computer health and safety

A computer is a deadly weapon. Certainly, a computer can kill you just as easily as a smoking habit, high cholesterol or reckless driving.

While few people will be so careless as to attempt using a computer while taking a bath, poor online & offline habits can certainly shave years off of one's life.

By simply modifying your own behavior, you can use your computer in ways that will keep you in good health rather than putting you in an early grave.

Stress Kills

If you're a ball of anger, your online behavior will soon resemble your offline behavior.  Thus, if you're a jerk to your coworkers, you are bound to act as a jerk in forums, too.

Furthermore, no matter how technologically-prepared you are, computer equipment is sure to malfunction as soon as you touch it.  Doubtlessly, you will want to smack your computer and perhaps even get fired from your job for doing so.

However, you should learn to handle your stress in productive ways instead of letting it get the best of you.  Avoid visiting sites that are sure to make your blood pressure rise, routinely backup important documents, and train yourself on how to deal with minor glitches.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Don't Slouch

Slouching is easy to do when surfing the internet.  Nevertheless, there's no reason to break your back while online.

Just as your mother probably scolded you to do as a child, you should sit up straight while using a computer.

Even slight maladjustments in good posture can cause severe backache over the long haul.  You should be careful not to strain muscles in your neck, by correcting the bad habit of craning your neck to read fine print or check out content of interest to you while you're working on your PC.

Consider typical scenarios:  if you're using a handheld mouse,  you're probably leaning at an angle in the first place in order to wiggle the little creature around a mousepad; if you're using a chair with wheels, you may not remain fixed at a stationary spot as hours slowly pass; if you're resting on a sofa, you're likely to be tossing all of this useful advice out the window in exchange for the freedom to rest on soft pillows while still putting stress on your muscles.

Googling Toward Blindness

Staring at the sun is a foolish thing to do.  Staring at a bright computer screen for hours is only slightly less foolish.  While experts conclude that computers give off little if no harmful radiation, users frequently forget to use common sense when staring at their bright PC screens.

For example, eye strain is quickly caused if a user forgets to blink regularly while sitting in front of a computer.  Similarly, just because you want to use the computer for hours at a time doesn't mean that your body is ready to let you.

Perhaps you've been up too late, or you've got a bad case of jet lag.  In both cases, your eyes may be taxed by trying to read through pages of search results, all buried beneath the glare of your computer screen.

Throw Your Hands in the Air

Why give yourself carpal tunnel when you can navigate the computer with your voice?

Although clicking a mouse hundreds of times per hour may not seem to pose a great health risk, doing so causes fatigue in small muscles or tendons in the hand. Furthermore, typing or texting can create undue stress that can easily be avoided if a user resorts to a little common sense.

By using free speech macros for Windows Vista, offered by Microsoft, you can feel free to throw your hands in the air & accomplish most of your work with voice prompts. You won't need to give up using your mouse or keyboard, but you can save yourself a little energy by using speech to supplement your handiwork.

Set Yourself Free

Sometimes, you should remind yourself that you are not a slave who is bound with chains to your computer terminal.

  • Get up & take a walk.
  • Stretch at your desk periodically.
  • Pour yourself a glass of water.
  • Take a break to call a friend.

Simply enough, let your computer be of service to you rather than living simply to serve your computer.  Remember that the computer is a man-made invention that was designed to enhance your life rather than to deprive you of life.

Go forth, add favorites to your bookmarks, & prosper.

Photo Credits: Adi Setiawan, Exiree, robad0b, enggul, massdistraction, Daniel Greene