Sitting at a computer for many hours at a time is not good for our health, and it’s our modern and sedentary lives that are contributing to the rise in health issues that we’re seeing throughout much of the developed world. While it isn’t necessary a problem to sit and use a computer for work, it can become a problem when the user doesn’t maintain certain habits to ensure that they are not damaging their bodies.
Many of these are extremely easy to implement and while it can take some time before they are engrained in the way that we work, they can also lead to long-term health benefits, as we will look at here.
Eye Strain
Eye strain is one of the most common ailments that workers and PC gamers suffer with, and while it may not seem that serious at first, it can quickly become a problem that could eventually lead to long-term damage.
Our eyes use specialised sets of muscles that help us focus on specific parts of our vision, and when it comes to screens, we often will need to focus on the writing, videos, or games that are in front of us. If we do this for long periods of time, it can lead to the muscles in our eyes becoming tired and leading to eye strain. One of the best ways to combat this is by taking a break from all screens every half an hour or so.
Back Pain
Another common problem that occurs fairly frequently is back pain, and it’s usually caused by having bad posture while using a computer or laptop, especially if the screen is a position that’s lower than our line of sight, causing us to hunch over to work on it.
This can easily be mediated by elevating the position of the screen so that it is right in front of us, ensuring that we are able to look directly without having to bend forward, whether it’s for work, gaming, or playing at https://canadiancasinosites.net/video-poker/ . This can be improved further by keeping the keyboard at a certain length from our bodies so that it’s more comfortable to use.
Another way to avoid long-term back pain is by getting some exercise every day, especially for those users that spend the majority of their time at their computer. While most experts recommend around 90 minutes a day of moderate exercise, even just a short half an hour walk is enough to stay healthy.
Dark Mode
Many operating systems these days come with a dark mode that’s baked right in. This is particularly important for those that work in a darker room or at night, as using dark mode can help avoid eye strain. Another benefit to dark mode is that it can help us enjoy better sleep at night, especially when we combine that with a blue light filter.
Modern versions of Android and GNU/Linux usually come with dark mode that can be set to change at specific times of the day, making it easy to transition to something that’s easier on the eyes once the sun has gone down for the evening.