Q&A for How to Sit at a Computer

Try to keep good posture with your feet flat on the floor and your legs bent at a 90-degree angle. You may need to adjust your seat height to reach these marks. Also, your computer should be at eye-level and your mouse should be in easy reaching-distance.

Ideally, the light source should be in front of the computer or to the side. Light shining from behind the computer tends to create glare on the screen, which causes eye strain.

By not moving your head, you are causing the muscles in your neck to become cramped. Try turning your head every fifteen minutes or performing neck stretches.

To avoid strain on your eyes, neck, and body.

It depends on how you like to sit. If you have a desk, you can get a cushioned chair or roller chair to move from one computer to another.

Probably because you're craning your neck forward to look at the screen. Make sure you're using correct posture at your desk or wherever you're sitting and take frequent breaks to get up, move around, and stretch.

You can reposition your arm, or wrap it in some sort of ace bandage. You can try applying ice to it, to see if that helps with the pain. However, if the pain persists you should speak to your doctor.

Sadly, laptops are just not built to allow for good form. They are built for compactness. It might be wise to buy an external keyboard if you use it for long hours.

You are not resting your arm on your elbow when using your mouse. You are right-handed, right? So all of the weight of your arm is straining your shoulder. Try to keep your arm rest level with your mouse and rest on your elbow.

Sit in the computer chair properly, put your arms in the correct position, and curve your fingers.

You would do the same. Laptops and computers are like the same thing, but laptops are portable.

It sounds like you have poor posture and you're sitting for too long. Try getting up and moving around every once in a while, and sit up straight. You may need to invest in a new, more ergonomic computer chair.

Back problems that occur after using a computer are very likely caused by your sitting posture and the height of your keyboard relative to your hands.

Sit straight up with your feet flat on the floor. Your keyboard should be at the edge of your desk, and your monitor should be at eye level.

Set a timer every half hour to stand up and move about. You can also buy and adjustable desk so you can stand while you work sometimes.

Make sure they are far enough away, close together, and at the correct level. Your eyes should be level with an imaginary line separating the top 1/3 and bottom 2/3 of the viewable area.

Regularly stretch your neck towards the left, right, front, and back. Make sure to give your eyes a break for a few minutes every hour or two so they don't get over-strained (which can contribute to headaches). Also, make sure you are sitting up straight and not hunching your head over the keyboard.

Have your knees bent at 90 degrees and your hands in a comfortable position.

If you're sitting in a way that is bad for you, then you should feel some discomfort along your spine and neck. As long as you don't sit in a position like that frequently for long periods of time, you should be fine.

Ideally, every 30 minutes to 1 hour. At most, every 2 hours.

You can do physical therapy exercises, but consult a doctor if the pain persists.

You would push back on the computer table when you're ready to get up from your seat or if you want to take a nap -- doing so helps propel you backwards.

If your computer has a function to reduce blue light, then I would recommend using that, but if not there are some programs that you can download to help, like f.lux, which changes your monitor settings to help reduce eye strain.

No, neck cracking will not break your neck, but it can dislodge clots and cause dangerous issues, so you should avoid it.

Consider getting a foot rest that's adjustable in height and angle; they're not that expensive.

Adjust your chair height if it allows it, but some do not go low enough. If you can't lower the chair enough, then use a small resting chair for your feet or another item that allows your feet to rest and prevent blood circulation and other problems. You may also find a chair with feet/back recliner option or another feet/back resting feature. Some chairs only allow the rotation of the entire chair in horizontal axis, those may cause blood circulation problems to your feet.

There isn't really an easy way or shortcut; it's a matter of consistent daily practice until you've developed the muscle memory. Try the methods in Type .

Follow the same instructions as in the article, just try to sit as comfortable as you can while you do it. If you can, invest on a laptop stand. It raises the laptop to eye position and will feel for comfortable to look at.