As we continue to work without interruptions at the computer, we often get tired and drained. Increase your vitality when you move and Get Energized.

How to Get Energized

Stand up, bend your knees slightly, and let your arms hang along your trunk. Gently bounce your body up and down by bending and straightening your knees. Allow the whole body to shake and move for about one minute like a raggedy Ann doll. Then while exhaling bend your knees and reach downward with your hands to touch your toes. As you inhale, straighten up, bring your hands and arms upward to chest level, and clap both hands twice together. Continue bringing your hands and arms upward to the ceiling as you explosively exhale. Repeat the cycle of movement (reaching toward your toes and upward to the ceiling) three times. Sit down and observe your increase in awareness and energy.

Remember to take many movement breaks during the day.

The Institute for Holistic Healing Studies and Human Resources sponsor the distribution of Healthy Computing Email Tips.

Copyright 2008 Erik Peper, Ph.D. and Katherine Hughes Gibney.

We all know the importance of vision. Yet, many of us sit staring at a computer monitor most of the day, then go home and watch television or play computer games. Extended viewing of a monitor can lead to eye discomfort. Dry eyes, redness and itchiness can interfere with concentration and even interrupt sleep, both of which have a negative impact on productivity. So, without further ado, take a moment to pamper and Circle Your Eyes.

How to Circle Your Eyes

Turn your chair away from the monitor, preferably so that you can sit facing a distant view. Sit fully in your chair and lean back. Breathe diaphragmatically one or two breaths and allow the tension to flow out of your body with each exhalation. This exercise is best done with eyes closed.

Now, gently touch with the tips of your index fingers to the inside edges of your eyebrows. Let the pressure of your touch feel similar to the weight of a quarter resting on your arm. Begin to make a circular motion with your fingertips, remaining in that one spot. Circle each finger outward – the right circling clockwise, the left counter-clockwise. Maintain contact with your skin, and continue to breathe diaphragmatically. Make sure that you do not lift your shoulders. Continue circling for 5 to 10 seconds.

Slide your fingers along the edge of the bone that encircles your eyes maintaining contact with your eyebrows or skin and stop at the following points. At each point, make small circles for 5 to 10 seconds, always circling outward:

• The center points above your eyes
• The end of your eyebrows
• The outside corners of your eyes
• The center points below your eyes (you should feel a little notch in the bone)
• The point where the bone begins to curve up

Let your hands drop to your lap, inhale, and then as you are exhaling slowly open your eyes and look a distant object or view.

In addition, limit the time spent watching TV or playing computer games.

Give your eyes a break and go for walks in the fresh air where your eyes can feast upon luscious green plants.

The Institute for Holistic Healing Studies and Human Resources sponsor the distribution of Healthy Computing Email Tips.

Copyright 2008 Erik Peper, Ph.D. and Katherine Hughes Gibney.

While using your laptop at home or at work, are you looking down to see the screen or do you lift your hands and arms in order to type? Are you tired from struggling to adapt to the laptop ergonomics? Stop laptopitis and increase your comfort when you Give your laptop a raise.

How to Give Your Laptop a Raise
Optimize laptop ergonomic factors by observing how you are adapting to your laptop. Is your laptop sitting on a desk or table that is too high so that you are forced to lift your arms and hands in order to type? Or, is the keyboard at the correct height, but you are forced to look down to see the screen?

To minimize laptopitis, use an external keyboard and mouse placed at the appropriate height so that when typing your upper arms hang at your sides, your elbows bend at about 90 degrees with your lower arms and wrists parallel to the floor. Raise the laptop with a support so that the top of the screen is at eyebrow level.

While working, remember to interrupt the static low muscle tension by taking many large movement breaks.

Copyright 2002 Erik Peper, Ph.D. and Katherine Hughes Gibney

The recent concern that laser printers may produce pollutants that can lodge deeply in our lungs reminds us that the air in our work and home environments is potentially harmful. Materials and equipment in office buildings and homes usually contain micro dust particles and a chemical brew of volatile organic compounds (e.g., formaldehyde, benzene and tricholorethylene) that are outgassed from paper, inks, furniture, carpet, paints, wall coverings, cleaning materials, and floor tiles. These gasses stay in the rooms where there is limited air circulation due to sealed buildings or closed windows. Copiers and laser printers add to, and activate, this mix by producing microscopic dust particles and sometimes ozone. Indoor air pollution is often greater than outdoor. Reduce pollution and enhance your health when you Clean the Air.

