We all know that aches and pains come with working in the office and sitting in a seat all day. While it may be rewarding for the bank account, it plays havoc with our bodies.
It’s important to exercise and stretch as much as you can, especially if you are working in an office, to keep our bodies flexible and strong. Over time we get misaligned and can end up with achy backs and RSI in our hands, fingers and wrists.
Here’s some top gadgets and tips to help make your life more comfortable in the office.
Bad back: Seat support
A couple of years back when I had the pleasure of travelling around Australia, I managed to find my way to a chiropractor to find out what the nagging bad back pain was, that I had been experiencing for a couple of years beforehand. After getting scans it turned out I had compressed lower discs.
Something that is a huge complaint among office workers is lower back-pain. Apart from regularly moving around and stretching my hip flexors, one other thing that has helped me is a quality back support for your office chair.
It works by supporting the lumbar and realigning the back forcing us to ‘comfortably’ sit up straight. Being a web developer it is natural that a great deal of my time is spent at my computer, the seat support has made life a lot more comfortable to sit and work for prolonged periods of time.
Eye strain & headaches: Screen filter
Screen filters are nothing new, they work by filtering out the blue tones coming from your PC monitor giving your eyes a bit of a rest.
If you spend lots of time typing or looking at your screen, apart from changing your monitors gamma settings and reducing the blue hue being produced, a screen filter is a great way to help prevent headaches and eye strain that is common amongst office workers.
Achy hands: Apple keyboard & track pad
A common mis-conception is that a big track pad is for graphic designers, but this couldn’t be further from the truth! We all know that familiar ‘RSI like’ pain in the back of the hand and achy fingers after a months worth of overtime typing and constantly clicking a mouse.
You don’t need an Apple Mac to use the Apple keyboard or trackpad, however you will require a Bluetooth adapter and custom drivers for Windows.
What are the benefits? They are quite expensive!
I agree a keyboard and ‘flat mouse’ can be quite expensive, but for loose fingers and hands at the end of a long days work it’s a brilliant investment. Apple keyboards are amazing to type on, they are ergonomic and the key presses have little resistance.
The trackpad is a great way of reducing RSI pain in the back of your hands and getting to the bottom of long documents in a heart beat. The great thing is you don’t have to leave them at the office either, you can easily take them home and use them on your own computer at home.
Mine goes everywhere with me.
Stress & sleep: Headspace
Stress gets to all of us at the best of times but before blowing steam from your ears or laying in bed worrying, check out a little known app for your phone called Headspace.
Headspace turns stress and worries into a game of relaxation, using proven meditation and mindfulness techniques which will help you relax easier, faster and on-the-go; training your mind to be happier.
It’s great in the office with some headphones and it’s great in bed at night when you just can’t stop thinking about that impossible deadline due next week. Headspace is the ultimate tool for combatting stress head on!
Brownie points: World’s best boss mug
Been late to work a few too many times this month and need to earn some brownie points with the boss? Never fear! Apart from beating the morning rush hour and arriving on time from now on, why not buy your boss an amazing ‘World’s Best Boss Mug’?
Author: Andy is a web developer and tech blogger at PerformancePSU, when he is not writing or creating apps he loves travelling.
