Have you been struggling with back pain or physical challenges such as restricted movement or loss of flexibility? Well, having a home office that’s not ergonomically designed can drastically impact your overall physical health and lead to a few challenges. Of course, designing a home office isn’t easy, and you will have to consider various factors before deciding on the right furniture.
You can make the whole process easier by writing down some the most important things to make your home office more ergonomic. These will contribute to a healthier working environment. After noting the things you need for your home office, you can take a trip to different stores where you will find all the necessary items.
They may either create a long list of unnecessary items or not include the most important ones at all. If you’re among those people, there’s no need to fret. This post will highlight a few essential things for an ergonomic home office to prevent any physical strain or damage.
1. Add Elements of Relaxation and Stress-Reduction
Working from home can be very tiring, despite some of the misconceptions that people can have. So, what should you do to deal with stress? You must find a way to reduce your stress and make yourself more productive.
For some people, taking a favorite book off the office bookshelf along with a cup of refreshing tea is a way for most people to relax. Others find essential oil diffusers, interactive games, or physical activities as perfect mediums to reduce stress. You can also choose good noise-canceling headphones to take your attention off any unnecessary sounds.
2. Install Proper Lighting
One of the most crucial parts of your physical health is your eyesight. How well can you see from a particular distance? Do you always have to lean forward to make sense of words on your laptop or desktop screen?
Proper lighting plays a critical role in relaxing or damaging your eyesight. By installing proper lighting, you can avoid craning your neck several times at unnatural angles. Additionally, using proper lighting methods will also reduce strain on the eyes.
It’s best to let daylight into your home office, which is probably going to be a secluded room in your house. Use any available windows to let natural right in and relax your eyes. Taking frequent breaks from the computer screen will help reduce eye strain as well.
3. Get a Height-Adjustable Desk
Although it sounds relatively expensive, a height-adjustable desk is one of the most needed accessories to create an ergonomic home office. A height-adjustable desk lets you work comfortably and significantly reduces physical strain on your body. Getting the right ergonomic setup can be tricky, but a height-adjustable desk is an essential component to make it happen.
Your wrists and arms should be parallel to the ground, with your elbows resting on your chair’s armrests when typing. This is possible through a height-adjustable desk. You must have your wrists and arms above the keyboard and parallel to the ground. With an adjustable, you will be able to modify your workplace significantly.
You may think that raising your chair’s height can be a clever solution to your desk height problems. But, doing so will take away the support from under your feet. Many experts also claim that creating an ergonomic home office isn’t possible without a height-adjustable desk!
4. Set the Display at an Optimal Angle
To protect your eyes against strain and your neck against fatigue, you can try setting the display screen at an ergonomic angle. The screen should be slightly lower than your eye level, ideally 2-3 inches below. However, the display screen shouldn’t be either too far away or close. It must be at an arm’s length so you can observe and focus on the digital content being displayed without straining your eyes.
5. Find a Mouse with Better Grip
Using a computer or laptop in a home office often involves using your mouse extensively. Using either a standard mouse or even the touchpad on your laptop can strain your wrists and fingers, leading to muscle stress and pain. It won’t take long before the pain in your palm, fingers, and wrists starts to increase. This pain can make working very uncomfortable, which can significantly affect your productivity.
So, to solve that issue, opt for a mouse that’s smoother to maneuver and is comfortable to grip. Usually, the mouse you choose depends on the type of grip you have, such as claw grip, palm grip, or fingertip grip. But, you can go for a mouse that fits in your whole hand. The idea is to keep your shoulder and wrist in a neutral position for as long as possible. When you have to move both to use your mouse, the maneuvering must not be strenuous.
6. Search for the Perfect Chair
Lastly, we would like to divert your attention to the “most important” and essential part of creating an ergonomically-designed home office, a comfortable chair. The type of chair you choose can be a deal-breaker for many in their home office.
Currently, you can find newly researched and developed ergonomic chairs specifically made for home offices. Find a chair that supports the natural S-curve in your back. An ergonomic office chair will offer adequate support for your entire back, especially your mid and lower back. It will have those parts of your body cushioned to avoid muscle stress, fatigue, and unnatural curves in the spine. You can take regular breaks and stretch or stand for a few minutes to keep your back feeling comfortable.
You require proper lumbar support since office work can have you sitting at a fixed place for hours. In simple words, the best ergonomic office chair will offer proper lumbar support, cushioned back support, height adjustability, flexible movement, and so on.
You can keep researching for more features such as cushion-pillow add-ons and other accessories that come with chairs. While some chairs come with a thick and softback support, others feature a mesh-woven and sturdy lumbar support.
