How does office work affect health?

Are you sitting at your desk right now? Take a look at your posture. You may be sitting with your legs crossed, your chin resting on your hand, using your computer incorrectly… You may feel comfortable, but the truth is that many of our habits while sitting at our desks are affecting our long-term health.

Nowadays, many office workers often do not pay attention to the scientific design of the workplace. When changing the sitting position, you will feel comfortable, but in the long run, this will make the body more uncomfortable and tired.

You may not even realize that your body is adjusting itself to the position of your mouse and keyboard, so that you can see and read more clearly. Each of these actions has physical effects such as heart and circulatory problems, weight gain, lower back pain; carpal tunnel syndrome and elbow spurs; and neck and shoulder pain.

Fortunately, there are simple adjustments you can make now to help your office workers stay healthier:

Seats

Studies show that proper sitting postures can reduce the risk of musculoskeletal symptoms and musculoskeletal disorders.

So, raise or lower the chair until your thighs are parallel to the floor and your feet are flat on the floor. There is 5cm of space between the back of your knees and the edge of the chair.

Sit back in the chair to rest your back, you can use a back cushion to support your upper body.

Keyboard

People tend to adjust their bodies to their desks rather than the other way around, or blame the design of their chairs. However, there is one thing you should also consider: the keyboard.

We tend to sit high in our chairs and hunch our shoulders forward to type on the keyboard throughout the workday. Worse still, we lean forward, which increases the risk of lower back pain.

The ideal position for the keyboard is similar to that of a laptop, with shoulders relaxed, wrists straight, and palms supported.

The keyboard and mouse can be placed closer to the body, so that the body weight is still on the chair and the posture is much more comfortable. It is important to keep the wrists free of strain and the wrist bones straight when typing.

Mouse

How you grip and control your mouse can also affect your comfort level and risk of injury.

Choose a mouse that fits comfortably in your hand and keep your wrist straight and not lifted off the table when using it. Place the mouse near the keyboard or on the numeric keypad to reduce hand movements. Avoid lifting your wrist off the table. Instead, place your palm over the mouse and use your entire arm to control the mouse.

Screen

Incorrect monitor height and position are other factors that cause us to slouch toward our desks. First, position your monitor at least an arm's length away.

To optimize viewing comfort, the top line of text should be positioned slightly downward. The monitor should be adjusted perpendicular to the body so that the line of sight is perpendicular to the screen surface.

Lighting

Desk lighting is not just a mere decoration, it is actually good for the eyes, preventing glare and Computer Vision Syndrome, a condition that affects 90% of computer users with eye strain, eye fatigue, dry eyes, light sensitivity, blurred vision, headaches and other symptoms.

Position the lamp light opposite your writing hand and onto the document, but away from the computer screen to reduce glare.

Also note the following points:

- Can use standing desk: Sitting too much has been proven to seriously affect health. Investing in standing desks for employees to work may not be a new option but also not too old because it is not popular in Vietnam.

Standing desks have been proven to increase productivity, help you stay alert, reduce headaches, and focus on your work. However, standing for too long is not good for your health, so it is necessary to make reasonable adjustments throughout the working day, when you need to think and be creative, you can sit down to do it and take breaks to sit down for a while.

- Reasonable rest: Whether standing or sitting at work, we need to take time to take breaks throughout the working day. It can be about 1 to 2 minutes of rest every hour, this will help the body regain its original strength. In addition, we should also drink plenty of water. During breaks, we can go get water or go to the toilet, for example, no matter what we do, stand up from the desk to relax the body and mind.

According to Dantri