Continuing with the series focused on health & wellness called, Ergonomics.
In the previous two series you read about – Ergonomics: One of the most important pillars of good health & The most important thing when reading, writing & watching
Today we will dive deep into the working table design.
After pandemics, work from home & online classes is a common scenario in most houses.
Is your house equipped with necessary accessories for WFH?
How do you do your meetings & kids take their classes?
Have you heard these terms?
1. Sitting is a silent killer
2. Sitting is the new smoking
This is not to scare, but to make you think & provide the options
Few days back I had visited my brother’s house. He was excited to show his dual mode (sit-stand) table. This was the same table/desk about which I had read & was thinking.
He said following things about the desk usage,
1. Desk
- It is very convenient to raise or lower the table as per requirement
- Feel more energetic
- More alert & focused
- Can stretch the body conveniently in between
- Less back pain
- Choice of not sitting in one position for longer hours
I was impressed to see the above table & thought of sharing here.
Along with ergonomic table, there are following things necessary to follow.
2. Chair
A good ergonomic chair is a companion of ergonomic table.
A chair should be such that, raising & lowering the height should be easy & convenient.
Reclined back rest gives better lumbar support.
Castors give easy all around movement.
3. Lighting
After choosing proper desk & chair, the next important thing is lighting.
Make sure you are sitting in proper lighting to reduce eye strain, headache, burning, itching eyes, etc.
Make complete use of natural light & if natural light is insufficient, use artificial light.
Be careful, not to sit in a dark place while working.
4. Dampers
Standing on hard surface for longer hours, leads to leg pain.
Pair of rubber slippers may give comfort to the legs.
If one doesn’t want to wear slippers then the alternative could be rubber mat.
This will provide cushioning & act like damper to your legs.
5. Screen brightness
One more thing often we neglect is brightness of the screen.
Too bright or dim screen, both are not good for your eyes.
Opt for auto mode (if available) that will adjust the brightness according to the ambience light.
However standing doesn’t replace exercise. One needs to take frequent breaks after every 30 mins. Following are a few recommendations,
- Keep yourself well hydrated. Move away from the desk to drink water, which will increase your wash room trips. Hence increase in body movements
- Take 5 mins walk or do stretches
- Whenever possible take calls while walking or moving around
Important is striking a good balance between sitting & standing.
6. Ideal work pattern
To make it easy & clear refer the pie chart below, to know approximately how much to sit, stand & move around while working.
If you follow the above guidelines then you will increase your efficiency along with better focus.
Time for some reinforcement.
If you have a choice between pulling an object or pushing the object, which one would you choose, as per ergonomics.
See you soon.. with one more important topic.