Advances in technology brought us computers and mobile phones. It seems that these two devices will now forever be with us. Those working in offices will normally work 8-10 hours daily on a computer. Our kids will watch YouTube videos for the whole day. With the long sitting hours with computers, how does this device affect our health?
- Eyestrain
The larger screens with computers emit more radiation. The bright lights from computer monitors can irritate our eyes. They can also change the standard grading of our eyesight. Computers can also cause users to suffer from myopia disorder, which affects their near sight. With regards to the irritations caused, a common sign is a redness in the eye. With constant irritation, our eyes may have dry and burning sensations.
Burning sensation allows us to constantly blink our eyes. With the constant blinking, it makes our eyes roll without control. Thus, to prevent frequent eye strain, we need to look at our surroundings every 30 minutes of work. The use of anti-radiation glasses can help prevent the transfer of radiation in our eyes. Another tip is to use a cold eye pad when going to sleep. A mixture of pleasing colors and pictures beside our working station can even prevent eye strain.
- Bad posture
If we constantly sit in a chair and do computer jobs for almost all our lives, in years to come we will suffer from posture problems. Our vertebrae are the structure of our body. They serve as the framework of our upper and lower bodies. When we sit, we seldom adopt a proper sitting position. We sit according to our temporary comfort. But often, comfort position is not a good sitting position. And this habit makes changes to our posture.
To prevent this from happening to you, make your chair the most comfortable item in the workplace. The cushion should be soft to allow blood flow to your butt. The splat of the chair should be sturdy yet retractable. The arm of the chair should have options where we can put a bottle for a drink. And to change directions, the rollers of the chair should be working.
- Obesity
Sitting in swivel chairs for most of our lives does not allow for much movement and activity. And one of our common attitudes when in front of computers, is that we usually find something to eat. The reduced movement and the increased food intake will change our bodies drastically. According to research, people working with computers end up a significant proportion of the obesity cases.
To stop or prevent obesity, we need to put effort into our diet intake and discipline ourselves with exercise. Prevent placing food in our workstation. A picture of food will tempt us to eat constantly. Diet without training will not make a difference. Try to enroll yourself in yoga, Zumba, or aerobics at least three times a week. Discipline and patience are the two virtues needed to lose weight.
- Muscle strains
Working on computers makes use of most of the muscles in our arms and hands. That is why it is common to feel numb and get strains on these parts of the body. We feel nape pain from not being able to move our neck for a couple of hours. Fast typing skills can affect our hands and result in carpal tunnel syndrome. This is a disease where we can feel numbness and a feeling of weakness in our hands.
The reason is that our median nerve is compressed in our hands because of constant movement. This situation can occur when we type for most of the day. The upper part of the body is affected, but even our legs can develop varicose veins. We sit for hours, preventing the circulation to our lower body. The decreased circulation can make us feel numb and cause us to experience tingling sensations.
To prevent these sorts of scenarios, we must maintain constant movement and move our bodies every hour. The rolling of our head, wrists, and legs aids circulation and brings oxygen to the parts of the body where it is needed, thus prevents muscle strains from happening.
Conclusion
We live in the golden age where everything seems possible to happen because of these devices. The question is, how do we change our lifestyle to adapt to this technology?