Posture is the position we hold our bodies in. Ergonomics is the study of peoples’ efficiency in their working environment.
As office workers, computer posture always takes place while we’re at our workstations. In my opinion, office ergonomics should be considered even when we’re away from our desks. To have good computer ergonomics, we should be intentional about all of our healthy habits. Especially, those that contribute directly to how good our computer posture is.
What’s the difference between posture and ergonomics? Photo by Andreypopov via Megapixl.
This article will talk about the comparison of posture vs ergonomics. It’ll also answer some frequently asked questions about the ergonomics and posture relationship.
As office workers, we’ve become disconnected from the Earth in a major way. We’re constantly indoors for at least 8 hours a day. We completely miss out on seeing the sun. It’s barely light outside when we drive to work. And we drive home from work in the dark.
Our workday is supported by fake florescent lights beaming down on us. We stare directly at neon lights coming out of our monitor screens.
Instead of breathing in fresh outdoor air, we breathe in a mixture of dust from the ceiling tiles and germs from your cubicle mates.
Once the weekend comes around, we’re beat down both mentally and physically. Mostly from job stress and working in a computer posture all week. Even if we did spend Saturday and Sunday outdoors, 2 out of 7 days a week just isn’t enough.
Of all these downsides about working in an office, one of the most unfortunate is that our feet never touch the ground anymore.
This image shows a grounding sheet like the one I use for better sleep. Image via Amazon.com.
This article is about grounding bed sheets. It’ll talk about how they work and the benefits I’ve gotten from mine. Grounding bed sheets are the most helpful product I’ve used to connect with the natural healing properties of the Earth. The best part about a grounding sheet, it does all the work for me while I’m sleeping.
Healthy sleep habits are an important factor of computer ergonomics. The definition of ergonomics is: the study of peoples’ efficiency in the workplace. Posture is also an important ergonomic variable. Posture is the position we hold our bodies in.
If we have poor sleep quality at night, it’s going to directly affect our computer posture the next day. The earlier in the day we get tired, the earlier we have poor computer posture. This is why healthy sleep habits are necessary in order to have good computer posture.
Healthy sleep habits are an important factor of how good our computer posture is the next day. Photo by Rido via Megapixl.
I like to define all the variables of computer ergonomics as:
Posture
Sleep
Hydration
Breathing
Nutrition
This article will focus on how to create a healthy sleeping environment that sets us up for success before we even get in the bed.
A lot of computer users don’t think about sleep and posture in the same sentence. They don’t understand that our sleep quality is directly related to the quality of our computer posture the next day. If I sleep poorly at night, I get tired quickly the next day. As soon as I get tired, my computer posture gets significantly worse.
The majority of office workers never think to fix their sleeping posture. If you’re reading this article, you’re in the top percentage of high-performance action takers. And that’s something to be very proud of.
Good sleeping posture is directly related to how good my computer posture is the next day. Photo by Kaspiic via Megapixl.
This article will share some of my favorite sleeping posture tips. My goal is always to share the minimal amount of information, that will make the biggest improvement in results. I try to take the boring topic of computer posture, then make it as interesting and as valuable as possible. The specific topic of this article will be sleeping posture correction.
You would think sitting gives your legs a break. You’re not using your leg muscles to walk, or even stand. But if you aren’t using your legs while sitting, why is knee pain such a common computer-related injury?
Why does sitting cause knee pain? Photo by Chernetskaya via Megapixl.
This article will explain how a sedentary lifestyle caused knee problems in both of my legs.
When sitting for long periods of time, our knees are often at a 90 degree angle or less. Our knee is designed to get in this position, but it’s not designed to stay in this position. For example, jumping and squatting are other positions where it’s helpful to get our knees at a 90 degree angle.
But when our knees are at this same angle for long periods of time, that’s when it becomes a problem. It doesn’t matter that we’re sitting in a chair, it can still be causing knee pain. When we sit, the hamstring muscles on the back of our legs are activated, overused, and shortened. The quadricep muscles on the front of our legs are stretched, underused, and lengthened. These 2 muscle groups are supposed to work together evenly. Instead, the hamstrings are constantly contracted when we’re sitting, while the quadriceps are doing the exact opposite. And the more we pull our feet under our desk chair, the more destructive this position becomes.
Back when I used to eat fast food, I would always pick what I thought was the “healthiest” option, grilled chicken for example. I had no idea how bad those “healthy” options were for me. The main reason was the seed oils these foods were cooked in.
