How to Sit Correctly in Front of and Work with the Computer

Introduction

People don't usually pay attention to how they sit in front of the pc. Some say that it depends on everyone's preference and there are no any rules, some lay out some vague basic rules and that's it. Well, this is not good enough. I've been a programmer for more than 20 years and can tell you that there are indeed rules one should at least try to follow when working with the computer in order to keep a healthy back, eyes, arms and legs. People would also like to enjoy the time they spend in front of pc, so the sitting position, the distance from the monitor, the arm and leg positions play important role in their mood, desire to work or browse internet or play or chat with someone. After all, would someone spend a lot of time in an uncomfortable position? Would someone go through the pain doing something for hours if this is supposed to be fun? I am doubted.

As I said before, I've been working with computers for many years and therefore should know what right and what's wrong as people in chemical factories know how do deal with hazardous chemicals or people in army know what to do in case of a missile strike or a nuclear attack. Below I give some advice on how to work with the computer. I assume the computer is a desktop and there's a monitor in front of a person. The laptop usage in the bed, in the garden, on the train and in other possible and impossible places is not covered here.

Arm positions on the table

The first rule computer users, especially at home, usually skip is that the arms should be relaxed when typing on the keyboard or working with the mouse. That is because if they are always strained, a person gets tired very quickly and in no position to use the computer for a long time. To have arms relaxed, they should lie on the table, as simple as that. The table height should be sufficient for that and the most important thing is that the table depth should also be sufficient. It needs to accommodate a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse and computer user's arms. If necessary (and it is necessary most of the times) a piece of paper or a notebook could lie between a user and a keyboard on the table in order for a user to make some written notes.

Many home computer tables are very narrow and have a special shelf for a keyboard, which is extended from below the main table's surface, which a monitor usually stands on. Arms in this case are just going to hover in the air when using keyboard or mouse -- so it's a huge mistake to buy this sort of tables. You would save a space in the room where a table is to be placed but a negative health impact can potentially be achieved.

Table Width Tip: If a table you've got is narrow, try to put a monitor on the side of the table. The distance from the monitor should be observed at all costs, the subject is described later in this article.

CRT Monitor Tip: If you still have an old CRT monitor, try to find some spare cash and buy a new TFT monitor instead. In addition to saving some valuable space on the table, it will be easier -- less tiring for your eyes - to see the screen and you'll forever stop the flow of radiation from the CRT monitor, whichever small it might have ever been.

Free Space on the Table Tip: It is always much easier to work when the table is tidied up. This not only relates to a computer workplace but to any workplace, with or without a computer. When a computer is involved, one needs to find a place for a keyboard and a mouse and if a table is filled with papers or some sort of other small objects, it's often hard to do so. This may irritate a user, which would lead to less concentration or less enjoyment when working on the pc. A table free from any unnecessary objects, a pile of papers, some pens and a notebook -- that's all I have on my table. Don't forget something to put the hot cup of tea or coffee on. Don't you drink tea when you're working on the computer? I do.

Distance from the monitor

In order not to damage the eyes when working on the computer for a long time, I recommend to have a monitor as far away from the eyes as possible. This assumes that the distance is comfortable enough for viewing the computer screen and the eyes are never strained when looking at the monitor, reading the text or viewing the pictures or video.

If we are talking about the CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors, the above is understandable because these monitors are essentially televisions and are quite hard on eyes when looking at them at the close range. TFT (Thin Film Transistor) monitors are much better in this sense but still make an impact on the eyes when they are looked at close by for a long time. After all, people don't watch the TV screen up close -- the same rule should be applied to the computer users and computer monitors.

I define the distance for myself with my arm. From the normal sitting position, I extend the arm forward and if it touches the screen, it means it's too close to me. If it doesn't, the distance is right. There are of course people with long arms and with short arms, so this is just my personal rule everyone would interpret as they wish. It just states don't sit too close to the screen and not too far away. In both situations one way or another you would strain your eyes.

Additional Tip: a monitor horizontal viewing angle. A computer user should look at the computer screen from the above. If in the normal sitting position we draw a straight line from a computer user's eyes to the computer monitor, it should end somewhere closer to the top of the screen i.e. in the upper third of the screen. This ensures that the user looks straight and a bit down when working at the computer, which in turn ensures that the neck is kept straight and the muscles of the neck are not strained.

Imagine that one looks in the middle of the computer monitor. They would also need to see the top of the screen but we're not used to lift just our eyes to do that, so a person would slightly lift a head, and this is not recommended when working with the computer for a long time.

