Secrets of Laptop Ergonomics

If you're a regular business traveler, college student, or Starbuck's "office worker", you are at risk of developing back problems and carpal tunnel from misusing your laptop. Why? Idealog's Jeff Reifman explains:

The design of laptops is generally bad ergonomically. The more time you spend using one, the more likely you'll start to have problems. In your lap, the screen is usually too low for your neck (causing neck strain). On a table, the screen is often still too low and the keyboard too high (causing carpal tunnel problems).

So how do you become more ergonomically sound? He suggests to:

1) Get your eyes checked.
2) Sit with your weight on your sit bones with some weight on your feet.
3) Get a portable laptop riser or use a book to raise the height of your display.
4) Use a portable trackball at lap level, consider switching hands for mousing
5) Consider using a portable keyboard at lap level.

Tags: ergonomics, laptop, digitalalchemy, moderndayalchemist