SittingPosture.com

Sleep Habits for Better Posture

Sleep is one of the most important variables of computer ergonomics. Other variables include posture, breathing, hydration, and nutrition. Ergonomics means the study of people’s efficiency in their work environment. Even though we don’t sleep while we’re at work, sleep quality from the night before directly relates to how good or bad our computer posture is the next day.

The earlier in the day we get tired, the more our computer posture suffers. The better our sleep quality is, the more energy we have the next day. More energy allows better computer posture. Good computer posture is critical for high work productivity. This is how sleep quality and posture directly lead to health benefits and good computer ergonomics.

Foods That Promote Good Posture

Ergonomics is the study of people’s efficiency in their working environment. As office workers, computer ergonomics extend outside of the time we’re physically at our desk. I consider nutrient-dense foods an important variable of my computer posture. Because the healthier we are when we sit at our desk in the morning, the better our computer posture will be. If we’ve been eating unhealthy foods that have dozens of artificial ingredients, our strength, energy, and computer posture will suffer much earlier in the day. Nutrition for better posture is an important variable of my computer ergonomics process.

Sitting at a computer for 8 hours a day is an endurance event. Some of our muscles and tendons are excessively overused in an attempt for good posture. The rest of our muscles and tendons are underused for long periods of time. They are hardly activated at all while we’re at our computer.

After this endurance event we call a work day, we go straight to the gym, run, or play sports. For years, I’d do this 5 days a week, while eating ultra-processed, nutrient-deficient foods everyday. This bad nutrition habit led to very increased risk of poor computer posture.

Why Does Sitting at a Computer Cause Shoulder Pain?

When it comes to sitting posture ergonomics, back pain is the most common work-related injury. In my experience, this was definitely true. However, shoulder pain was in a close second place.

But why does sitting at a computer cause shoulder pain? It’s not like we’re doing overheard shoulder presses at our computer desk. We’re not using our arm to throw a fastball. We’re not even pushing open a heavy door. Also, we’re simply sitting at a computer, holding a keyboard and mouse for 8 hours a day.

But that’s the answer. Our bodies were made to move. They’re designed to be athletic, strong, and flexible. We weren’t made to hold the exact same position for 8 hours a day. Especially if it’s a compromised, poor posture position at a computer. This can cause repetitive stress injuries. These overuse injuries cause chronic muscle tension that is very stubborn and hard to relieve. It takes much longer to release this muscle tension. Longer than it would to relieve normal muscle tension you’d get from sports or exercise.

Standing Desk Accessories

I recently wrote an article titled, Standing Desk Posture Tips. While writing it, I realized that going from a sitting posture workstation to a standing desk only requires 3 accessories. These accessories will also allow alternating between sitting and standing. Because we don’t want to go from sitting posture all day, straight to standing posture all day. We’d just have different computer-related injuries.

Sitting at a computer isn’t the enemy here. Working in the same position for 8 hours a day is the enemy we want to avoid. This is why poor computer posture creates so much muscle tension and chronic pain. Repetitive strain and overuse injuries don’t care what position we are working in. They care about how long we continue to work in that same compromised, vulnerable position.

We don’t want to sit, or stand, for long periods of time. Even if it is proper standing posture. I like to switch positions often, alternating sitting and standing posture. I’m dedicating this article to the 3 standing desk accessories that make a sit-stand desk transition quick and easy.

Standing Desk Posture Tips

I started using a standing computer desk in 2012. Working in a sitting posture for long periods of time had left my body broken from poor posture. I had to figure out a way to work in a different position. So naturally, I decided to try a standing desk. But I had no idea what a proper standing posture was. And I made plenty of standing posture mistakes in the beginning.

Today, I’ve finally got my ergonomic standing position figured out. And I want to help you save time and energy, by sharing my standing desk posture tips to help you reduce computer-related injuries.

Standing Desk Posture Tips: woman using a standing desk while working on her computer — Standing Desk Posture Tips. Photo by thestandingdesk via Unsplash (not paid promotion).

A lot of ergonomics experts will create a standing desk height calculator. It’s a chart that decides the desk height and monitor height according to how tall the user is. Personally, I don’t think a standing desk height calculator is necessary. I like to take a more organic approach to figuring out standing desk ergonomics.

Why Does Sitting Cause Lower Back Pain?

