When I got my degree in Information Technology, computer ergonomics was the topic that stood out to me the most. Probably because of my interests in sports and exercise. But from 2001 to 2011, I dealt with the effects of poor computer posture for 8 hours a day. In 2011, I started practicing as much sitting posture correction possible.
I’ve gotten great health benefits from correct sitting posture. This article will talk about 5 of those benefits. It will also include links to other articles about computer posture tips.
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. Bad posture also decreased my mental clarity, energy level, and work productivity.
All the desk worker health 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.
Benefits of Good Computer Posture
Office ergonomics for better health is not difficult to learn, once you know how to build an ergonomic desk setup. I want my computer desk to be an asset that promotes proper computer posture as soon as I sit down. I don’t want my workstation setup to be a liability that immediately causes bad posture.
1. Decrease computer-related pain
This health benefit was my main goal when I first started sitting posture correction. My 2 biggest issues were neck pain and back pain from computer use. The first thing I did to decrease my computer-related pain was sitting posture correction. I made 3 simple changes to my workstation setup for posture. These changes immediately decreased my neck and back pain.
These 3 changes were:
- raising my monitor to the correct height
- raising my chair so my elbow height was slightly above my desk level
- keeping my feet flat on the floor at all times
For more specific details on how I determined these ergonomic variables, download my free ebook titled 3 Ways to Improve Computer Posture Immediately!
To learn even more ways to decrease back and neck pain from computer use, check out my articles titled Computer Neck Pain Remedies and Ways to Relieve Lower Back Pain.
2. Prevent future computer-related injuries
Once I healed my computer-related pain, the next goal was to prevent it in the future. Or at least minimize it.
Sitting with proper computer posture has helped me prevent most repetitive strain injuries. But the health risks don’t stop there. Even if we have perfect computer posture, we could still be causing repetitive strain and overuse injuries.
This is because sitting isn’t the enemy. Working in the exact same position for long periods of time is the enemy. Regardless if we’re in sitting posture or at a standing workstation. Our muscles were designed to be strong and flexible. But they weren’t designed to be constantly activated for 8 hours a day.
My office ergonomics practice has helped me avoid working in the same position for long periods of time. I switch between sit to stand postures multiple times a day. I work in a position anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.
How long I work in a position depends on 2 things:
- how productive I am
- if I’m staring to feel any muscle tension or pain
As soon as my work productivity starts to decline, or I feel any physical pain, I walk away from my desk and take a break. I get some water and make sure that I do enough movement to get my blood flowing.
When I return to my desk, I make sure I work in a different position (sit vs. stand). Since I work from home, sometimes I’ll work in a reclined position (like in a recliner). I don’t work in this position often, because it requires me to work off a laptop monitor, which I’m not a fan of. And I usually don’t work in a reclined position for more than 30 minutes at a time. It’s because I don’t want to keep my neck in a compromised position from looking down at my laptop monitor. But the advantage of working in a reclined position is, it takes a lot of gravity off my torso. I don’t have to constantly activate muscles to fight gravity and keep my torso upright. Working in a reclined position allows me to rest those muscles, while still getting some work done.
3. Improve mental clarity
As office workers, the standard is to be indoors all day, sitting under fake lights. We stare at neon lights coming out of a computer monitor, while breathing in dust that’s falling from the ceiling tiles. That right there is enough to cause mental health to decline. When we add poor computer posture to the mix, our mental clarity suffers even more.
But of all these variables, computer posture is the only one we control. With that said, having healthy habits of correct posture is the best way for me to improve mental clarity.
4. Increase energy
Working on a computer for long periods of time affects our energy, both physically and mentally. We only get a certain amount of energy per day. But that amount depends on the number of healthy habits in our ergonomics practice.
It doesn’t matter if we’re working in a sitting or standing posture. That’s why I try to switch from sit to stand multiple times a day. In addition to that, a health benefit I’ve gotten from correct computer posture is increased energy, both physical and mental.
5. Increase work productivity
My favorite way to improve productivity is to practice healthy office ergonomics. Posture is the position we hold our bodies in. Ergonomics is the study of people’s efficiency in the workplace. To learn more, check out my article titled What’s the Difference Between Posture and Ergonomics?
Office ergonomics don’t necessarily have to happen in the office. A lot of these healthy habits occur when I’m away from my desk. Healthy sleep habits, proper hydration, and eating clean are all different variables that contribute to good office ergonomics. Because working at a computer for 8 hours a day is an endurance event. The healthier we generally are, the better our computer posture will be. I also like to do breath work away from my desk, which helps me with my all-around health.
I practice all these healthy habits, along with good computer posture, to improve productivity.
THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST IN COMPUTER POSTURE.
If you’ve read this far, congratulations! You’re taking valuable steps to reduce computer-related injuries by improving your posture. That’s something to be very proud of!
If you liked this article on the benefits of good computer posture, check out my book titled 45 Ways to Improve Computer Posture.
This book is a great supplement to the article you just read. It covers healthy ergonomic habits like posture, sleep, hydration, and breathing.
I wrote this book to be the resource I wish I had back in 2002, when I first started sitting at a computer for long periods of time.
Go to SittingPosture.com/book to learn more.
Take care,
Todd Bowen