Being a digital artist and creator comes with certain stereotypes : we play videogames; our day jobs are all about computers; and we consume huge amounts of media through many devices and outlets. That adds up to a lot of screen time. Balancing our health habits with our general habits can be been challenging, since computers and health don’t naturally go hand in hand.
This closing session will be tackling how to balance your health with our tech-loving, hyperconnected world.
Trying to stay healthy while also using a computer (or gaming) for multiple hours a day can be challenging. As a veteran computer-user myself, I know about the aches and pains of desk life all too well. When you spend a lot of time on your computer working it’s important that you are aware of the fact that you are performing a job that can have a negative impact on your health. That’s the bad news. The good news is that it really doesn’t take a lot of time or effort to reduce those negative effects. Consciously making an effort to move around more, keep your work area clean, snack on healthy foods, and resting your eyes can prevent a lot of the negative effects associated with a sedentary lifestyle.
According to this article by the Mayo Clinic, research links sitting for long periods throughout the day with cardiovascular disease, metabolic problems, and cancer. What’s more, attempting to offset the hours a day spent sitting behind a desk by spending a few hours at the gym each week doesn’t seem to significantly improve the negative effects of sitting for extended periods. And long-term health effects aside, research published in The Washington Post shows that sitting at a desk all day does a whole range of negative things to our backs and muscles — which is probably something you’ve noticed if you’ve spent a lot of time sitting lately. Check out the WaPo article in the sidebar – it has great graphics to illustrate the issues.
So make it a point to keep your health in mind and take these little steps to make sure you look and feel your best.
Use A Standing Desk
One option you may want to consider is to get a different kind of desk. Standing desks promote a healthier work environment. The human body was never meant to sit at a desk for 8 hours a day, and doing so puts a lot of strain on your body and can cause a lot of negative health effects. The problem here is that if you have a lifestyle that requires you to work on a computer you are going to have to spend a lot of time at a desk. But what if you didn’t sit at your desk and stood instead? There are a lot of standing desk options out there that range from an entirely new desk, to a desk extension you can put on top of an existing desk. While it may seem odd at first, in time you should adapt to your standing desk and become comfortable with it. Once you are used to your new standing desk you will have fewer types of health-related concerns that come with sitting for long periods of time.
Make Sure That You Get Up And Move Around On A Regular Basis
Primary health problems that come with a lifestyle that requires a lot of time sitting in front of a computer are related to the lack of movement and activity involved. So to counter this you should make it a point to get up and move around on a regular basis. If you have to you can even set an alarm on your phone to go up every hour. Then go for a little walk, or do anything that is going to get you up and away from your desk for at least a few minutes. Even this small amount of activity will help improve your circulation, relieve strain on your neck and back, and also burn a few calories while you are at it. My chiropractor gave me a wonderful routine that helps tremendously with neck and shoulder strain that I developed from my wonderful sedentary life: At any time during the day while walking, turn your head from side-to-side as if there are really great things to look at on each side of you. This movement in combination with the walking and little arm swing has a very positive effect on your neck and shoulders. Even little leg stretches can be extremely helpful. Try a few or all of these: Start with flat feet, and then raise and lower the heel of each foot 5 to 10 times. Next switch to lifting your toes. Now raise one leg and point your toe slowly 5 to 10 times; do the same on the other side. Finally, raise one leg and circle your ankle several times; switch legs. Recognizing that you have a desk life, you should also make sure that you get as much physical activity as possible throughout the rest of your day.
Give Your Eyes A Break As Well
You may not realize it but sitting and staring at a computer screen all day long actually puts a lot of strain on your eyes. While a computer screen is not exceptionally bright, it does produce light that you are staring into, sometimes for hours on end. This can put a lot of strain on your eyes which over time can contribute to vision problems, headaches, and other health problems. The good news is that there is a simple solution to avoid overtaxing your eyes – every few minutes take a second, close your eyes, and give them a break. Make sure to find various things to look at at different distances – this re-focus is critical after staring at a screen of a certain fixed distance for extended time. Blinking is important, and doing so can help you to keep your vision sharp. I have to tell my son to blink all the time whether he is on the computer or playing games, because his eyes get so bloodshot from staring. I bet you can relate.
Keep Healthy Snacks Around
Working at a computer all day is not a very physical job, which means that you are not burning a lot of calories while you sit there and type away. So the last thing you want to do is to compound the problem by snacking on junk food all day long. Eating highly processed foods that are high in calories, sugar, and fat will only add to the health problems caused by a sedentary lifestyle. Now obviously you have to eat, so the key here is to make sure you are eating the right foods. The simplest way to avoid snacking on unhealthy foods is to not have them around. Keep foods such as carrots and hummus, beef jerky, nuts, or other high protein foods around your desk so when hunger strikes you can satiate it with a healthy snack.