My lower back pain caused by sitting was very difficult to figure out. It’s not like we’re really using our lower back when we’re sitting at a computer for long periods of time. We’re not carrying a heavy load. We’re not subject to a hard fall or impact. We’re not even absorbing soft and repetitive impact, like when running. These are all typical situations where a lower back injury is common.

But there is often a cause/effect relationship when troubleshooting sitting-related injuries. In this case, lower back pain is the poor posture effect. But the cause is located in other areas of the body.

Good Posture Habits for Computer Users

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.

How to Avoid Wrist Pain from Typing

I used to suffer a lot of wrist pain from typing. This is commonly known as carpal tunnel syndrome. I couldn’t figure out why, or what I was doing wrong. I just thought wrist pain was something that came along with the computer posture territory.

Luckily, I finally figured it out (by accident). One day, I decided to get away from my home office. I still wanted to work, but I needed a new environment to work in. Maybe it would improve my posture. Or, at least change it from the normal poor posture routine I was in. But mainly I was looking for a more ergonomic workstation. I wanted to see if my creativity would improve by working in a different environment. So, for about a week, I started working in the lobby of my apartment building. They had public computers there. They were brand new Apple Mac desktop computers.

Ways to Improve Computer Posture

I’ve been working in a sitting posture at a computer since 2001. Ten years into my career (2011), I had poor posture and my body was broken. Also, I lacked healthy blood flow throughout my body. My physical energy was low. I was constantly tired, no matter how much I slept the night before. My mental clarity was also very low. My productivity struggled at work.

Since 2011, I’ve learned as many desk ergonomic tips as possible. I wanted to prevent computer neck pain. Also, I wanted to reduce back pain from sitting. So, I wanted to create an ergonomic workplace setup that was an asset to my health, not a liability.

How to Avoid Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Wrist pain from typing can be a stubborn, poor posture mistake to fix. However, having pain-free wrists while typing is a very possible reality. It only took 2 changes to my ergonomic workstation and 2 corrections to my poor computer posture.

First, this article will explain the computer posture mistakes that caused my wrist pain. Then, it will go over how I fixed my wrist pain caused by typing. It will talk about the good computer posture habits I used, as well as the best ergonomic devices for carpal tunnel syndrome that I purchased.

How to Avoid Shoulder Pain at a Computer

Using poor posture on a computer keyboard and mouse caused lack of blood flow and muscle tension in both of my shoulders. I’d hold these vulnerable positions for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. That went on for about 12 years before I finally took accountability for my poor computer posture.

How to Avoid Shoulder Pain at a Computer

In 2011, I started studying good computer posture and workstation ergonomics. I was interested in anything wellness related that had a positive effect on my computer posture. In this article, I’m going to talk about a few good posture tips that’ve helped me reduce shoulder tension and pain from typing and using a mouse.

Quick side note, I’m working at my standing computer workstation today. But all the computer shoulder pain relief tips in this article are general shoulder ergonomics for computer work in any position. They all apply, regardless if we’re working in a standing or sitting posture.

How to Wear a Backpack Correctly

Many people don’t think proper backpack positioning and adjustment matters. In my opinion, the correct way to wear a backpack is very important. Especially for those of us who sit at a computer for long periods of time.

We get an excessive amount of internal shoulder rotation from holding a keyboard and mouse for 8 hours a day. As soon as I get up from my desk, I’m throwing on a backpack to go to the gym. The act of wearing a backpack used to tighten up my shoulders even more. My natural tendency was to rotate my shoulders forward when wearing a backpack. In addition to shoulder pain, rotating my shoulders internally for long periods of time caused muscle tension, neck pain, and back pain.

So, I’m writing this article to be an ergonomic backpack wearing guide for good posture. It’ll describe how to avoid shoulder pain and back pain from wearing a backpack. We’ll also talk about backpack wearing tips for comfort.

Back Exercises for Good Posture

Posture is the position someone holds their body in while standing or sitting. Since I work at a computer desk for long periods of time, proper posture is very important to me. Working in the same position for 8 hours a day can cause repetitive strain and overuse injuries. Office workers who practice good posture are still at risk for this tension and pain. But office workers with poor posture will feel the negative effects much worse.

Bad posture can lead to a variety of aches and pains. I focus on good posture habits specific to the muscles and tendons first. Obviously, the spine can get pulled out of alignment too. But it’s the tight muscles and tendons that are pulling the spine into an incorrect position. I’ll cover some of my favorite back strengthening exercises in this article.

