Sitting at a computer for long periods of time takes a massive toll on our health. It doesn’t just affect us physically. It also affects us mentally. A full-time computer job requiring 8 hours a day quickly adds up to 40 hours a week. Multiply that by 52 weeks in a year. That gives us over 2,000 hours per year of sitting in a broken, vulnerable, poor posture.
But how can I improve my computer posture? How can I turn my computer workstation into an ergonomic asset that promotes good posture? Instead of a computer desk that’s a liability for my physical and mental health.
So, I’m dedicating this article to explain how to make an ergonomic computer workstation. I’ll explain good posture habits for computer users to include in their daily routine. All the tips in this article will promote good computer ergonomics at home or in the office.
This article is not professional medical advice. It’s based off my personal experience and opinions. My poor posture at a computer caused painful muscle tension and joint dysfunction. I write about ergonomic tips that are directly related to improving your posture at a computer. Do your research. Make good decisions. And be the best advocate possible for your own healthcare.
Good Posture Habits for Computer Users
Adjust your chair height so that your hips are slightly higher than your knees.
I used to sit with my chair too low. In order to have my feet flat on the floor in this position, my hips would be below my knees. This would cause my hip flexors to get super tight and compressed. To relieve this pressure on my hips, I would make another poor posture mistake. I’d activate my hamstrings to pull my feet under my chair. This would lower my knees, but it was the incorrect way to improve my computer posture. It may have released the pressure on my hip flexors, but it caused other problems throughout my legs. I should have simply raised my chair instead.
Keep your feet flat on the floor.
Believe it or not, correct foot positioning at a computer is a very real thing. It’s an important ergonomic variable. I used to work high stress office jobs. Between stress and having my chair too low, my natural tendency was to activate my hamstrings and pull my feet under my chair. It was impossible to keep my feet flat on the floor in that compromised position. My feet were no longer flat on the floor. My toes were the only part of my feet resting on the floor. This caused muscle tension throughout my entire legs. It also caused joint dysfunction in my ankles and knees.
In the photo above, notice how the user on the left has his feet pulled underneath his body. This is a computer posture mistake that will prove to be very painful in the future. Speaking from experience, I used to make all of these mistakes in the past. His hamstrings are shortened and his quads are lengthened. That alone will cause knee pain and dysfunction. Resting only on his toes causes his calves to constantly activate, which will lead to repetitive strain injuries and ankle dysfunction. Sitting with my feet like this caused me to eventually need 3 ankle surgeries. This poor posture mistake caused ankle dysfunction which led to a torn tendon, bone chips, and bone spurs.
On the other hand, look at the user on the right. He is sitting with his feet flat on the floor. This position is a valuable computer posture habit to get used to. When the feet are flat on the floor, it leads to a neutral, balanced position for both the ankles and knees.
Keep your knees at a 90 degree angle (or slightly more).
If your feet are flat on the floor, this next desk posture tip usually falls right into place. It’s funny how one good computer posture habit can lead directly to another one. On the other hand, one poor computer posture mistake can also cause a chain reaction, leading to many more bad posture issues.
Keep your elbow height slightly above desk level.
My elbow is always slightly higher than my keyboard and mouse. I will either raise my chair, or lower my desk, to get my elbow height above desk level.
I never, ever hold my elbow below desk level (anymore). So, I used to commit this bad posture mistake. In order to lift my hands onto my keyboard and mouse, I had to contract my biceps for 8 hours a day. This caused excessive overuse in my biceps. The bicep muscles are connected to tendons that are attached to bone in the shoulder joints. These tight bicep muscles were actually a leading cause of my shoulder pain. The tendons connecting my biceps to my shoulders got inflamed. That pain was the effect. The cause was my tight, overused bicep muscles.
I used to sit in this poor computer posture for years. My low elbow height was caused by a simple, familiar computer posture mistake. My chair was too low. I fixed it by simply raising my chair, which raised my elbow level slightly above my keyboard and mouse.
Keep your eye level at the top of the monitor screen.
In addition to my desk chair being too low, I used to have my monitor too low as well. Looking down at my monitor, at an excessive angle, for 8 hours a day caused neck and shoulder pain for me. After raising my chair, I also raised my monitor. I want to keep the top of the monitor screen at eye level. Anything lower, even the slightest angle, caused neck muscle tension, lack of blood flow, and headaches for me.
This can also be a major issue when working on a laptop for long periods of time. If we are traveling, we may not have access to an external monitor. But anytime I’m working from my home office, I make sure to connect my laptop to my external monitor. Laptop screens are always too small and too low. In my opinion, having the correct computer screen height is the most important variable of laptop ergonomics for remote work.
Here’s a summary of the desk posture tips in this article:
- Adjust your chair height so that your hips are slightly higher than your knees.
- Keep your feet flat on the floor.
- Keep your knees at a 90 degree angle (or slightly more).
- Keep your elbow height slightly above desk level.
- Keep your eye level at the top of the monitor screen.
THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST IN COMPUTER POSTURE.
If you liked this article on good posture habits for computer users, check out my book titled 45 Ways to Improve Computer Posture. It’s available in both digital and paperback versions.
>>> Click here to pick up your copy
This book explains how to improve your posture through different variables of health and wellness. These variables include sitting posture, standing posture, sleep quality, hydration, and breathing. Poor posture is not just how we sit at a computer. The health habits we practice, 24 hours a day, are directly related to how good (or bad) our computer posture is.
Go to SittingPosture.com/book to learn more.
Take care,
Todd Bowen