BE SMARTER THAN YOUR PHONE
THERE CAN BE SERIOUS HEALTH ISSUES DUE TO OVERUSE OF GADGETS THAT HAVE INVADED OUR LIVES.
TERABYTES OF DATA have been published on serious health consequences from overuse of gadgets. Long-term exposure to smartphones may lead to mild depression, memory loss or cancer. Gazing at a PC monitor for long causes dry eyes, headache or blurred vision. And you tend to get stiff joints or muscle pain for sitting too long. Do not worry, though. There are ways to minimise these health issues. Here we go.
SMARTPHONE: Use speakerphones. If the office setting does not permit it, get headphones. Better still, use the landline. It is safe, and your calls won’t drop.
DESK/WORKSTATION: Using gadgets here over long periods may cause repetitive strain injury or RSI, as per physiotherapists. “These are pains that you experience in your fingers, wrists, neck, shoulders or the lower back after sitting in one position. We can call them computerrelated injuries,” says Dr Sunny Kichloo, lead, physiotherapy and rehabilitation, at Nightingales Home Health Care. He has some simple solutions to overcome these. First, a few preventive measures starting with ergonomics.
CHAIR: The height of your chair should be optimum. An easy way to know this: Place the chair in front of you and the base of the chair, where you sit, has to be in line with your knee.
PC: On your desk, the upper border of your laptop or desktop monitor has to be in line with your eyes. If it is low, place a book under the monitor and adjust the height.
LANDLINE: Place it close to where you sit and do not cradle the phone between your head and neck if you want to avoid neck and shoulder problems. SIT RIGHT: Being upright always helps in life. The rule also applies to your sitting posture. If the lower back needs support, put an extra padding. It could be a towel rolled between your back and the chair.
TRY DESKERCISE: You will get plenty of information online, starting from simple steps to stretching your neck, rotating your shoulders and exercising your lower back. You need to do them every two hours, for about five minutes.
20-20-20 RULE: After every 20 minutes, look 20 ft away for 20 seconds. It helps move your gaze away from the glare of the monitor and saves your eyes.
MINI BREAKS: Get up and walk after every three hours or 30 minutes depending on how you feel. Go to the water dispenser. So, keeping a water bottle near you is not a good idea.