Health risks of using a laptop! Why you need to protect yourself
Are you stuck in the time and still using a desktop computer? Do you still sit at a pre-defined corner of the house / office when using your desktop home or office computer? Do you prefer to work at defined work-station instead of scurrying around your house, office or the local cafe? If yes - I must say, you're one of the rare few individual who's reaping the benefits of today's technological marvel while keeping the potentially negative side affects away!
If you are wondering with a raised eyebrow as to why am I praising you instead of labeling as someone who's not kept up with time? Well, consider this fact - today almost 200 million people across the globe use a laptop computer as against the traditional desktop. By 2015, this figure is expected to cross the 250 million mark. Assuming each laptop is used by a single individual, it would be safe to say that almost 200 million people across the globe today, run the risk of negative health impacts because of improper laptop use.
Professor Alan Hedge, from Cornell University has undertaken extensive research on Laptop ergonomics and he is of the opinion that the design and construction of laptops violates a basic ergonomic requirement for computer usage, namely that the keyboard and screen can be positioned independently for appropriate viewing and typing. While this flexibility is one of the fundamental reasons why laptops have become so pervasive, it is also one of the biggest design drawbacks. Depending on when and how you're using the laptop, one can tilt the laptop screen at various viewing angles and if the keyboard is not adjusted accordingly, people often retort to improper posture while using the laptop for long hours which increases risk of muscular-skeletal disorders, headaches, fatigue and similar complaints.
A few years back (say the 1990's, early 2000's), health disorders due to improper use of laptop went highly unnoticed as few people could afford buying a laptop. With the explosion of internet and phenomenal growth of mobile computing, laptop prices have crashed across the globe and more and more people have started replacing their home desktop computers with laptops. With increased usage, comes increase susceptibility to health risks. Today, a whole bunch of health disorders are repeatedly associated with improper laptop usage. Some key ones are:
Hand / Wrist pain (Carpal Tunnel Syndrome): common factors which cause this are typing for prolonged period without rest, forceful and repetitive movements with your hands moving the mouse, faulty positioning of the keyboard at an increased tilt, causing excessive bending of the wrist.Neck Pain or Strained Neck (Trapezius Myalgia, "Tech neck"): common factors which cause this condition are, sitting unsupported and leaning forward or slouching on the desk for prolonged periods. Monitor height not in line with seated eye level and/or too far to the side. Insufficient back support from the chair or typing with elbows and forearms unsupported can create neck muscle fatigue. Repetitive head tilting while referring to documents etc.
Shoulder Pain (Cervical disc syndrome, spinal stenosis): In layman's terms this means injury to the vertebrae or disks in the neck causing pressure on the nerve roots existing close to the spine. Sitting unsupported, improper posture while using a laptop, improper posture while reading / eating in bed, slouching etc can be factors which can cause this condition
Male Infertility: Yefim Sheynkin, MD, FACS of the urology department at the State University of New York at Stony Brook conducted extensive research which has proven a direct link between improper laptop usage and male infertility. His experiment demonstrated an increase of between 3-4 degrees of scrotal temperature for an average male, when using a laptop for about an hour while keeping it on the lap and keeping the thighs clasped together. Elevated scrotal temperatures results in lower sperm count; thus leading to rising risk of infertility.
Did I end up scaring you? While that was not my intention, I will not be surprised if you were alarmed. It's a known fact that improper usage of laptops can lead to harmful side effects.
Occupational Health & Safety consultants across the world, especially in Australia are acutely aware of this growing trend. Experienced consultants are more often than not retained by medium to large corporate houses in Australia. Concerns about employee's occupational health, even in industries where traditionally the health concerns have been minimal have ensured that injuries and negative health effects have been kept at a minimum.
While OH&S consultants ensure that health risks due to improper laptop usage is minimized in large corporate houses with hundreds and thousands of employees, the small to medium business owners & individuals need not be worried. Over the last few years, a number of niche web portals have emerged who provide excellent knowledge, service and associated products directly over the web, thus bridging this gap.
My intention is not to provide an exhaustive list of products which will try and avoid the above mentioned syndromes, or conditions. You can always type in keywords like Ergonomic Table or Ergonomic Stands in popular search engines and get immediate access to fantastic products which can be bought. My intention was purely to inform you that you need to be careful and there are solutions out there.
In summary, I would like to re-stress that one should give due consideration to a new everyday chore of "using the computer" in our life, a bit more seriously than before. I'm not recommending that you dump laptops or iPads, but please be aware of the health risks. Use the latest computer accessories available, be it a laptop stand, laptop table, or notebook stand or whatever gadget you fancy, but make sure you're safe at all times.
Happy surfing.
Julie Norman is an avid researcher of ergonomic laptop products on the web. Additional health benefits of using an ergonomic notebook Stand can be found at the following link:
http://www.laptopstand.com.au/products/Notebook-Stand-%7C-USB-Laptop-Stand-%7C-Notebook-Holder-%7C-Notebook-Cooler-%7C-Desk-Laptop-Stand-%7C.html
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