In the fall of 2022, I stopped eating fast food altogether. My goal wasn’t even to lose weight. I weighed 235 pounds. But I’m 6’3″ tall. I didn’t feel overweight necessarily. But I didn’t feel good as far as energy goes. And I had a high amount of chronic pain and inflammation. My muscle recovery wasn’t good either. My main goal for quitting fast food was to have more energy and to feel better.
These options have made how to cook without seed oils very easy for me.
After 3 months of no fast food, I was shocked at how much weight I’d lost.
I went from 235 pounds, down to 190. I’d lost 45 pounds in 3 months. The main thing was, that I felt great. It was then that I realized, just how bad seed oils were for me. I didn’t even change any other daily habits during that 3 months. I didn’t do cardio. But I did lift weights like I normally do. And I usually don’t take long breaks when I’m lifting. So the workouts did have a certain mid-intensity, cardio aspect to them. But I didn’t run for any distances, or do any cardio-only workouts, during that period. I also didn’t cut any calories. I just changed the foods I ate. Instead of fast food, I was cooking a lot of grass-fed red meat and eggs. I didn’t sacrifice taste at all. The food I was eating actually tasted better.
Since then, I’ve taken a class on cellular inflammation that’s helped me further understand the dangers of seed oils and why they are so bad for us. This class was taught by a doctor. It was very eye-opening. Everything I learned from it has been very helpful in improving my all-around health. And anything that improves my health is directly related to improving my computer posture. That class can be found here if you’d like to learn more.
Fast food companies cook with seed oils because they are much less expensive than healthy animal fats.
A gallon of unhealthy canola oil costs as low as $5. Comparatively, grass-fed beef tallow (a healthy seed-oil substitute) costs over $50 per gallon. That means it’s 10 times more expensive. With the massive amounts of cooking oils that fast food companies need, of course they’re going to choose a cheap, unhealthy option like canola oil every time. It’s an easy way for them to increase their profits, while customers pay the price with their health.
I consider tech neck to be a chronic, poor posture position. It’s caused by looking down at any kind of technology device. This includes phones, tablets, computer monitors, laptop monitors, keyboard, and mouse. It can be fixed. But it’s going to take time, consistent effort, and intention.
This user is suffering from tech neck. Photo by Mike2focus via Megapixl.
Every single time we look down to view a device, it adds up. It starts off small, we don’t notice any pain or dysfunction. But it doesn’t matter if we glance down quickly for a second, or if we are holding that compromised neck position for long periods of time. Both eventually contributed to tech neck symptoms for me like chronic pain and muscle tension. These included headaches, neck pain, shoulder pain, and chest tension.
Sitting at a computer caused me long-term repetitive strain and overuse injuries. One of the most stubborn computer-related injuries was my neck pain and the muscle confusion that came along with it. This was specifically caused by having my monitor screen too low. This includes using a laptop screen for long periods of time.
I used to always have my head tilted forward, looking at a downward angle to see my monitor screen. The muscles on the front of my neck would compress and shorten as they were constantly activated for 8 hours a day. The muscles on the back of my neck were overextended and lengthened. This caused excessive muscle tension and dysfunction in my neck.
Using the Iron Neck gave me eye-opening benefits for my workstation ergonomics. Photo via iron-neck.com.
Iron Neck
This article will talk about my experience with one my favorite posture correction devices. It’s called the Iron Neck. It is a strength and therapy device that greatly improved my neck strength, mobility, and computer posture correction.
Side note: This Iron Neck device review is not paid promotion. I’m not compensated by them. I paid my own money for this product. And I enjoy sharing my experience with readers about products that’ve helped me improve my computer posture.
I used to think fasting was strictly for weight loss. As I learned more about it, that’s a common fasting myth debunked. I’ve realized that time-restricted eating has more health benefits than just losing weight.
Improve Computer Posture with Intermittent Fasting. Photo by Everydayplus via Megapixl.
There are many different ways to practice intermittent fasting. Although I’ve lost body fat, I haven’t lost any weight according to the scale. And that’s okay with me. I’ve never been motivated by the number on a scale.
My main goals are to wake up everyday feeling strong, energetic, and pain-free. These goals are directly related to how good (or bad) my computer posture is throughout the day. This article will talk about how intermittent fasting has helped me feel stronger, with more energy, and decreased pain.
I’ve been doing desk work at a computer since 2002. By 2011, my computer posture was poor and my body was broken. Working in the same vulnerable, poor posture caused a lot of computer-related pain. It also caused long-term issues like low energy, decreased work productivity, and lack of mental clarity.
Ever since 2011, I’ve taken full accountability for my bad computer posture. I’ve learned as many ergonomic office tips possible. Everything I write about is directly related to how good, or bad, our computer posture is.
