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.
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.
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.
What are Good Computer Ergonomics?
As I mentioned earlier, ergonomics is the study of people’s efficiency in their working environment. So which of my health habits would make me have more efficient computer posture?
Which of my health habits were contributing to my poor computer posture? Which of my habits were a liability? And how could I turn these habits into assets that promote good computer posture?
Nutrition for better posture
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 increased risk of poor computer posture.
I enjoy eating a carnivore-based diet. My nutrition habits are high in protein and fat, while moderate in carbs. I eat a lot of grass-fed, grass finished red meat. I cook it in either beef tallow, duck fat, or pasture-raised butter. Also, I put unrefined sea salt as a topping after it’s cooked. As long as I cook it just right, it tastes great without any type of sauce. But occasionally, I will use a small amount of raw honey or raw maple syrup.
In addition to red meat, my other favorite types of protein are pasture-raised eggs and raw cheese. My favorite carbs are sweet potatoes, avocados, and fruit. I make sure to get the organic option in all of these.
If you’d like to know more about my healthy nutrition habits, check out my article titled, Foods That Promote Good Posture.
Hydration for spine alignment
The human body is usually between 60-75% water. Achieving proper hydration, then staying hydrated, is directly related to how good our computer posture is. It’s very important to keep our bodies hydrated. One of the biggest motivations for me to maintain proper hydration is simply preventing headaches. Staying hydrated also prevents many other issues, such as causing organs to function poorly, as well as tissues surrounding the spine. If the spine isn’t well supported by muscles, tendons, and ligaments, our computer posture suffers quickly. Drinking plenty of water also prevents the formation of kidney stones. These are just a few of the benefits to staying hydrated.
Drinking the correct amount of water per day can keep the body healthy and well hydrated. The amount of water I drink (or don’t drink) is directly connected to the extent of my repetitive strain injuries caused by sitting at a desk. When I’m dehydrated, my muscles tense up and tighten much quicker, causing my posture to suffer. When I stay hydrated throughout the day, my posture is always easier to maintain. Improved posture is just one of the benefits of drinking water for me.
Making sure I drink enough water is critical to my sleep quality, muscle recovery, and joint function. All of these are directly related to how good (or bad) my computer posture is.
If you’d like to learn more, check out my article titled, How Much Water Do I Need to Drink Per Day?
Breathing and posture alignment
Breathing is an important factor of having good posture at a computer. When I sat at a desk 8 hours a day, physical and mental stress would cause me shallow breath and posture that was poor. My shoulder tension was out of control. My shoulder blades were uneven. I had pelvic floor issues from sitting too long. The natural curves in my spine were always out of alignment.
It felt like the air I was breathing would barely pass below the airway in my neck, much less into my lungs. As soon as it would enter my lungs, I would exhale it out. The air was in my lungs long enough to keep me conscious. Instead of letting my breath work for me efficiently, my brain and body were always in more of a defensive state. All of my muscles were either compressed or overextended. They were all tight, especially breathing muscles like the diaphragm, abdominals, and muscles throughout my rib cage.
Here are the 3 main rules I follow to breathe better, which all lead to improved computer posture for me.
I needed to increase the amount of air I was taking into my lungs.
Physical and mental stress from my desk job were causing shallow breathing all day and night. The first of the breathing exercises I tried was called box breathing. Box breathing is a very basic breathing exercise where you breathe in, hold, breathe out, then refrain from breathing (for the same count on each of the steps). For example, the first count I used was 4 seconds. I would inhale slowly for 4 seconds, hold my breath for 4 seconds, exhale slowly for 4 seconds, and then refrain from breathing for 4 seconds. All 4 steps are the same amount of time. That’s why it’s called box breathing. Eventually, I would increase the amount of time for each from 4 seconds to 6 seconds.
Box breathing definitely increased the amount of air I was breathing in. It didn’t only help while I was actually doing the breathing exercises. It also increased the quality of my breathing throughout the day, especially during my movement habits.
I needed to increase the amount of time air spent in my lungs.
To do this, I got used to taking slower, deeper breaths. Ironically, this would mean breathing less number of times. Box breathing exercises also helped with this. But I eventually used a more advanced breathing practice that had longer breath holds. To learn more about the breathing exercises I use, click here.
I needed to breathe through my nose as much as possible, not my mouth.
This goes for both inhaling and exhaling. It doesn’t only apply when doing breathing exercises. It applies all day, even during movement habits. I needed to decrease the number of times I breathed through my mouth.
There are many reasons that breathing through the nose is more efficient. For me, the biggest reason had to do with decreasing headaches. I think overusing my jaw muscles to breathe through my mouth would cause excessive muscle tension throughout my head, neck, and face. Also, I used to be a chronic mouth breather, on both the inhale and exhale. I believe my jaw muscles were one of my most overused muscle groups.
If you’d like to learn more about how computer posture relates to breathing, check out my article titled, Improve Your Posture by Breathing More Effectively.
Sleep quality and posture relationship
Sleep is one of my most important variables of computer ergonomics. 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.
I used to have very poor sleep habits. And it definitely showed by my poor computer posture. Since then, I’ve completely changed my sleep routine into a very healthy one. To learn more about my healthy sleep routine, check out my article titled, Sleep Habits for Better Posture.
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 good computer ergonomics, check out my free ebook titled 3 Ways to Improve Computer Posture Immediately!
>>> Click here to download your free copy
This ebook is a great supplement to the article you just read. In this ebook, you’ll learn 3 of the most painful, poor computer posture mistakes. Then, you’ll learn how to fix those mistakes immediately with 3 simple changes to your ergonomic computer desk setup.
Go to SittingPosture.com/ebook to learn more.
Take care,
Todd Bowen