Desk height, screen height, chair height, seat-tilt,
back-rest, arms, mouse left or right, "ergonomic" keyboard, wrist
support, lumbar support ....
The variables go on and on. How do you get comfortable
and stay functional and productive?
Lets start from the beginning
...
If you can be comfortable, then you are more
able to concentrate and be productive. Avoiding physical discomfort,
also avoids a source of stress, since discomfort-tension demands
energy and attention.
What makes it easy to sit comfortably
in such a way that you remain functional and productive? We know
that we operate best when we are relaxed yet alert, poised, ready
for action, without being tense. Ergonomic considerations such as
desk and screen height etc. flow perfectly logically when we understand
how to remain easily upright, how to sit without strain
or unnecessary effort.
Balance of the head
is important . Your head weighs about 5.5 kilograms.
If it is habitually held too far back, or too far forward, there
is an immediate demand for muscular compensation from the rest of
your balancing processes. Compensation takes the form of tightening
something somewhere else and the net effect is more effort and less
ease. If you organise your chair, desk and screen height on the
basis of this less-than-optimal balance, then you commit yourself
to maintaining it. This strongly pre-disposes you to discomfort
and possible injury.
Contact with the
chair is also important. Why do we slouch in a soft
armchair or sofa? Why is it an effort to run in soft sand? Same
reason. Our nervous system needs the information it gets from the
surface we rest on, to switch on all the postural processes that
straighten us out and hold us up. On a soft or shifting surface
we do not get the quality of information that makes the job of being
upright easy or sustainable.
A firm seat makes
the job much easier. Have you ever noticed how you
sit up, at first at least, before you tire, when you sit on a hard
bench or kitchen chair? If the seat of your chair is not very firm
(more than 20mm padding) it may feel comfortable initially. However
it will also contribute to your getting tired more quickly. It makes
it more difficult to stay comfortable over about an hour. It makes
doing your job harder.
So, how much energy are you putting into balancing
on your chair, that is misplaced and actually makes being there
harder than necessary? How much energy is going into keeping yourself
still, and therefore making movement (breathing, keying, writing,
reading, telephoning etc) more effortful than it need be? If you
haven't considered the balance of your head, or the firmness of
your chair, it may be that you could achieve some major personal
efficiency dividends. It could maker you fitter for the long haul.
Need more help?
Arrange
a one-on-one consultation covering chair adjustment,
the broader ergonomics of your workstation, and instruction in how to
approach sitting comfortably upright. Click here.