Why Does Sitting at a Computer Cause Back Pain?

Why does sitting at a computer hurt my back? It’s not like I’m lifting anything heavy when I’m sitting. I’m not withstanding any impact, like I would when I’m running, or if I fell. I’m literally just sitting there. Poor posture was obviously the cause of my back pain. But what exactly was I doing wrong?

Sitting at a Computer Cause Back Pain: woman holding her back — Why Does Sitting at a Computer Cause Back Pain? One of the main reasons is when you slouch forward in your chair. Photo by Sebra69 via Megapixl.

One of the most common work-related disabilities is back pain from sitting at a desk with poor posture. There are many reasons how this happens. A high amount of stress, the lack of lumbar curve, no lumbar support, the list goes on. My goal of this article is to prevent back pain by working at a computer (simply as possible). First, I’ll explain 2 poor posture habits to avoid. Then, I’ll give some ergonomic tips for back pain at computer.

How to Adjust Office Chair Armrests

The standard American office chair is way too big for most of us. I’m 6’3″ tall and I weigh 195 pounds. The average chairs fit is even too big for me, despite the ability to adjust height and width. Not only is it too big, using armrests ended up causing dysfunction in my neck and shoulder. Using poor armrest posture caused an excessive amount of tight muscles and inflamed tendons. These repetitive strain injuries took a very long time to fix. Today, I’m dedicating this article to explain how to make office chair armrests more comfortable.

computer table and chair with keyboard and mouse — Here’s an example of non-adjusting office chair armrests. Photo by Michal Kubalczyk via Unsplash

I’d like to design my own ergonomic office chair one day. Sign up for my email newsletter here if you’d like to receive easy, actionable ways to improve computer posture.

How to Cold Plunge for Beginners

I started to cold plunge at home in January of 2023. I’ve gotten many cold plunge benefits since then. The main health benefit: my cold plunge routine has helped improve my blood flow. When I have improved blood flow, my muscle pain is decreased. My muscle soreness is decreased. My muscle recovery is quicker. It’s one of my favorite home remedies for reducing pain and muscle tension. All these cold plunge benefits have helped me improve posture at my computer.

Setting up a cold plunge at home can be intimidating. It can also get expensive and time consuming. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I live in an apartment. And I wanted to cold plunge multiple times per week. So, I needed to find ways to make it easy, quick, and at a minimal dollar amount. I needed to be creative logistically. Here are the cold plunge tips for starters I came up with…

How to Fix Computer Posture Mistakes

After years of sitting at a computer for long periods of time, I had poor posture due to muscle tension, decreased blood flow, overuse, and repetitive strain injuries. I used to sit in the same compromised, vulnerable position for 8 hours a day. In 2011, I finally took full accountability and started fixing bad posture at the computer.

person working and trying to Fix Computer Posture Mistakes — How to fix computer posture mistakes. Photo by Andreypopv via Megapixl

Since 2011, I’ve studied how to correct computer posture and improve workstation ergonomics. Today, I’m sharing 4 of my most important tips on how to fix computer posture mistakes.

How to Improve Grip Strength

Poor posture at a computer for 8 hours a day used to decrease my grip strength in many ways. My hands, wrists, fingers, and forearms suffered muscle tension from repetitive strain and lack of blood flow. Poor posture on my keyboard and mouse for long periods of time caused carpel tunnel syndrome.

If you’d like to learn more about the causes of poor hand posture and its negative effects, check out my article titled, Why Does Typing Weaken Grip Strength.

Today, I’m focusing the rest of this article on a more optimistic, productive mindset. Continue reading below to learn how to enhance grip power.

Guide for Better Sleep

I recently wrote an article titled, How to Sleep Better at Night Naturally. It contains the 4 most valuable sleep improvement tips that’ve helped me. It specifically talks about better sleep habits like using blackout curtains, a grounding sheet, mouth tape, and a temperature controlled mattress cover. That article about improving sleep naturally can be found here.

Woman sleeping comfortably in bed — Quality Sleep Guide. Photo by Showtimeagola via Megapixl

While writing that article, I realized I have many more than those 4 habits for sleep optimization. As I often say, my sleep quality is directly related to how good (or bad) my computer posture is the next day. The earlier in the day I get tired, the quicker I have poor computer posture. Today, I’m writing this article to share 4 more healthy sleep habits that I practice.