Seven Healthy Tips for Working at a Computer

Seven Healthy Tips for Working at a Computer

Young Indian IT professionals spend around 1,700 hours a year working at a computer, resulting in a lot of screen time and extended sitting. This can increase the risk of certain health problems, from poor posture to eye strain and more.

Exercising some good habits can help to avoid these potential problems. Here are 7 tips to promote good health while working at a computer.

1.? Find the right posture

Sitting with poor posture is one of the most common causes of problems for office workers. There’s a tendency to either slump down in the chair or to lean in close to a monitor, both of which put strain on the spine and neck. Sitting at a desk with a proper chair is the best way to promote a good working posture, keeping the spine aligned with the neck, and your head supported directly above.

There’s no need to pull your shoulders back unnaturally, either; it’s about sitting in a relaxed and comfortable position while gently engaging your core to support yourself. Your legs should also be as close to right angles as possible with your feet planted flat on the floor.

2.? Use a second screen

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If you work on a laptop, having to look down at your screen all the time puts strain on your neck. Ideally, you need a monitor at the correct height, or at least your laptop placed higher up while you use an external keyboard.

The optimal viewing position is to have the top of your monitor level with your eyes, so you’re actually looking down slightly. This helps to protect your eyes from drying out and allows you to keep your neck upright.

3.? Lower the brightness

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Speaking of your monitor, you could help to avoid eye strain and headaches by dimming your screen slightly. Offices can often be very brightly lit environments, which can make it difficult to set your monitor at a comfortable brightness level, but dimming the screen even slightly can help.

Likewise, working in a dimly lit environment with a very bright screen can be just as uncomfortable over long periods. If you’re working later into the evening, you could also set your monitor to filter out blue light so as not to disrupt your body’s natural sleep cycle.

4.? Have healthy snacks to hand

Sitting at a computer working all day isn’t necessarily the most enjoyable task, so it can be easy to reach for more fulfilling things like a cold fizzy drink or a chocolate bar to keep you going. While a snack once in a while is fine, it’s easy to slip into bad habits.

It can be a good idea to have some fruit or nuts on hand, so you’re able to reach for something healthy throughout the day. If you like a cup of coffee or tea to get you through the day, it can also be a good idea to set yourself one or two specific break times to make one, rather than making multiple cups throughout the day.

5.? Get up and take a break

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One of the best things you can do is to get up and leave your desk for a few minutes every so often. Even just looking away from your monitor regularly is beneficial. Ideally, you should change your working position throughout the day with a sit/stand desk, so you’re never sitting or standing too long.

If this isn’t possible in your workplace or home, getting up and moving about is the next best thing. If you have a habit of getting engrossed in your work and forgetting, set yourself an alarm to go off every 30 minutes or an hour to take a walk around the room, look out of the window, get a glass of water, or whatever.

6. Use A Standing Desk

One option you may want to consider is to get a different kind of desk. Standing desks are becoming a popular option for people because they promote a healthier work environment. The human body was never meant to sit at a desk for 8 hours a day. Doing so puts a lot of strain on your body and can cause a lot of negative health effects. The problem here is that if you have a job that requires working on a computer, you are going to have to spend a lot of time at a desk.

But what if you didn’t sit at your desk and stood behind it instead?

There are a lot of standing desk options out there that range from an entirely new desk to a desk extension you can put on top of an existing one. While it may seem odd at first, in time, you should adapt to your standing desk and become comfortable with it. No longer will you have the same type of health-related concerns that come with sitting for long periods.

7. Keep Your Desk Clean

One of the most common problems with a desk job that requires you to sit in front of a computer all day is a problem many people aren’t even aware of.

What problem is that? Bacteria.

When you sit and use a computer, any bacteria on your hands or body are going to end up on your desk. Over time that bacteria can build up. Even before you know it, your work area is teaming with disgusting microbes.

The solution to this? Simple, keep a clean work area.

Clean up after yourself and clean your desk, computer, keyboard, and entire work area daily. A simple sanitation wipe can keep bacteria from building up, which can help to prevent you from getting sick. You can further protect yourself by getting up and washing your hands regularly. As well as start keeping hand sanitizer around and use it frequently.

Conclusion: Health is A Priority and Is Easy to Do

?It’s essential to be aware of the fact that you are performing a job harming your health. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that it doesn’t take a lot of time or effort to reduce those adverse effects. So, move around more, keep your work area clean, snack on healthy foods, and rest your eyes. It can prevent a lot of the negative effects associated with a sedentary job.

So, take these little steps to make sure you look and feel your best.

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