Can PCs Damage Your Health?

Posted on 3 Jul 2002 at 17:27

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Assuming your monitor works properly, you can make life for your eyes easy by adjusting the contrast and brightness on your display. Make black as dark as possible - don't accept a muddy grey. Good contrast makes text look sharper and is easier on the eye. A too bright picture, though, can also cause fatigue.
Finally, clean your screen! Beware that some displays are coated with antiglare coatings which can be damaged by caustic chemicals. You won't go wrong with a damp cloth.
It's All Connected!
Don't think for a minute that by buying an expensive desk, a chair with pneumatic lumbar supports, and a mouse designed by Gucci, you're in for a trouble-free life. Even if you buy the best kit in the world, assemble and arrange it wrongly, and you could still face problems.
Good ergonomics doesn't just refer to individual items being comfortably designed. Instead, it's concerned with how all the equipment in the office functions, and how people work with it. Good ergonomics is a total package, covering many seemingly unrelated factors.

* Before you start working at your PC, you should plan your day and workload. Scheduling in breaks is essential - you should take a rest from your monitor every hour without fail. Better still, see if you can plan your day to provide a good mixture of tasks involving different types of movement.

* Many experts recommend doing warm-up exercises before you begin working. Gently working the shoulders, neck, wrists and fingers is said to be particularly beneficial, as these are the joints that are most commonly stressed when typing.

* The climate in which you're working should also be carefully controlled. Studies reveal that the optimum temperature for someone sitting and working is 20-22 degrees Celsius. And make sure you avoid drafts too.

* Think about noise in your office. It's a powerful factor in causing stress, and a calm working environment improves efficiency. Different tasks require different levels of peace and quiet, and background noise can have a cumulative effect. If you're already trying to cope with the collective racket made by PCs, printers and telephones, the plonker in the corner with the CD collection and booming speakers can drive you to distraction. Tell them to buy some headphones, as science is on your side. Noise, but especially unwanted noise is a major contributor to stress.

* Lighting is important, too. There's a lot of science involved in the distribution and types of light in an office. If you're commissioning a new office, it's well worth contacting a building services engineer. In general, though, you should place your monitor at right angles to a window. Avoid sitting with your back to a window, or facing one directly. Both of these seating positions will cause eye-offending reflections.

Author: Martin Cooper