Home
>
Personal Technology
>
Ergonomics and Healthy Computing - Positioning Your Body For Maximum Comfort At Your Computer

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

no-contract cleaning service Mundelein ..

In The News:

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

Concerned about Google's AI scanning your Gmail? Learn how to disable Gemini features that access your emails, Drive files and Chat messages for privacy.

Google warns Android users about dangerous fake VPN apps hiding malware that steals passwords, banking details and personal data from phones and tablets.

Apple's digital passport feature lets iPhone users breeze through TSA checkpoints this holiday season using Digital ID technology at 250+ airports.

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

Personal Technology