way that will maintain our own good health.