Keep Your Desk Clean
One of the most common problems with a desk job (or school computer labs!) that requires you to sit in front of a computer all day is a problem many people aren’t even aware of. What problem is that? Bacteria. When you sit at a desk and use a computer any bacteria on your hands or body is going to end up on your desk. Over time that bacteria can build up, and before you know it you have a work area that is teeming with disgusting microbes. The solution to this? Simple: Keep a clean work area. Clean up after yourself, and clean your desk, computer, keyboard, and entire work area daily. A simple sanitation wipe can keep bacteria from building up, which can help to prevent you from getting sick. You can further protect yourself by getting up and washing your hands on a regular basis.
Read this Washington Post article on the effects of sitting too much.
Here are three short videos I want you to watch. They cover sitting too much, Joe Rogan explains eating well in the sedentary world, and a TED talk on choosing yourself.
Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) is a real thing – especially for those of us who constantly have our hands on computer mice, laptop trackpads and keyboards, and now smartphones! RSI is a potentially disabling illness caused by prolonged repetitive hand movements using such elements involved in computer use. Symptoms include intermittent shooting pains in the hands, wrists, forearms, and back, and can develop into debilitating conditions, carpal tunnel syndrome and major arthritis. When RSI is at its worst, people are unable to open doors, prepare their own food, do laundry, drive, write, type, and shake hands. Sound intense? It is – I have known two people who were involved in digital design who developed RSI and literally had to quit their jobs and find new careers – right in the middle of their prime and while they were loving what they did. One of them now consults, never touching a computer, and tours giving lectures and workshops about RSI prevention. The other became a farmer – again, never touching a computer. Can you imagine having to abandon the thing that you studied for, developed skill and passion for, built up clients and connections – all because of poor practices and habits? Let’s look at a few things you should keep your eye on with your setup, as well as some routine stretches and exercises that will help keep this condition at bay and help prolong your career.
First thing is the keyboard
Your keyboard should be positioned above your thighs, you should be able to reach the keys with your elbows at your side and bent at 90 degrees or less, and your forearms roughly parallel to the ground. If your elbows are at more than a 90 degree angle, it will surely tire you out quickly. Keep your wrists straight: the straighter your wrists, the less strain you put on the tendons and nerves that run through your wrist. A split keyboard may aid you in keeping your wrists straight.
Let your hands float – this means avoiding resting your wrists on the desk, keyboard, or gel pad when you are typing. Let them hover over the keys. This has three advantages: 1. You allow the big muscles in your back to share some of the work. 2. It allows you to keep your wrists straight, which is impossible if they’re planted on a gel pad. 3. It’s easier to reach the hard-to-reach keys.
Don’t strain your fingers: When you need to press a hard-to-reach key, like CTRL, SHIFT, BACKSPACE, etc., don’t stretch out your pinky. Instead, move your whole hand and use your index or middle finger to press the key. Don’t use one hand when you need to hit two keys simultaneously, e.g. CTRL-X, SHIFT-Y. Think before you type: unnecessary retyping/editing can add up. Use a light touch when typing: don’t pound the keys.
Mice
Using a mouse can be even more harmful than typing. Here are three reasons why this is so:
A mouse requires a person to make small, exact movements with their hand, fingers, and thumb. By positioning, traveling, scrolling, and clicking the mouse again and again, the same small muscles can become tired and overworked. Most of the work is done by one finger. Double clicking and dragging can be especially straining. More importantly, when using a mouse, most people are resting their hand on the area where nerves and tendons pass through to your fingers – that spot most call the heel of the hand, the spot where the wrist transitions to the palm. Too much stress on this spot can lead to damaged tissue and nerves.
Also, users often do not position the mouse properly, stretching an arm for the mouse which can lead to increased strain, a drooping shoulder, and pain extending up into the shoulder and neck.
The Evoluent Vertical Mouse 4
So what are the solutions? Explore mouse alternatives. Built into every Windows and Mac operating system is a utility called MouseKeys, which allows you to use the number pad (on the right side of most keyboards) to move the cursor. If this isn’t a sufficient option, there are a wide range of alternative mice, including some that are hand-held, some that require little or no finger movement and some that allow the wrist to be held in a vertical position. Ergonomic mice are designed to put you in a more neutral position, allowing you to work comfortably, reducing strain, and helping prevent and alleviate long-term repetitive stress injuries. For improved hand, wrist and arm comfort, an ergonomic mouse makes a huge difference.
My preferred mouse replacement is a graphics tablet. Using a pen tool (stylus) as an alternative to a traditional computer mouse may do wonders for you as it has for me and many others. I have been using drawing tablets for 15-20 years, and I would claim that next to not using your arm at a computer at all, a tablet is the best variation you can you can introduce to your workflow.
By using a tablet and stylus, you can spread the strain to more muscle groups and you get rid of always over extending the fingers for mouse clicks or that awful mouse wheel. When holding a stylus, you rotate your lower arm about 45 degrees less than when you use a standard mouse. This may not sound like much but that level of unnatural rotation is a significant contributing factor to RSI and carpal tunnel syndrome.