When I got my degree in Information Technology, ergonomics was a topic that interested me. That’s probably because I’ve been an athlete since I was young. The combination of these 2 backgrounds led me to start this website and write a book. I wanted to solve a real-life problem of mine, which was computer-related pain caused by poor posture. I also wanted to document what I’ve learned, on my website and in my book, so other people could learn from my mistakes.
This article is about my book titled, 45 Ways to Improve Computer Posture. I wrote it for the part-time athlete who sits at a computer full-time. My book is the computer ergonomics guide I wish I had many years ago, when I first started sitting at a computer for 8 hours a day, long-term.
Working at a computer in sitting posture for 8 hours a day is an endurance event. Some of our muscles our overused excessively. Others are deactivated and hardly used at all.
We want to have an ergonomic desk setup that is an asset to our health. We want it to promote good computer posture. Also, we don’t want our desk setup to be a liability that causes excessive muscle tension and chronic pain.
What are common computer-related injuries? Photo by F01photo via Megapixl.
This article will talk about 2 of the most common computer-related injuries. These repetitive strain injuries are knee pain and shoulder pain. You’ll learn what sitting health risks cause these 2 injuries to get worse. Then, you’ll learn how to prevent knee and shoulder pain from sitting at a computer.
Over long-term, my gluteus muscles became very tight and deactivated. It got to a point where they barely functioned at all. This happened mostly from sitting (on my glutes) in a desk chair for 8 hours a day.
The glutes are made up of 3 muscles: gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, and gluteus maximus. I won’t get into the specific functions of each muscle. Instead, I’ll be explaining how I built glute strength in the easiest terms possible.
How to build glute strength. Image by Vectormine via Megapixl.
I don’t have a background in exercise science or physical therapy. Oftentimes, those experts go way over my head when they’re explaining glute hypertrophy tips anyway. I’m a lifelong athlete who is also a computer user. I have an intense desire for high-performance. But I like explaining my articles in the easiest terms possible.
When I used to work in sitting posture at a computer desk 8 hours a day, my mental energy leftover to consume new practices was limited. I wanted to learn the least possible information that would make the biggest difference in my performance over time. I created this website to be a resource I wish I had back in 2002, when I first started sitting posture at a computer for long periods of time.
We don’t start off with poor posture as children. It gets worse over time. As adults, sitting at a computer 8 hours a day causes a number of desk job health issues.
Poor Computer Posture: The Cause and Effect Relationship Between Muscle Tension and Chronic Pain
In 2012, I started improving my computer posture. It was difficult to learn what good computer posture looked like back then. Learning self-improvement on the internet wasn’t as abundant as it is today.
Once I finally learned what correct computer posture was, I couldn’t hold that healthy position for 5 minutes. I’d quickly slip back into a compromised, vulnerable, poor posture.
Poor computer posture. Photo by Fizkes via Megapixl.
Even today, correct posture is a daily challenge for me. When I get to my computer in the morning, I have good posture. But even after years of studying computer ergonomics, my posture still gets gradually worse as the day goes on. Correct posture is always going to be a process that I’m working to maintain and improve.
The position we work in isn’t the cause of our chronic pain from desk work. Our pain is the effect we feel. Our poor posture can make our pain worse. But it isn’t the cause.
This article will help computer users understand how muscle tension is the cause of chronic pain.
Most desk workers don’t realize they have excessive muscle tension that’s causing weak, limited, internal shoulder rotation. I was years into my good computer posture journey before I accidentally learned, in a CrossFit class, how limited my internal shoulder rotation used to be. The internal shoulder rotation definition is when the joint rotates toward the front, vertical midline of the body.
What is internal shoulder rotation? Photo by 9nongphoto via Megapixl.
Internal shoulder rotation can be a very good thing to have in our physical strength tool box. However, our muscles and tendons weren’t designed to hold the exact same position for long periods of time. We’re able to do it, but there’s a price to pay. In my experience, that price consisted of muscle tension, decreased blood flow, and chronic pain.
Limited internal shoulder rotation causes can vary from a wide range of actions. Common causes are holding a baby consistently, or using a phone or tablet for long periods of time. But as desk workers, the limited internal shoulder rotation act that causes the most pain is using a keyboard and mouse for 8 hours a day.
In addition to sitting posture, correct standing desk posture is a healthy ergonomic habit for me. Sitting isn’t the only enemy. Repetitive strain and overuse injuries are the enemy. These occur when we work in the same position for long periods of time, 8 hours a day. Regardless if we are sitting or standing.
At my previous desk job, poor computer posture led to increased risk of muscle tension, decreased blood flow, and chronic pain. But, even if we have good computer posture, repetitive strain and overuse injuries can still happen. So, switching between sit to stand positions throughout the day has been beneficial to my physical health, mental clarity, and work productivity.
