Introduction   Cheap tips for safe   computing Workspace Setup   Chairs and footrests   Monitor   Keyboard and mouse   Desktop layout   Lighting   Noise Preventative Measures   Caring for your eyes   Back problems   Adjusting your posture   Stretching at your desk   Reducing stress   Organizing your work   Ergonomic devices Health Concerns   Carpal tunnel syndrome   Repetitive strain injury   Eye strain Summary Checklist  Helpful Links

Cheap Tips for Safe Computing General If it hurts, don't do it. Pay attention to how you are feeling, how you are sitting, and what hurts. Keep moving - Stretch, wiggle, get up! - every 15 to 20 minutes or so. Use an egg timer or the timer on your computer to prompt you to take a minute for yourself. Tape up one of the many good stretch exercise sheets at your desk, next to your phone, and over the copier. Stretch while you are waiting, while you are on hold, listening to your voice mail, whatever. Set yourself a daily deadline; if you haven't done all your stretches by lunch, then you'll know what to do on your lunch hour. Posture Don't stick your neck out - literally. Your head weighs about 15 pounds. Keep it balanced over your neck and spare your neck and shoulders. If you use an ergonomic chair, find its instruction book and adjust the chair to fit you. Learn how the controls work and make small adjustments throughout the day. If your chair doesn't adjust, consider getting a replacement, or try using pillows to raise the height. Face your monitor and keyboard head-on. Make sure you're centered over the part of the keyboard you use the most. Don't sit centered over the number pad if you never use it. Don't talk with the phone on your shoulder, and limit the use of a gadget to rest the phone on your shoulder. Consider a headset or a speaker phone if you are on the phone frequently. Women - Dump the purse and get a backpack or fanny pack. Also try sitting with your knees a foot or two apart - while your mother wouldn't like it, this position forces you into a better posture. Men - Don't sit on your billfold. Hip replacements aren't fun. Put your billfold in your sock or a front pocket, so you don't leave it behind. And consider a fanny pack worn in front. Eye Care Don't work looking up at your monitor. Bifocal wearers need to be especially careful that their monitors are low enough to avoid neck strain. The top of the monitor should be at or just below eye level. Lower the height of the monitor by moving the CPU so it is not supporting the monitor. Eyeglass wearers - go prepared to your next eye exam. Read up on vision requirements for computer users and inform your eye doctor of your work set up. Consider buying a special pair of computer glasses. Some health plans cover them. Don't position your monitor in front of a window, or with a window directly behind you. If this can't be avoided, pull curtains or window blinds to reduce glare. A rule of thumb is to position the screen 90 degrees to a window. Check your monitor for glare by holding a white piece of paper in front of it. If you can see its reflection, you've got glare! Quick fix: tape a manila folder on the top or side of your monitor after moving it in and out to test for maximum light blocking. Keyboarding and Mousing Don't reach for, or tightly grip, your mouse. Position the mouse as closely as possible to the keyboard and you. "Mouse shoulder" and "mouse arm" are debilitating conditions. Keep the mouse within a forearm's reach in front of you. Try sloping your keyboard downward and away from you to achieve hands which are in a straight line to your arms. Use pads of sticky notes to prop up the front of the keyboard. Avoid raising the keyboard "feet." Use two hands to type combination keys (such as (trl and Fl), instead of one hand stretching or clicking. Better yet, stop all that clicking and learn the keyboard equivalents. Check your software "help" screens for shortcut keys, and use them. Don't use a laptop on a bed, on the floor, or on your lap. Use a desk or table, preferable about 28 inches high. Rest your wrists on a wrist rest only when you are NOT typing. Wrist rests are designed to support the heel of your hand, not for resting your wrists. Place wrist rest so it is level with the top of your keyboard's space bar. There are also mouse wrist rests. Gizmos Don't buy the first gizmo you see. Test them out! Store-bought items may not be the right height or comfort level for you. Make your own gizmos: For a wrist rest - try a rolled up hand towel or rolled up bubble wrap sec ured with masking tape. For a footrest - try using a 3-ring binder, piling up telephone books, mail order catalogs, or use a low box (i.e. a shoebox), so you'll know the exact height you need. This will help reduce back and whole body fatigue. For a backrest - use a small pillow or rolled up towel positioned at your comfort level. For really creative people - make little bags and fill them with rice for temporary or permanent backrests, footrest, wrist rests or travel pillows. Need a soak? Use a plastic flower box or wallpapering box (shallow, long, and narrow) to hold warm water for soaking forearms, wrists and hands. Need a cold press? Keep a few plastic bags of peas in the freezer at work and at home to use as ice packs on whatever hurts. Keep refreezing them. Need to relieve back tension? Using a small rubber ball between your back and the wall, lean against the wall to apply pressure to sore spots. Hold for several seconds and release.