The twisting effect on the bones in your lower arm is reduced and you are no longer resting your hand on the area where nerves and tendons pass through to your fingers.
Here you will discover some really great exercises and stretches for your hands, fingers and wrists. Try them!
Phone use can be a HUGE contributor to muscle and joint issues (obviously). Read this article about a journalist’s condition after using her phone to write and create correspondence.
[Article from GQ magazine]
BY DR NICK KNIGHT
Tuesday 19 September 2017
The (online) elephant in the room: social media can be bad
Most of you reading this will be within a few feet of your smartphone and a minute or two from checking one of the omnipotent social media platforms enveloping our lives. While we know that chronic use of these platforms can have a negative health impact, is it really time to hit the ‘Delete Account’ button?
To know the right steps to take with social media, you need to know where the wrong steps can take you. With that in mind, let’s briefly summarize some of the main physical and mental health concerns generated from excessive social media use. These include:
- Generating lower self-esteem when you compare your real life to others’ virtual lives
- Being a source of significant distraction from your much more important offline life
- Triggering physical health issues such as posture-related muscular strain and eye fatigue
- Interfering with quality sleep by disturbing your circadian rhythm (your body clock)
- Encouraging addictive tendencies that compound all of the above
The science of reward
Social media use is all about triggering your reward center in your brain. This reward system comprises complex neural structures and pathways in the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical loop. Basically, like any addictive drug, your Likes, Retweets, Comments and Followers act like a giant neuroendocrine shovel pouring dopamine (your neuroendocrine neurotransmitter that feeds on pleasure and reward) into your brain’s reward center. Quite simply, you are left wanting more and more. Just think about when you’ve finished exercising, had amazing sex or achieved a goal, and you get that rush – that’s your dopamine.
That’s what these ten tips are about, supporting a healthier structure in your life, allowing you to control the cascade of dopamine and ultimately remain in control. To achieve this, we are going to look at three different elements to your social media use: how much you use it (Part 1), what you look at on it (Part 2), and finally, how you process what you look at (Part 3).
Part 1: How much you use social media
With its origins in Shakespeare, “too much of a good thing” still has powerful meaning in modern life. Like alcohol, sex or a beloved sports team, your social media use is no different, existing on a spectrum of zero interest to pathological obsession. The goal is to find that sweet spot of usage where you reap the benefits yet mitigate the harm. Here are the first five tips to help you achieve this.
Tip 1: Buy an alarm clock
Lying in bed with your phone and scrolling through social media wipes out your sleep-inducing melatonin. Instead, turn your phone off, and to kill any impulse checks, put it out of sight.
Tip 2: Schedule your social media use
Applying boundaries and structure instead of an unchecked tsunami of random scrolling throughout the day will make you more productive, focussed and ultimately in control.
Tip 3: Make sure you are present with others
“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity,” said philosopher Simone Weil. You have a real life, so embrace it and the people you are with. Save a quick scroll for the bathroom.
Tip 4: Develop a focussed approach
Understanding why you use social media reinforces your overall control. If it’s for work, then develop a marketing strategy. If it’s just chatting bull and arguing online, then good luck.
Tip 5: Ensure your art imitates your life
Develop a social media platform that truly reflects who you are in real life. Say what you would say in real life; comment how you would in real life – especially to the person’s face. Be real.
Part 2: What you look at on social media
Social media is awash with both great and terrible advice in equal measure. One of the key issues is that anyone can be an expert on it – whether they actually are is another question entirely. So, whether you are discovering health information opportunistically or deliberately seeking it, here are two tips to get reliable information.
Tip 6: Seek unpolished and genuine inspiration
While motivational content is dripping all over social media, choose the positive, realistic and unedited representations of health. The celeb Photoshopped to an inch of their life isn’t that.
Tip 7: Listen to the experts
Personal trainers, dieticians and healthcare professionals permeate social media. When you find them, just ask yourself if they are reliable, experienced voices for the topics they raise.
Part 3: How to process what you view
So now that you have viewed the health information on social media, you need to decide if it has simply provided a transient pleasure or whether it serves as an offline stepping stone to help you lead a healthier life. Here are three final tips to help make this a reality.
Tip 8: A stepping stone from online to offline
Reading about a health condition is a really good start: it helps you understand and contextualise it. Now use that as a trigger to see your GP and discuss the bothersome issue.
Tip 9: Triggering your personal cycle of change
This is about realizing how you feel about a specific health issue, such as losing weight. Your social media view may nudge you into a new phase, giving momentum to your health journey.
Tip 10: Consolidation through your support network
Sharing and discussing your health interests and journey with online (or offline) groups of like-minded people is a cathartic and powerful way to consolidate your evolving health choices.
The takeaway
The impact of social media can rest anywhere between the devil and the deep blue sea. With the power of a swipe or a click, it can alter not only how you feel about your own health but also directly affect it. These ten tips are certainly not rocket science but rather intended as simple reminders to help make sure social media and your health continue to have a positive and amicable relationship. If not, divorce yourself from it.