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Health Tips for Computer Users

Posted by Akash on 29 November 2011

If you are a regular computer user then you are prone to several health risks which can prove to be dangerous. Various computer related jobs like data-entry, programming, animation, DTP, blogging etc. requires you to sit in front of computer for a long period of time.

Even if you don't fall in above categories but use computer for a considerable amount of time, I strongly advice you to consider the following health tips which are really important if want to avoid health problem later on in your life. If you don't know how a computer can affect your health, these are some of the common health problems which you can face if you use computer for a longer period.

Computer related illness

Backbone(spine) problems
Eye related problems
Neck pain and neck related headaches
Spinal cord damage

Important health tips for regular computer users

I never used to care about my health until I faced severe back pain and eye inflammation while developing an artificial intelligence software named Braina. I understood that health is not just wealth, it is more than it. Without good health, life is useless. I understood that I will be able to develop many more software only if I am healthy but a bad health would lead to end of my computer career.

Here are some quick advices to follow if you use computer a lot.

Improve your body posture

Wrong body posture can lead to back pain and back bone problems. Moreover a poor posture can lead to loss of shoulder motion, leg related problems, chronic pain, inability to exercise and more.

The following are important considerations when attempting to maintain a proper body posture while working on computer:

Image Courtesy: www.ergonomicrescue.com.au

Always use a ergonomic computer chair.
Always try to sit in an erect position.
Make sure that your back is fully supported with the backrest. Adjust the backrest so that it supports the pelvis, vertebral disk in the lumbar region and the upper body and provides balance for spinal column, relaxation to back muscles and relief to vertebral disks.
Shoulders should be relaxed, upper arms should hang normally at the side of the body and Elbows should stay close to the body and should be bent around 90 degrees to create a good body posture.
Adjust your computer monitor such that it is directly in front of you with your head, neck, and torso facing the screen.
Set keyboard, mouse and other frequently used devices at a comfortable position.

Maintaining a good posture helps in decreasing abnormal wearing of joints, lessens stress on ligaments of the spine, prevents the spine from becoming fixed in abnormal positions, prevents muscular pain, neck pain and backache.

Keep exercising or stretching

Do not sit continuously in same posture for more time. Lean forward, cross your arms in front of you, hold your knees and bend backwards. Stretch your fingers, arms, hands, and torso at regular intervals(every 10 or 15 minutes).

Eye Care

Eyes are your windows to the world. Eyes make the world so beautiful. Using computers for a long time can damage your eye sight. If all those years of staring at a screen have given you the eyes of an astigmatic bat here are tips to protect your eyes:

Set the distance and position of monitors with eye: Advisable distance between your eye and computer screen is in the range of 20 to 35 inches(50 - 90 cm) or you can multiply the diagonal length of screen display with 2 to get the distance you should keep between screen and eyes.
Keep blinking: Eye strain is caused if you forget to blink regularly while sitting in front of a computer. Blink at regular intervals to give your eyes the necessary moisture.
Look distant objects: Give periodic rest to your eyes by looking at far-away objects. For example, look outside world from the window.
Large fonts and zooming: You should set large font size. Do not force the eyes to read small letters. While browsing the internet if you found a website with small font size than you can zoom the webpage in browser.

Give yourself a break

You should not stick to your chair. Don't be a slave of your computer. Set yourself free at regular intervals.

Get up & take a walk.
Get yourself a glass of water.
Take a break to call a friend.
Get up and wash your face and eyes with water.

You can download this Health Care software for free which reminds you that you have to take a break.

Don't get addicted

Nowadays I find many people who are addicted to computers(or I must say Internet). Instead of doing any productive work they spend their time watching videos on YouTube just for time-pass or using social networking sites like Facebook. I am not saying to stop doing that but this should be done in limit so that it doesn't affect your health.

Remember that the computer was invited to enhance your life rather than to deprive you of life.

Disclaimer: The writer(Akash Shastri) is not a medical practitioner. This information given here is of a general nature. No person should act according to the statements provided here thinking it as a professional health advice. Always ask your family doctor before following the tips given here.