Standing desk posture mistakes and fixes. Photo by andreypopov via Megapixl.
This article will talk about different posture mistakes I used to make. Then, I’ll talk about how I fixed those poor posture mistakes. I learned the hard way. Now, I enjoy sharing my experience to help others. So they can avoid the pain and dysfunction I got from working at a computer 8 hours a day.
Computer posture can be a very boring and painful topic. I try to create content that is open-minded, relatable, and actionable. I talk about good computer posture habits that have helped me live a higher quality, sedentary lifestyle.
Good computer posture habits. Image by Burlesck via Megapixl.
By improving our computer posture, the specific goals of my website are to help the user:
decrease computer-related pain
increase energy
improve mental clarity
increase work productivity
99% of the content I write is free of cost. Everything I write relates to improving computer posture. Feel free to share this article with a friend or family member who sits at a computer for a living. The more people that see my content, I more ability it gives me to create more. Thank you very much for your support.
The best way to keep up with my work is to sign up for my Computer Posture Newsletter. It contains easy, actionable ways to improve computer posture. It’s free. Unsubscribe anytime. You can sign up here.
Posture is the position people hold their bodies in at their computer desk. But the definition of ergonomics is: the study of people’s efficiency in their working environment. Ergonomics is a much wider topic than posture. Computer posture only takes place while we’re at work. Ergonomics do take place at work, but there are also some crucial variables that can be practiced away from our desk.
This article will talk about healthy habits other than posture. But these healthy, ergonomic habits are directly related to how good (or bad) our computer posture is the next day. Specifically, this article will cover, nutrition, hydration, breathing, and sleep.
What are good computer ergonomics? Photo by Igor Omilaev via Unsplash.
Poor computer posture broke my body down, both physically and mentally. But what caused me to have poor posture? It didn’t start off poor when I began sitting at a computer in 2002. It gradually got worse over time.
I also didn’t sit with terrible posture when I got to work each morning. It always started off decent. My posture got worse as each day went on.
After learning as much as I could about good computer posture, I felt like holding a good position at my desk was an uphill battle. I started thinking about what other health habits, aside from posture, were involved with computer ergonomics.
There are a lot of variables involved when it comes to correct computer posture. In this article, I’m going to share my 3 most important office posture tips. All 3 of these posture cues will remain the same, regardless if we’re working in a healthy sitting posture at a desk, or a standing ergonomic workstation setup.
What is correct computer posture? Continue reading this article to see what laptop ergonomics mistake this user is making. Photo by Motortion via Megapixl.
This article is not professional medical advice. It’s based off my personal experience and opinions. For years, my poor computer posture caused muscle tension, inflammation, and chronic pain. All the workplace ergonomic tips I write about are directly related to improving posture at a computer. We are our own primary caretakers. Do your research. Make good decisions. And be the best advocate possible for your own healthcare.
I first experienced knee pain back in 2011. I thought it was from overtraining while running and lifting weights. Both of my knees were in a lot of pain. I stopped training all together for 6 months. My knee pain didn’t decrease at all over that period of time.
How to prevent knee pain when sitting. Photo by wavebreakmediamicro via Megapixl.
One thing that didn’t change over those 6 months, I was still working in a sitting posture at a computer for long periods of time. The running and lifting weights may have been contributed to my knee pain, but my poor computer posture was the main cause that started it. It caused tight, overused muscles in my legs. Which led to dysfunction of my knee. The tendons attaching my leg muscles to the bone in my knees became inflamed and painful. This knee pain was an effect of my poor sitting posture.
I’m always trying different ways to improve my computer posture. But chiropractic care is something I’ve been taking advantage of for many years. I started going to a chiropractor back in 2005. In my experience, chiropractic care has definitely improved my computer posture.
Can chiropractic care improve your computer posture? Photo by vectorfusionart via Megapixl.
My body gets pulled out of alignment on a daily basis. In addition to sitting at a computer for hours a day, working at my standing desk also causes computer-related pain. Sitting isn’t the only enemy when it comes to computer ergonomics. Working in the same vulnerable position for long periods of time is what causes repetitive strain and overuse injuries, regardless if we’re sitting or standing.
When my muscles get overused and tight, they pull on the tendons that attach muscle to bones. The tendons then pull the bones out of alignment. Right now, I go to my chiropractor once a week on average, regardless if I’m in pain or not. I don’t plan on going once a week forever. That’s just the amount of chiropractic treatment that’s best for me right now with my current healing practice. The longer I put off going to a chiropractor, the more I suffer from muscle tension and pain.
