4 Strategies to Make Your Desktop More Ergonomic, According to the Pros
Your workspace might feel comfortable in the moment but haphazard ergonomics can take a toll on your body.
Your workspace might feel comfortable in the moment but haphazard ergonomics can take a toll on your body if you aren't careful. Make an audit of your workspace and make sure it is up to snuff before aches and pains make you wish you'd done it earlier.
Proper ergonomics and immediate comfort aren't the same thing, so it's a good idea to defer to specialists. Years ago, at the height of the pandemic, experts from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine published the results of a survey in the journal Ergonomics in Design.
Today, it stands as excellent professional-grade advice you can apply right now for benefits that pay off in the days, weeks and years to come.
A leading cause of pain from makeshift workstations stem from an improperly oriented screen. The study found that many laptop users' screens are too low, causing neck strain from looking down for hours on end. Those with external displays often had them too high, causing the inverse problem.
The answer? The top of your main screen should be at eye level, to ensure that maximum screen real-estate is viewable from a neutral, forward head position. Any additional screens should be off to one side, but viewable straight on.
While it's easy to accomplish with an external display, it can be a little tougher with a laptop. But a stack of books can help raise it up to an appropriate level with ease, though it may leave you with some trouble typing, which brings us to step two.
Laptops are great for portability but their ergonomics are inherently subpar. Their keyboards and touch pads are cramped and virtually unusable if you've hefted your screen up to an appropriate height. That's where external peripherals come in.
The study results showed that over half of participants were stuck with their laptop input devices, where external options could improve workstation ergonomics significantly.
Not only are external devices better for ergonomics; they make your workstation more fun to use.
Not only are external devices better for ergonomics; they make your workstation more fun to use. Grab an external keyboard but consider going mechanical. Bluetooth mice are great but might I suggest a trackball for the pinnacle of comfort you'll never come back from? A big external monitor will pay dividends not just in neck comfort, but in screen real estate. And a USB dock or hub makes it easy to attach and detach all this gear in one go.
Being on the edge of your seat is fine if you're watching a blockbuster, but it's bad news for your body if you're doing it all work day long.
The study found that the majority of workers were failing to get were failing to get the maximum support from their chair, either being too far forward to benefit from lumbar support, experiencing arm strain by not using armrests or having them improperly adjusted.
Simple measures like scooting closer to your work surface or adjusting armrest height can go a long way to improving comfort.
Whatever your workstation looks like and no matter how ergonomically well-considered it is, a crucial measure everyone can take is to get up and move around.
Studies show that you should be changing position at least once ever 30 minutes, whether you're simply standing up for a bit, taking a walk around the block, or moving between a sitting and standing desk if you are fortunate enough to have both at your disposal.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
TSA warns of new airport security risk — passengers could wind up in trouble without even knowing
The juice isn't worth the squeeze. Passengers waiting for their flights can often be seen plugging into the free USB power ports that litter airports around the globe these days. But while they might seem like a lifesaver for those low on battery, the Transportation Security Administration is warning against the common activity for a surprising reason. Advertisement 'When you're at an airport do not plug your phone directly into a USB port,' the TSA warned in a PSA on Facebook. Instead of juicing one's device using flight hub re-fueling stations, security officials recommend bringing one's own 'TSA-compliant power brick or battery pack' and plugging in there, per the advisory. ARAMYAN – According to officials, hackers can 'install malware' at USB ports in a trend known as 'juice/port jacking.' Cybercriminals can then ransom your device or steal your passwords. Advertisement Instead of juicing one's device using flight hub re-fueling stations, security officials recommend bringing one's own 'TSA-compliant power brick or battery pack' and plugging in there, per the advisory. TSA officials are echoing warnings by the FBI, FCC, as well as countless techsperts. Unfortunately, compromised portals aren't the only way bad actors can yoink data from one's device. Advertisement Unfortunately there isn't a lot of air-port security. Getty Images The TSA also warned against using free public WiFi, especially when making purchases or otherwise entering sensitive information. As the cybersecurity experts at Norton point out, unencrypted hotspots 'transmit data in plain text, making them vulnerable to cybercriminals with the right tools.' Advertisement 'Hackers on the same network can intercept your online activities, including banking information, login credentials, and personal messages,' they wrote. And unfortunately, juice port jackers aren't the only bad actors preying on unsuspecting travelers. In April, Argentine flight attendant Barbara Bacilieri claimed that thieves are purchasing cheap tickets to access the concourse areas — allowing them to steal from both passengers and duty-free shops without actually having to board a plane. Some airport burglars even use sophisticated scanners to siphon data from passengers' credit cards as they brush by them. This surreptitious card swiping often flies under the radar until days later, when said card's owner spots an unauthorized transaction (often in a foreign country), making this crime extremely difficult to prevent.
