Whether you use them for work, school, or daily life, computers improve productivity and efficiency by enabling you to streamline tasks and access essential information within seconds.
However, prolonged computer use on a daily basis can have disadvantages that mainly affect your health and wellbeing. For instance, research published in the Bulletin of Faculty of Physical Therapy found that using the computer for more than 6 hours per day can contribute to musculoskeletal disorders. The body regions most affected by musculoskeletal pain include the neck, lower back, and shoulders, as individuals often stay in the same working posture for prolonged periods.
Additionally, excessive screen time among the study participants also contributed to eye stress and mental stress due to work — signifying how daily computer use can affect eye health, mental health, and overall wellbeing. Fortunately, computer users can incorporate the following habits into their daily routines to stay healthy and improve work-life balance.
Do desk-based exercises to stretch your muscles
As previously mentioned, computer use is associated with musculoskeletal pain, as individuals spend consecutive hours in the same uncomfortable position. However, minimizing neck, back, shoulder, and wrist pain is possible by maintaining a proper working posture. This posture involves keeping the feet flat on the floor, ensuring the upper body is straight, and using the chair’s backrest for lumbar support.
Additionally, a previous post points out that distance learners and remote workers often live sedentary lifestyles and miss out on physical activity due to time spent in front of computers. The good thing is that you can do desk-based exercises, such as back stretches, leg raises, and neck rotations, to stretch the muscles, relieve musculoskeletal pain, and reduce sedentary behavior.
Wear blue light glasses to preserve your vision
When you use the computer for long periods of time, your eyes are exposed to blue light emitted by digital screens. Not only does blue light absorption stress and strain your eyes due to high energy levels, but it can also affect melatonin production and thus disrupt your circadian rhythm.
Therefore, it’s advisable to wear blue light glasses for electronic use. The optical website Clearly explains that blue-violet light filtering lenses are suitable for dedicated periods of work as they protect the eyes from blue light emitted by the sun and artificial sources, such as computer screens. These protective lenses can have a slight blue or yellow tint on the surface, and are available for both prescription and non-prescription eyewear to maintain visual comfort and healthy sleep cycles.
Take regular breaks to manage stress levels
Lastly, the research linked earlier mentions the high prevalence of work-related mental stress among workers with increased screen time. Computer users must thus remember to take regular breaks to manage stress and come back to work more energized and productive.
If you need help finding the right time to take a break without disrupting your momentum, a New York Times article on rest and productivity recommends using a time-tracking tool like Toggl to determine when you’re the most productive and remind you to take breaks. Meanwhile, Mac users can look into using RescueTime to monitor their work patterns and maximize rest and productivity throughout the day.
Overall, daily computer use can adversely affect your physical and mental health if left unmanaged. However, adopting the healthy habits mentioned above can minimize health risks and ensure productive computer use in work and daily life.
