Interesting post over on Zoli’s Blog about laptops, and the ergonomics or lack there of that they create.
Who buys a desktop anymore? Laptops outsell desktops, they are almost as powerful, more flexible, are with us at home, at work, on the road, in the air, in bed, in the hot tub ( see update at the bottom), and finally they don’t look ugly at home. I haven’t had a desktop for 8 years now.
And now I am about to take a huge step back… going against a trend. Why? It’s simple: laptops are unhealthy. Well, that’s an understatement. They are crippling us. It’s really simple, says the Harvard Medical School:
“When the keyboard is in the proper position for the wrist, the screen is not in an adequate position for the neck and vice versa. Using a laptop is a trade off between poor neck/head posture and poor hand/wrist posture.”
Having two laptops and a desktop, I’d have to agree with the assessment, as I deal with ergonomics on a day to day basis, sitting behind my computers for sometimes upwards of sixteen hours. I am not one to use a docking station, or one of those ergonomic docking stations. Makes me wonder if I will be able to move my hands in ten or twenty years.
If you are going to use a laptop as your primary computer for writing, especially for long periods of time, you should invest some time in making sure you aren’t causing yourself joint problems or muscle fatigue.
I’d have to disagree that this is a cut and dry situation. Laptops put you in a bad position, but even an ergonomically designed desktop setup can ruin you just as easily. In my experience, the solution is variety. Try to avoid working in the same position day-in and day-out, and you’ll do better than setting up the perfect, ergonomically-sound desktop.
Although the editor of the original article has a point, there are various ways to diminish the damage.
The first, and most important thing, is that you need posture. If you can’t sit up straight while using a desktop, you certainly sit even worse when using a laptop.
Second, if you put your laptop a bit higher than your desktop’s keyboard, it won’t make much difference. Most people that have computers have one of those desks with a sliding platform to place the keyboard and mouse upon. Instead of setting my laptop there, I have it next to my desktop’s monitor, with a aluminum base that helps keep the laptop cooler. And although the laptop’s screen is a bit lower than the monitor, it doesn’t cripple me really, it’s all a matter of posture.
If you still continue to have a bad posture, and get muscle strains while using your laptop, then there are accessories that were made just for people like you like the Griffin Elevator.
I think there is plenty of science to back up the article, and I can say for sure that I’ve noticed a difference in the pain in my hands and wrists since I switched from a desktop to a laptop.
Something like the Griffin Elevator that Griffith suggested is probably a good idea, and something I need to invest in…
If you’re going to use a Griffin Elevator or something like it, please hook up an external keyboard/mouse. Don’t trade back/neck problems for shoulder problems. My ventuure into Thoracic Outlet Syndrome wasn’t a lot of fun.