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Protecting eyes from computer screen
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Work station ergonomics
Computer and Health
By Claire Theoff
Incorrect working posture can result in musculoskeletal disorders affecting the neck, back, shoulders, arms, wrists, hands and fingers.
If you are currently experiencing any discomfort whilst working at your desk you should seek advice from your health and safety representative, DSE assessor or GP.
Are you sitting comfortably?
A properly adjusted chair will reduce the strain that you put on your back. You should be able to alter the height, back position and tilt of your chair. Try and ensure that your knees are level with your hips.
Make sure your back is supported
In order to prevent back injury, you should be sitting up straight while at your desk. If your chair isn't providing enough back support, try using a rolled up towel or cushion until you find a position which is comfortable for you - then adjust the chair accordingly.
Keep your feet on the ground
Now that you've got your chair correctly positioned, take a look at your feet. Are they flat on the floor? If not, you may want to consider getting a footrest. This will relieve any pressure on your joints and muscles. It's important that you avoid crossing your legs or sitting with one (or both) legs twisted beneath you.
Check the position of your monitor
Now that you're sitting comfortably you need to take a look at the positioning of your pc. Guidelines suggest that the monitor should be positioned approximately 12-30 inches away from your eyes.
A good guide to positioning is to place the monitor about an arm's length away. The top of the screen should be roughly at eye level. In order to achieve this position you may need to get a stand for your monitor. This doesn't need to be anything fancy - a pile of books will help to elevate the screen to the required position.
Screen reflection and glare
Ideally your pc screen should be as glare-free as possible. This may mean positioning the monitor so that overhead lighting and sunlight are not reflecting on your screen. Try positioning the monitor so that it is at right-angles to the window.
Experiment with your monitor until you find the best position. You may need to move your desk slightly or close the blinds. If glare continues to be a problem, try using an anti-glare screen. You should also experiment with the screen settings on your monitor. Adjusting the brightness or contrast could make a big difference.
Are key objects are within reach?
Position frequently used objects - such as your telephone or stapler - within reachable distance from your body. It's important to avoid repeatedly stretching or twisting to reach things. Positioning items within easy reach will help to avoid overusing your arm, shoulder and back muscles.
If you spend a lot of time on the telephone, you may want to consider exchanging your handset for a headset. Repeatedly cradling the phone between your ear and shoulder can strain the muscles in your neck.
Sitting at the keyboard
Keep your wrists in a straight position when using a keyboard - they shouldn't be bent up, down or to either side. Your elbows should be positioned vertically under your shoulders. Using a wrist rest may help you to avoid awkward bending in your wrists.
Position and use the mouse as close to you as you can. Aim to have your elbow vertically under your shoulder and right by your side. A mouse mat with a wrist pad will help to keep your wrist straight and avoid awkward bending. Try learning some keyboard short cuts to cut down on the amount of time you spend using a mouse.
Take a break
Try to alter your working day so that you don't spend all your time at your pc. If your job is mainly pc based ensure that you take regular breaks. For every hour at your keyboard, take at least five to ten minutes rest. Rest your eyes - look away from the screen and focus on something in the distance for a few seconds.
Try doing some gentle exercises to help relax the muscles and clear your mind. Download our deskercise screensaver and try the simple exercises that you can do whilst sitting at your desk.
Tips:
- If you experience any pain of discomfort at your desk - stop what you're doing and take a break.
- If you are regularly experiencing aches and pains at work, discuss them with someone who is in a position to help you resolve them.
- If symptoms persist speak to your occupational health department or GP.
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Eye Problems :: Regular eye checks, Tips to reduce eye strain, First aid for eyes
Most people give hardly a thought to the amazing work our eyes do to enable us to see, until things start to go wrong. It's often at work (or school) that people begin to realise they have a problem. That doesn't mean that work is harmful to your eyes (although it can be) but that work or school is where we most need to see well.
We may be stressed, tired, trying to read tiny print or study tiny diagrams, and using our brains to think out problems fast, relying on all our senses. And so often these days, work also means sitting staring at a computer screen or VDU which puts extra demands on our eyes.
Regular Eye Checks.
So looking after your eyes at work is vital. But many people don't even have regular sight tests. It is estimated that as many as one in three working people have visual defects (like short or long sightedness) which have never even been diagnosed or have not been properly corrected. These problems may come to light when you do visually demanding work.
Make sure you have your eyes tested at least once a year or more often if you have symptoms. You may be able to demand that your employer provides regular eye tests especially if you work at a VDU - check Health & Safety regulations.
Symptoms suggesting eye problems are: Problems seeing or reading, Blurred vision, Headaches, Dizziness, Pain in the eyes, Watery eyes, Dry eyes
Headaches at Work :: Triggers of a headache at work, Preventing headaches, Making your work environment comfortable and stress-free
Headaches are such a common health problem that its not surprising that they often occur while people are at work. But there may be very specific reasons, related to the job or the working environment, why some people particularly suffer from headaches while they are trying to do their job.
Headaches can be hugely disruptive to work. More than 18 million working days are lost each year because of migraines, for example. This particularly debilitating type of headache can cause intense symptoms lasting up to 3 days and which are often so severe that concentration and co-ordination becomes very difficult and it is simply impossible to carry on working. In severe cases headaches can interfere with promotion and career prospects. Employers may worry that the person simply isn't up to the stresses of the job while those people with frequent headaches fear that they are letting down their colleagues because they insist on regular breaks or other conditions to avoid triggering a headache.
What triggers headaches at work? All types of headaches, especially tension or stress related headaches and migraine, are common in the workplace, probably because many similar trigger factors may be involved (see Box below). In some types of headache, especially migraine, a number of trigger factors may add up until a threshold is passed and a headache results.
Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) :: What is RSI? Protect yourself. Identifying RSI
As many of us spend more and more time in front of computers, the chances of developing repetitive strain injury (RSI) increase. For some people, the pain of RSI is so great that it prevents them from working at all. However, it doesn't develop overnight, so by always remembering that prevention is better than a cure, problems can often be avoided in the first place.
Occupational overuse syndrome, work-related upper limb injury, and isometric contraction myopathy, are all phrases used to describe what is more commonly known as RSI.
Overuse of the muscles of the hands, wrists, arms, or shoulders on a repeated, and usually, daily basis, causes injury to these muscles. This results in inflammation that is never really given a chance to recover, since these everyday harmful activities invariably continue.
Sick Building Syndrome (SBS)
Sick building syndrome (SBS) is the term used to describe a situation in which occupants of a building experience symptoms of ill-health that seem to be linked to spending time in a building - but where no specific cause can be identified.
Those experiencing symptoms of ill health may be in a particular part of the building or the problem may be spread throughout.
What are the symptoms of SBS? Some of the symptoms associated with sbs are: headaches, eye, nose or throat irritation, skin irritation, coughs, dizziness, nausea - and fatigue. The symptoms rapidly improve after leaving the building.
Insomnia & shift work :: Shift work throws out your body clock
Disruption of sleep is a huge problem for people who work shifts, especially shifts on short rotation such as yours.
Shift work throws out your body clock
The fatigue and loss of sleep that you can experience with night work are a result of putting your body clock out of sync. It's very similar to jet lag.
Humans don't feel tired because they have been awake and active for several hours. In fact, if someone stays up all night, they feel increasingly fatigued until a peak at 5am - and then fatigue decreases until the next evening.
