Using your laptop in the wrong position can be bad for your health. Depending on what position you are in when you use your laptop, you will be putting pressure on various parts of your body including your neck, wrists, arms and hips.
This was something I looked into a lot earlier this year whilst travelling through South America. We travelled throughout the continent for several months. Unfortunately, our rooms never had a desk, so I frequently had to work from bed. This put a lot of strain on my neck as I was sitting incorrectly. It is a big concern for me as I have a pinched nerve in my neck from an Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu injury. Therefore, I need to sure I do everything to help my neck, rather than put more pressure on it.
One of the most useful articles I found was a case study by Dave Malouf. What caught my attention was an image they published that showed all the common ways in which people use their laptops. The image also shows what parts of the body these positions put strain on. I have republished the image below.
The best position for using your laptop can be seen at the top right. You need to lie in bed with a pillow or something to support your neck and head and then raise your knees to about the same height as your head. The position looks very similar to the third one that is shown (second one down on left hand side). The key difference is the location of the laptop.
Sitting the laptop on your waist appears to put pressure on your wrist. It also places pressure on your neck as you need to lower your eyes to view the laptop. The optimal position addresses this issue by positioning the laptop on your legs instead. This places the laptop screen at eye level, which stops you from having to look down.
Health is not something any of us can take lightly. There is no doubt that working on a computer all day can place strain on many parts of your body, so we should all be conscious of the way we work.
I am not suggesting that you all start working from bed, however I encourage you to keep the position in mind if you use your laptop in bed or on the sofa. Have a try of the optimal position and let me know what you think :)
Kevin
Only working style which exist is to go straight to desk and do it like a man…not like a lizard:) BTW this is a good idea to remember when in travel.
Nice. I still haven’t been to India. Would love to go.
I sit with my laptop on the sofa too. It seems that the key issue is where the screen is. If the screen is low, we will look down in order to see. So raising your legs and placing your laptop on your legs so that the screen is higher should stop you looking down.
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
As I sit with my laptop in my lap – in the middle of the jungles of India – this indeed is a timely reminder ;)
I never would have thought the lie down would be the optical position. Fascinating.
Thanks for sharing!
Ryan
Hehe :)
OK, I understand now what you meant.
Thank,
David
Yeah that’s what I mean. Today’s newsletter is delivered weekly and includes all posts that have been published over the last week. The Rise Forums email only focused on one topic.
They are different things. One is a newsletter, one can be classified as an email blast. I’m happy to share the click through rate tomorrow (that will give a more accurate look at the CTR).
For a true comparison, I would have to send an email to subscribers that was specifically about this post. But the CTR is bound to be higher as I am not asking people to pull out their wallets :)
Kevin
But I saw it in the weekly newsletter that came in today :)
I didn’t email about this post. It would have been included in today’s newsletter together with other posts; however I did not email all subscribers about it as it is not important enough.
Hi Kevin. Thanks for sharing!
Do let us know the click through rates for this article, as compared to the low rates you experienced resently with the Rise Forums email. I bet the CTR is quite high with this article here.
Regards from Greece,
David
As Joseph points out, an overheated laptop is not good in that position:)
That’s something I hadn’t even thought about it. Men’s testicles are very sensitive in that regard. For example, did you know that a trip to the sauna will lower your sperm count for months. Apparently, it’s because the temperature of the testis are raised by 3 degrees.
So I can believe that a warm laptop will do damage too.
I work so much better in bed full stop, but it is just not natural to be lying down all day like that! Sitting at my desk pretty much all day doesn’t feel much better either.
You’ve also got to be aware of harmful EMF radiation with laptops on your lap. I don’t know if it’s a load of rubbish, but it does sort of make sense that having your laptop so close to your body and private parts might not be too good for your health.
Hah, the second position is my favorite – I lie like that when my bottom hurts after many hours of sitting in chair. The only problem is with overheated and not stable laptop :)