Ergonomics and Healthy Computing - Positioning Your Body For Maximum Comfort At Your Computer

Do you remember the old saw about how computers would change our lives for the better? We'd have more time to ourselves and lead healthier, happier lives. The truth is computers do make processing information lightening fast. It's just that today, we have so much more information to process and so many more distractions that the computer, via the Internet, has brought into our lives.

The bottom line? Today we spend more time operating a computer (for fun and for profit) than on any other single pastime save for maybe sleeping. And if you're a heavy computer user like me, even sleep takes a back seat to computer use every now and then.

There are health hazards to continual computer use. Personally I've suffered from back and shoulder pain, eye strain and numbness in my fingers. I've even had to deal with stiff joints and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. None of this was any fun.

But I did learn a few things important enough to pass along to you today. Here are some things you can do right now to reduce or eliminate stress on our body while operating your computer.

The Concept of Neutral Body Positioning

Consider a comfortable working posture with a natural alignment of all your joints from head to toe. This method of neutral positioning helps you reduce the stress and strain on your muscles, tendons, and skeletal system thus reducing the risks of developing a musculoskeletal disorder (MSD).

Some Quick Tips - Body Posture

Your hands, wrists, and forearms should all be in a row, straight, and almost parallel to the floor.

Your head and torso should be in-line with your head slightly bent forward, facing forward, and balanced.

Your shoulders should be at ease with your upper arms hanging normally at the sides of your body.

Your elbows should be close to your body and bent between 90 and 110 degrees.

Your feet should be either supported by a footrest or should be relaxing on the floor.

While leaning back or sitting in a vertical position, make sure your lower back is fully supported.

Your hips and thighs should be supported by a well-padded seat.

Your knees and hips should be at almost the same height as your feet and slightly forward.

More Tips - Your Work Environment

Readjust your chair and backrest at regular intervals.

Periodically stretch your fingers, hands, arms, and torso.

Your keyboard, monitor, and your posture should be on a straight line to avoid any positional discomforts.

Always adjust your chair so you're looking down at the screen, never up.

Your desktop should be at a convenient height with enough space for your equipment and the day's work.

Your chair should give good back support and allow for height adjustment.

Your keyboard and the mouse mat should have a good wrist-rest.

A document holder placed at the height of your monitor will eliminate neck strain.

Roger Williams is a Web designer and copywriter who spends endless hours on his computer. He has learned through much research how to eliminate the physical stress of heavy computer use.

If you want more health tips for computer users, visit http://www.meandmymouse.com/hc

---

Cisco Certification: A Survival Guide To The Cisco Cable Jungle

One of the most confusing parts of beginning your Cisco... Read More

SmartCar Memory Stick for LapTop Transfer Data

With the new technology used to transfer information to from... Read More

How To Safeguard Your Computer?

The following practice, if done regularly, may help you to... Read More

Flow Text Around a Graphic in Microsoft Word

Flow Text Around a GraphicQuestion: I have inserted a photo... Read More

Getting Started with HTML

The basic language of the internet is html. If you... Read More

How to Save an Image in a SQL Server Database?

Most of the web applications have a lot of images... Read More

Tips for Buying a PC

Buying Your PCBuying a PC that's right for you and... Read More

Is Digital Camera Technology Making Film Obsolete?

Perhaps not yet, but the handwriting might be on the... Read More

Basic Problem in a PC

I have a p3 500MHz PC with 128MB RAM, 10.2... Read More

Customize Your Portable Player with an MP3 Player Accessory

Everywhere you look today people are listening to personal audio... Read More

Toshiba Wins Hollywood Support for the HD DVD format

What led them to this choice, as all four studios... Read More

Mail-merging: The Principles

About mail-mergingMail-merging is the process of merging variable data and... Read More

Make Windows XP Run Faster!

A friend told me: "My computer startup seems to be... Read More

Help, I Need a New HDTV! (Part 4 of 5)

Feeling overwhelmed in selecting a new TV? With all the... Read More

Have You Invited A Spy Into Your Computer?

Yes, it's true. You may have inadvertently invited a spy... Read More

7 Reasons NOT to Take Your Laptop on Holiday!

Heading off on vacation soon?Then perhaps you're tempted to take... Read More

Troubleshooting Computer Freeze (Lockup) Problems

How familiar does the following sound? Your computer was working... Read More

Best PC Pocket GPS

Stop Getting LostOne of the greatest uses for a pocket... Read More

Digital Cameras: How Many Pixels Do I Need?

With the bewildering number of digital cameras on the market,... Read More

Can Movie Theatres Compete with Home HD TV in the Future?

The battle is heating up for market share, home movie... Read More

PC Owners - The Largest Criminal Gang Ever?

The year is 1981. IBM has just released the Personal... Read More

Wordpress Plugins

Maybe you always wanted a feature that hasn't been available... Read More

5 Steps to Remove Spyware for Free

Have you ever tried to remove Spyware off your PC... Read More

Are You Well Protected?

Winter?the official start of the cold and flu season. Though,... Read More

HTML Explained: Part 2

Get started creating web pages using text files and HTML... Read More

5 Ways to Speed Up Your PC

No matter how fast your processor and regardless of how... Read More

How I Started Working With 3D Modeling Programs

So I'll start from the very beginning.One day I was... Read More

Repairing A Corrupt .RAR/.ZIP Archive

Step 1:Open WinRAR and browse to the folder with your... Read More

Emulation Manual - A Complete Guide on How to Change Your Windows XP to Mac OS X

IntroductionMac OS X is the most technologically advanced operating system... Read More

Be Prepared in the Event Computer Disaster Strikes

ComputersBusinesses and individuals alike have all grown to rely on... Read More

Build Your Own Computer

I'm eighty-one years old and I bought my first computer... Read More

What Exactly are Screensavers? - part I

After reading this good article you will know some important... Read More

Windows Task Manager in English

You use Ctrl+Alt+Del to see what's running on your PC,... Read More