The screen brightness tip. Too bright screen tires the eyes very quickly and can damage them, so I recommend finding the time and adjusting the screen brightness and the contrast as suits you best. This should be done with the application that has a white background, for example when editing a text document. It should be comfortable for a user to read and write.

What I usually do is firstly set the contrast to zero and the brightness to the lowest acceptable for me level, then see if I am comfortable with the screen. Usually it's too dark for me, so I increase the brightness level and check the screen again. On some monitors the picture is not good at all with the zero contrast, so I then increase the contrast a little and start all over again. It's won't take a long time to adjust the monitor brightness. But then your monitor brightness setting will be optimised and your eyes will be happy.

All the adjustments need to be done in normal light conditions i.e. not in the darkness, not under the direct sunlight conditions and preferably during the daylight.

Sitting position.

The sitting position is very important for a person's back. It is of double importance for a person working with the computer because people sometimes tend to spend a lot of time sitting in front of their pcs and if one has decided to do so, then at least he or she needs to do it properly. Sit properly and comfortably and leave the computer in normal mood, without pains, happy and satisfied with the work you've done. Sit uncomfortably and get pain, which can lead to many undesired illnesses and problems. So let's concentrate on how to sit correctly in front of the computer.

There are couple of points here, which I'd like to emphasize:

1. Get the right chair

You can't imagine how many computer chairs are on sale today, which are just horrible, uncomfortable, not possible to adjust and simply wrong in relation to a human's back. When choosing one, make sure that it is possible to at least adjust its height and the incline of the back. The height is because the people have different heights and the back incline is because everyone likes it differently -- some people like no incline none at all and some people like the very big incline in order to relax when working or playing. If a chair has the arm supports, one must be able to take them off because you never know where and how you could be using this chair, what the height of a table is and whether you would need a support for your arms -- if for example sitting not in front of the computer but simply watching television.

2. Have a proper support for the back.

The back of the chair should be comfortable for you -- it's all that matters. A person's back should be relaxed when sitting, so you need to find a chair, sitting in which you would feel the most comfortable. Did you know that a person's back is more relaxed and less strained when he or she stands or walks rather than sits? "Sitting in the chair" position is not a natural position for a human. Before the civilised society for millions of years people and their predecessors have not had any chairs. They would walk, run, sit on the ground, lie down but not sit in the chair. Till this time in some countries at home people sit on the floor in legs crossed position, which is considered one of the best for back muscles support. Why am I mentioning this? It's because the humans by definition are not chair-sitting creations and therefore we need to take care when sitting in order to make the sitting experience as pleasant and as safe as possible. I understand that this sounds funny to some but the truth is that all the above is very important and should not be overlooked when searching to buy a chair to sit on it in front of the computer.

3. Sit straight, don't lean forward.

This sitting position is the best. If you can't see what's shown on the display, it's better to bring the display a bit forward rather than lean towards the display. Leaned once, it can become a habit and later a person tends not to notice that he or she leans forward trying to see the screen content.

4. Allow space for your legs and your arms.

This is necessary in order to be able to stretch and change the legs position. Being crammed into a small space doesn't work well with a human being, who needs the space to feel comfortable. We tolerate the underground, trains and buses only because we can't live without them. If people had a choice, the majority of them would choose their own jets to go anywhere -- unfortunately, this is not an option in our world. But in your own house you can and should allow yourself a space when doing something important. This obviously relates to a home computer too.

Long periods of sitting and breaks

When working in front of the computer for long periods there comes a time when it is necessary to stretch or - even better - to have a break, do something else, go for a walk and so on. The 10-15 year old guidelines for people working with personal computers emphasised the requirement to take a break every hour for at least 10 minutes in order to rest a person's eyes and generally have a rest. That was because of the small monitors and displays emitting some portions of radiation at that time.

Since then technology has moved forward, we have much bigger TFT displays and by work standards there's no theoretical necessity to walk away for the computer every hour but it is still advisable. The eyes will still get tired as well as arms and hands from typing and holding a mouse and as well as the whole body from the prolong sitting. The breaks are necessary to restore the blood circulation, to clear the person's mind and give it a rest, to do something apart from the computer business. After all, when playing "Second Life" (the popular online simulation game) you will not be able to eat or sleep there in virtual reality -- you would still need to come back to the real life and do all the things here simply to keep yourself really alive.

In Summary

Let me just quickly summarise everything I have mentioned above. You don't have to strictly follow these advices but try to make sense of them and always look after yourself when working with the computer:

• Keep arms on the table
• Keep a safe distance from the monitor
• Sit with the back straight and in the comfortable chair
• Keep feet either flat on floor or on a foot rest
• Find the time for breaks