PREVENT EYE STRAIN

The picture you see on your computer screen is actually going on and off 25 to 80 times a second, and your eye's (and brain's) natural vision retention smooths this flickering out so that it appears to be always on. But this is an unnatural image, and after extended viewing, you may get eye strain, headaches and vision anomalies. To help your eyes: every 15 minutes, lift your eyes off the screen and stare at a distant object - out of the window, to the end of the passage, or the most distant object you can find. A dark green object is the best colour to stare at. By staring at a distant object, your eye muscles can relax, as they don't have to pull the eyes into focus, where both pupils are angled in towards the centre, but instead your pupils are pointing out in almost parallel lines of vision. Dark green is a low glare, relaxing colour.

WATCH YOUR BACK

Because we sit in almost the exact same position for maybe hours at a time, that position needs to be correct. If we slouch or sit in a way that we use our back muscles to hold us there, this is going to result in a stiff back or knotting and cramps later, when we are trying to go to sleep in bed. Make sure your chair supports your back, and try and sit up as straight as you can without being tense or uncomfortable. If your chair is not so great, try swinging your chair around and sitting back to front for awhile (if this is possible) or else get up and stretch every so often to loosen up your muscles.

AVOID REPETITIVE STRAIN DISORDER (RSD)

Holding the mouse in the same way for long periods, over days and weeks and months, can cause a condition known as repetitive strain disorder, where a joint such as the wrist is severely damaged by continuous, slight strain over a long time period. This damage can be quite painful and hard to rectify if left untreated. To avoid this problem, every so often, take your hand off the mouse and put it under the desk and push upward with the back of your hand, then push down on the desk with your fingers. Then flex your fingers rapidly, then move your hand up and down and sideways, flexing the wrist - in other words, do all the movements that are different from the movements you do with the mouse. Especially do these movements if your mouse hand starts feeling stiff or sore, and even more especially if it's the wrist.

DON'T BE STIFF NECKED

To avoid getting a stiff neck, make sure that the computer screen is angled correctly, so that the screen surface is at 90 degrees to your line of vision. Also, arrange your desk, screen and chair so that the screen is at a height that is most comfortable for your neck muscles. Looking slightly downwards at the screen is usually the best, as this relaxes your neck, but experiment a little until you find the most comfortable screen height for your neck muscles.

USE THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT

Make sure that your screen has good focus and resolution, as a blurry, indistinct image will cause you to screw up your eyes to focus, resulting in fatigue and eventually eye strain. Keyboards are cheap, so find one that is easy to use, without having to use excessive force, and find one with a layout that is comfortable for you. Do not use a mouse that is too small or too big for your hand, but find one that "fits" you and is always comfortable.

CONCLUSION

This advice may seem trivial, but following it can prevent a lot of rather serious damage to our bodies. These things are easy to do, and will ensure that we will continue to enjoy our computers for a long time to come.