Computer Ergonomics

Setting Up Your Computer Work Area

Your sitting posture:

1. Your legs and back should be at a 90 degree angle.
2. The back of your chair should lift and support your lower back.
3. Your head should remain erect.

The height of your chair:

1. Your arm from the elbow to the heel of your palm should remain level while allowing you use the computer keyboard.
2. The heel of your palm should be level with the tabletop where your keyboard is placed or level with the keyboard itself.
3. Your feet should be flat on the floor.

Your line of sight:

1. While in the proper sitting posture (see above), you should be able to look straight out at the top of your computer screen and be able to drop your eyes (not your head) to look at the bottom of the screen.
2. Any work you are transcribing or referencing should ideally be in this same line of sight either slightly to the right or to the left of the computer screen.

Are you comfortable?

Adjusting Your Work Area

Unfortunately not all computer work areas can be tailored to us as individuals. There are a few simple, inexpensive adjustments that can be made to almost any computer work area.

Exercise

Your body is meant to move instead of remaining in fixed positions. Take frequent short breaks to stretch or walk around your desk before sitting back down. These breaks should occur every hour or so. If you have trouble remembering set a timer to remind you.

Eye Strain

.		WHEN WORKING at a computer, it may be difficult to recognize eye strain, according to the St. Louis-based AOA. Signs include headache; blurry or double vision; tired, burning or irritated eyes; and stiff, aching neck and shoulder muscles. After age 50, computer users may need an extra pair of glasses designed to deal with the distance and angle of computer monitors, according to AOA spokesman Kent Daum, an optometrist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Older adults usually have glasses or contact lenses designed for near- and far-sightedness, but as far as distance, computer monitors fall somewhere in between. “It’s hard to get a pair of glasses to work well for your computer and everything else,” Daum explained. Glasses focused for intermediate and close distances work best for computer users; for those who wear one contact for distance and one for near vision, the AOA recommends wearing intermediate-distance half glasses over the contacts. Daum offered some more advice for the weary-eyed: Use a quality, 17-inch monitor and increase the type’s font size to avoid strain. Eliminate glare by shading windows and reducing overhead lighting. Reduce overall room lighting by about half; in an office, turning off fluorescent lights in favor of desk lamps may help. Make sure the monitor is slightly below eye level and the screen brightness closely matches the level of room lighting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: My key board is too high.
A: Raise your chair. If your upper legs are no longer on a 90 degree angle to your body use a foot stool to raise your legs.

Q: My key board is too low.
A: Lower your chair.

Q: My monitor is too high.
A: Raise your chair. If your upper legs are no longer on a 90 degree angle to your body use a foot stool to raise your legs.

Q: My monitor is too low
A: Lower your chair or your can purchase a monitor stand. There are several varieties available at computer stores. Metropolitan phone books also work well if you're not into style.

Q: My chair is too high, and I can't lower it.
A: Use a foot stool, and if it is possible raise the computer.

Q: My chair is too low and I can't raise it.
A: A wrist-rest may be of help, but try to get another chair.

Q; I have to turn my head to see the paper I'm working on.
A: There are a wide variety of document holders available.