Have you ever noticed that when you’re working solely on your laptop your back and neck feel fatigued and/or pained faster than when you’re sitting at your desktop? There’s a reason for that. As innovative as laptops are, they can never be ergonomically correct because of how they were designed. I understand they need to be compact, and the screen needs to cover the keyboard when closed, but the design has flaws when it comes to the human body. Therefore, when sitting down to work on a laptop, the screen can never be at or just below eye level as it should be if the keyboard situated properly on the desk. Furthermore, the touchpad that acts as the mouse on a laptop forces your arm to rotate inwards at the shoulder in order to manipulate it properly.
There are ways around this however. The cheapest way to buy a laptop stand (readily available on Amazon) so that the screen becomes higher. You can then either attach or wirelessly connect a keyboard and mouse as seen in the image below. Another, slightly pricier option is to buy a monitor and separate mouse, and use your laptop as your keyboard. Either way you are accomplishing the same posture correction. The picture on the right also cues overall good posture, which we have looked at in a previous HealthBit. Always aim to be the person on the right!