New York Times
4 hours ago
- New York Times
I Never Thought I'd Buy a CD Player Again — Until I Found This One
The Syitren R300 has a key feature that sets it apart from the portable CD players I remember from my 30s: a Bluetooth transmitter. Due to this added twist, I can easily play my CDs through any Bluetooth-equipped speaker, headphones, soundbar, or car audio system. The R300 also has a headphone jack and an optical digital audio output, so you can connect it directly to an audio system and get subtly better sound by bypassing Bluetooth (though I've never bothered). Another convenient feature is the R300's internal battery, which charges through a USB-C jack. It ran for about nine hours, and that meant I could use the R300 anywhere I wanted without connecting a power supply and without having to buy AA batteries by the dozen. The R300 has its own volume-control dial on the top panel; this makes it more convenient to use. Brent Butterworth/NYT Wirecutter The top of the player has a comfortably chunky roller knob to control volume, plus the usual play/pause and track-skip buttons. I loved being able to control the volume right from the player, rather than having to get up to adjust the volume on the speaker. A display under the translucent cover gives you info, such as the number of the track that's playing, the playing time for each track, the battery charge level, and the Bluetooth connection status. The player has a built-in battery, charged via USB-C. Brent Butterworth/NYT Wirecutter Some might worry that an under-$100 CD player doesn't deliver all the sound quality that the format is capable of. But over decades of following the scientific literature on audio, I've seen scant evidence that listeners can reliably detect differences among digital source devices, and all the brand-concealed listening tests we've done at Wirecutter support this statement. Such differences, if they exist, would vanish when heard through the inexpensive gear that R300 buyers are likely to use.
Gizmodo
5 hours ago
- Gizmodo
Amazon's Best-Selling USB-C Chargers From Anker Are Down to Only $6 a Pop, Limited Stock Left
How often do you find your various devices competing for the only available outlet? It's frustrating having to make the tough call to which you'll plug in, your phone or your laptop. You can connect one and then go plug in the other into a different outlet I suppose, but then that's sometimes all the way on the other side of the room. Completely impractical. You're better off investing in a reliable wall charger block that can power all your devices simultaneously. The Anker 20W USB-C charger has multiple ports to plug into and can recharge your phone, tablet, or laptop fast. See at Amazon Right now you can get two of them along with two five ft USB-C cables for a crazy-low $12. The two-pack is $7 off, which doesn't sound like a lot, but that does bring the price down by 37%. That shakes out to just $6 per charging block. $3 per charging port if you want to break it down even further. For the iPhone 16 Users Out There If you had been on Team Apple when it comes to your smart phone of choice for several generations, you've probably accumulated yourself a sizeable stash of lightning chargers. Maybe one for the bedroom, one for the office, one you travel with, etc. But now that Apple has shifted over the the universal standard of USB-C, all of those charging cables are now useless to you. You'll have to restock. These chargers each house two charging ports—one USB-A and one USB-C. This way you can have two devices plugged in and charging to one adapter all at once without compromising the speed of bringing your phone or tablet from zero back to 100%. Just 30 minutes of charging will bring a dead iPhone 16 back up to over 50% when using the USB-C to USB-C connection. The chargers even come in a variety of fun colors. Choose from the more traditional black or white, or you can get a bit funkier with it by selecting the pastel green or purple options. Each charging block is compact in form, designed to be portable enough to take with your wherever you need to have a charged phone—which I guess is everywhere. Being USB-C, these charging blocks are compatible with a number of devices. You can charge your phone, tablet, Nintendo Switch, laptop, headphones, Bluetooth speaker—you name it. For a limited time, you can secure this two-pack of USB-C and USB-A Anker chargers with cables for the low price of just $12 total. See at Amazon