How to Clean the Air

After renovation or installation of furniture or carpets, be sure to allow for air circulation by opening windows and doors. Explore some of the following strategies to clean the air:

• Ventilate your work area (open a window or door, if possible).
• Move copier/laser printers to a well-ventilated space and/or place
  an exhaust fan near the printer.
• Turn off copier or laser printers when not in use (purchase new
  equipment that is energy efficient and shuts down when not in use).
• Install an air purifier/filter.

Place plants in your office and home to help clear the indoor smog and remove the volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The following plants all mop-up VOCs and some gobble up specific chemicals in this brew.*

• Azaleas, rubber plants, tulips, poinsettia, philodendron and bamboo
  palms(formaldehyde)
• Areca palm (toluene)
• Lady palm (ammonia)
• Peace lily and chrysanthemum (acetone, methanol, trichlorethylene,benzene, ethylacetate)

If you work in a sealed environment, take a walk at lunch or ask coworkers to have a walking meeting so that you can get out in the fresh air.

*Read: How To Grow Fresh Air by Bill Wolverton, Penguin, 1997.

Most people hold their breath when they reach forward to pick up the phone or retrieve a document from a shelf. Breath holding tends to stiffen the trunk, tighten the shoulders reduces flexibility and increases the risk of injury. To increase flexibility, Breathe as You Reach.

How to Breathe as You Reach

Begin observing your breath patterns during movement and reaching. Begin exhaling and while continuing to exhale reach for the object such as the phone or document. To remind yourself to breathe during movement, whisper “Haaaaaah” very softly as you exhale-allow the exhalation time to be nearly twice as long as the inhalation time.

Practice many times until it is automatic. After integrating breathing with reaching, most people report feeling more flexible and comfortable.

Being captured by the screen, working quickly and moving the cursor accurately tends to increase muscle tension. Without episodic relaxation and movement breaks, this can lead to chronic neck, shoulder and arm discomfort. Interrupt your low-level muscle tension when you Wiggle and Reach.

How to Wiggle and Reach:

Take every opportunity to interrupt your work (e.g., clicking on a new website, ending an email, finishing entering data) and wiggle and move. At least every half hour, wiggle or get up from the chair and move. Just wiggle and shake. The more you wiggle during the day the more tension is released.

In addition, do some stretching or active movement every hour when sitting. Explore the following while sitting:

Let both arms hang at your sides. Exhale as you reach across your lap with your right hand and stroke from your left thigh down your left calf to your ankle. As you stroke down, lift your left knee up 6 inches and rotate your head to the right. Inhale as you lower your knee, return your head to center, and pull your right hand up your left leg and across your lap until it rests hanging at your side. Now, do this with your left hand and right leg. Remember to exhale as you stroke down to your ankle while turning your head to the left, and to inhale as you return to neutral. Repeat 5 times, alternating from side to side. Relax completely for 1 breath before resuming the movement.

Take every opportunity to stretch and move.

Does sitting in your chair make you tired? Do you wish you had a better ergonomically designed chair? Even though we think that that appropriate ergonomics will solve the problems, in reality any position-even perfectly ergonomically designed-will lead to discomfort if maintained long enough. Just imagine lying in bed for weeks. After a little while the muscles atrophy. Health is the alternation between rest/support and movement. Enhance your energy and health when you Take a Walk.

How to take a walk:

When you walk – especially when you swing your arms and vigorously push off with the balls of the feet -you invigorate you body. The alternating movement of legs and arms allows the back to dynamically move and muscles to tighten and relax with every step, squeezing the lymph fluids and venous blood out of the muscle tissue (tightening muscles) and allows blood to bring rejuvenation (relaxing muscles) creating a healthy circulatory pattern.

