Whether you're back in the office or continuing to work from home getting your screen height right can make all the difference to your comfort and your posture.
Wherever your eyes look your body will follow! I remember a yoga teacher saying this during class whilst I was desperately trying to get into a posture that my body would not allow! But she was right and I see people following their eyes, sitting in a head forward posture everyday, at home and in offices around the world.Â
One of the most common issues I see is people leaning forwards at their workstation to look at the screen or hunched over their laptop, especially as the day goes on. This puts a huge amount of pressure on your back by moving your spine out of it’s natural alignment which can result in injury. No matter how good your chair is, if your screen is positioned too low or too far away from you it encourages you to lean forwards.
The majority of people use a laptop as their primary computer, this has only increased during the pandemic as everyone works from home. But a laptop doesn’t allow for the screen to be repositioned, forcing you to look down and causing neck pain, shoulder tension and lower back pain. Remember your head weighs approximately 4.5kg! Luckily, the solution is simple, use a laptop riser to bring your screen up to eye level. You will need a separate mouse and keyboard but these can be purchased to meet your requirements, I can help you with this.
There are many products out there but a solution I have been using recently is the NEXSTAND K2, a lightweight and portable laptop stand which allows you to easily position your laptop at the correct height. It has 8 different height settings, ranging from 15 to 30cm, to give maximum flexibility. When folded it’s just 35.5cm by 3.8cm by 3.8cm and weighs 234g so it’s perfect to drop into your bag and take with you.Â
This is a fantastic low cost solution and we can offer a discount to our readers. If you would like to order a NEXSTAND, click this link NEXSTAND and use the code ERGO10 at the checkout for a 10% discount.
Get your screen height right
To ensure your screen is at the correct height you need to position your screen so that the top proportion is at eye level, approximately where the address bar is on your internet browser. Depending on the size of your laptop screen and your eyesight, the laptop should be positioned about arms length away from you but have a play around with this to find where’s comfortable for you. This will help to improve your posture, reduce neck pain and enable you to get on with you work, as well as making you look better on Zoom because you will no longer be looking down at the screen!
If you’ve spent the past few months feeling discomfort whilst working from home or your company is moving to an agile way of working and you’re not sure what products can help to support you then please get in touch with The Modern Ergonomist lillian@themodernergonomist.com or use the contact us form below. We can provide workstation assessments for individuals or company wide, either in person or remotely via a short form and video call follow up. In addition to this we also run training to help your organisation with the transition to agile working.
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