Continuing with the series focused on health & wellness called Ergonomics.
In the previous blog, we saw how your bed, sofa & TV should be, what precautions you need to take while sitting on a sofa or watching a TV. Now let us move on to the next set of things done by everyone & everyday.
Now a days, most commonly, people are experiencing neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain, numbness in the finger & so many related things. This will lead to distraction, poor concentration & thus bad performance.
You should know there is no permanent solution to this, other than exercise & correct posture.
Reading, writing & watching are part of our daily routine. Then how can we continue doing them without experiencing pain?
I will explain simple tips to follow with the examples.
Reading
While reading, what matters a lot is your posture.
When you are reading this article, how are your back, neck, hands?
How do you hold your book, mobile, kindle, tab, laptop etc?
As shown in the picture, make sure you sit on a chair with back pressed & parallel to the back of the chair.
Sit upright in your chair with knees bent at a 90-degree angle, use foot rest if needed.
Keep your neck, shoulders and hip in a straight line.
Let the book or gadget be at eye level.
If you have a laptop table then use it as shown here, even while reading.
If not, then raise the height with books or boxes but don’t bend your neck.
Distance between book & you, can be little less than your arm length.
Writing
After reading, the next important activity we do is writing or typing.
Many times we sit on bed with laptop on lap with neck fully bend down.
This is wrong posture & will harm the body in the long run.
Ideally study/office table should be between 26 to 30 inches in height for comfortable writing or typing.
For growing kids, opt for a height adjustable ergonomic chair to maintain posture.
Along with proper furniture follow the body posture as shown in the above picture.
Keep legs firmly on the ground/foot rest & spine erect.
Sit square to the table (facing your body straight to the table & not cross while writing). If you want to turn anything it would be paper & not your body.
Keep shoulders relaxed & not raised.
Keep your non writing hand on the table & not dangling down.
Watching
One could be watching a television, laptop or mobile.
While watching television, follow the steps explained in the previous blog.
During usage of laptop, remember to follow things mentioned in reading (explained above)
Now for mobile, raise your hand instead of lowering your neck.
Check the above picture for right & wrong posture.
Initially it may feel odd & little painful but if you practice these good postures consciously & make it a habit then you can have much healthier lifestyle.
As I mentioned earlier, with healthy body, you can have comfort & healthy mind, which in turn yields better performance.
Tips:
- Whether you are reading, writing or watching, it’s very important to take frequent breaks
- Do not sit more than 30 min in the same place. Get up from your seat, stretch, walk few steps, drink water, look out
Reinforcement time
Look at the equipment in the above pic. Write in the comment box below which of the activity(s) discussed above is aided by such an equipment.
Coming up next – one more important area where ergonomics is must. Keep guessing…
see you soon…