Take every opportunity to take a walk:

• Park farther away from work so you can have a 10 or 15 minute walk to your office.
• Take a 10 minute constitutional walk with your co-workers during breaks and after lunch.
• Walk up the stairs and around the building when meeting a co-worker.
• Get a breath of fresh air as you walk outside and take a five minute break from the computer.

After walking ask yourself:

• How is my energy level?
• How is my mood?

Universally, you will experience an increase in energy level and positive mood after walking.

This is another in our ongoing reminders to perform large movement exercises when working at the computer. You know the reason why you’re a dynamic creature so smile and feel alive when you do an Upper Body Stretch.

How to Do an Upper Body Stretch

This is done best in flat shoes or in stocking feet, standing with your feet shoulder width apart.

Stand up and push away from your chair. Breathe diaphragmatically for one or two breaths, allowing relaxation to flow through your body with each exhalation. Reach for the ceiling with your right arm, keeping your left relaxed at your side, and gently bend to your left, while maintaining a straight arm. While breathing, hold the stretch for 30 seconds. Relax and then alternate, reaching with your left and bending to your right. Keep your hips stable while performing this stretch. Repeat 3-5 times on each side.

Do this or another large movement breaks every 20 to 30 minutes.

Staring intensely at the monitor may result in blurred vision, dry burning eyes, or difficulty in focusing. Reverse this computer-vision syndrome and enjoy comfortable vision when you Blink and Breathe.

How to Blink and Breathe:

• Master relaxing blinks: Take a microbreak and gently lower your upper eyelids so that your eyes close. As your eyelids close, sense your eyes rolling upward and simultaneously exhale. At the same time loosen your jaw so that your upper and lower teeth are not touching. Repeat every few minutes.
• Integrate blinks into your work: Blink at the end of every line, after entering a column of numbers, and  with every mouse movement during typing and data entry. Repeat every fifteen seconds.
• Practice relaxing your vision: Look away from the screen to a distant object or place (e.g., look out the window or across the room). As you look into the distance, allow your jaw and upper eyelids to drop. Let your eyes close as you exhale. Feel your eyes sinking into their sockets. Exhale with a slight smile for one or two breaths and then re-open them. Repeat every 30 minutes.

Are you putting your nose to the screen to read the tiny icons, symbols
and text? In many cases the icons and text are smaller and more difficult
to read when the monitor or flat screen has been upgraded with a screen
that has higher resolution. Reduce squinting and and bending your neck to
get closer to the screen when you MAKE IT READABLE.

HOW TO MAKE IT READABLE:*
Readability depends upon your capacity to focus your eyes to see the
screen and the actual size of the visual object. For many people older
than 40, special computer glasses may significantly improve vision and
reduce neck strain. Reading and focusing is easier when the icons and text
are larger. Following are instructions for PC users.

Increase the size of the text and icons by changing screen resolution:

• Adjust the screen resolution so that the items and text are large enough
  for comfortable viewing. In most cases, the monitor resolution can be
  reduced through the software (e.g. from 1280 x 1024 to 1024 x 800). To
  do this, left click on Start button, left click on Control Panel,
  double left click the icon labeled Display (for XP you will need to
  click on Appearances and Themes, then on Display), left click on the
  tab labeled Settings, left click and drag the tab underneath Screen
  resolution to the left–the numbers of resolution change as you move
  the tab, left click on Apply.

Optimize screen for vision:

• Adjust the height of the monitor so that the top is at eyebrow level.
• Adjust the monitor so that it is about an arms length away from the eyes
  (about 23-28 inches). If it is too close, it may be possible to pull
  your desk away from the wall so that the monitor can be pushed
  backwards.

• Prevent reflection and glare by blocking bright light sources, or by
  moving the monitor location so that it is at right angle to or blocking
  the light source.

• Reduce light contrast: namely, if it is dark in the room, turn on
  lights; if it is too bright, close a curtain or turn off lights.

Reduce eyestrain:

• Blink frequently.
• Rest your eyes by looking away from the monitor at the far distance.
• If possible, close your eyes and allow your face and jaw to relax when
  speaking on the phone.

*We thank Ray Grott for these helpful suggestions.

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