Sitting all day long in an office chair can take a toll on your wellbeing, but with these tips, you can maintain optimal wellness even in the office… 

1. Sit 
Always start with adjusting your seat first- followed by the rest of your workstation. This is extremely important to set yourself up in the correct position.    Raise or lower the seat to ensure your thighs are parallel to the floor with your feet flat on the ground or a footrest and maintain two inches of clearance between the back of your knees and the front edge of the seat for circulation. Raise or lower armrests to your rested elbow height. Your shoulders should be relaxed during use. 

2. Typing 
Position the typing surface about one inch below your rested elbow height, allowing your shoulders to be relaxed. Keep your wrists straight while typing.  Rest your palm – not your wrists – on a palm support. 

3. Your Mouse 
Position your mouse close to the keyboard to minimize reaching. Avoid anchoring your wrist on the mousing surface. Instead, glide the heel of your palm over the mousing surface and use your entire arm to mouse 

4. View
Position the monitor such that the top line of text is at or slightly below eye level. Tilt the monitor slightly away from you so your line of sight is about perpendicular to the monitor. Try to position your monitor closer to you. An arm’s length away is usually a good rule of thumb. 

5. Move 
To avoid health issues caused by long-term sitting, frequently shift postures throughout the day. Sit/stand workstations make it simple. Moving for as little as a few minutes every hour re-engages your metabolism, blood flow and can improve mobility.  The key is the ability to move frequently, not just moving for an hour and then sitting for the rest of the day.  

6. Light 
Lower the overhead lighting in your office and use controllable task lights-Why? Monitors are best viewed in dimly lit settings because they emit light. Paper documents, however, reflect light and therefore require light in order to be viewed. Age is a factor as well.  As we get older we need more contrast to view the same documents. The implementation of so called “dual-source” lighting will also lower your energy requirements. 

7. Rest
Take two or three 30 to 60 second micro-breaks each hour to allow your body to recover from periods of repetitive stress. 

(Credit: Humanscale Middle East; middleast@humanscale.com)