It’s incredibly important for all of us to be safety and health conscious each day. Use your blinker when you’re driving. Drink eight glasses of water each day. Lower the volume on your headphones. Use lotion when your hands get dry.
Ask any mother or grandmother, and they are sure to give you thousands of free safety tips (and just pieces of life advice anyway) at the drop of a hat. When it comes to your computer, they may offer some pieces of advice like don’t put your face too close or you should never open up any email for fear of a virus.
But, there are plenty of other tips out there for taking care of yourself with technology. You can make sure you stay in good health while making sure your computer stands the test of time.
Cleaning Your Computer
Even though it may not seem like it, your keyboard can be dirtier than a toilet seat. Pretty gross, right?
That means you need to be cleaning off your keyboard at least once a month. You’d be surprised how much dirt, grease and grime can make their way in between as well as on top of the keys. The easiest way is to get a set of cleaning wipes to wipe everything off or a washcloth with some isopropyl alcohol.
If you have a desktop, you’ll want to be sure and clean the inside of your computer once every six months. Take some compressed air and blow off the fans and components. Don’t blow directly onto them, but at an angle. You may want to do it once more before the summer months start.
Saving Your Back
No one likes to stay sedentary, but those who have desk jobs may often find themselves at desks for up to eight hours in one day. What can you do about it?
Even though they may seem expensive, invest in a solid chair that is good for your height and back. If you can, head to an office goods store to check out what they have and make sure they are comfortable for your back.
Be sure and get up to walk around every hour as well, even if it’s just to the bathroom or down the hall to get a glass of water.
Computer Protection
Your computer isn’t invincible, no matter what kind of malware or virus protection you have. One of the easiest ways to protect your computer is by making sure your computer is up to date.
Yes, those “update ready, restart required” messages can be horribly annoying and always seem to pop up at the worst time, but they are mainly security updates that help protect you. Make sure you have your computer updated instead of putting it off.
Additionally, adding a VPN to your device is very necessary in today’s world. A VPN is a virtual private network that adds extra security, establishing your own network inside of your home network. It’s not going to protect you from everything, but it will keep your computer safe from wandering eyes.
In addition, it will help you unlock access to tons of streaming sites. Check out Troypoint’s guide for doing so. Consider it an extra bonus!
Mind the Arms and Legs
One of the worst things you can do while regularly using a computer is ignoring your arms and legs. Once again, it might be annoying but there is a proper way to sit.
Keep your knees bent and your feet firmly planted on the floor in front of you. Even if you’re sitting down, you can stretch your legs. Do some toe and heel raises to keep the blood flowing and keep your legs loose.
With your arms, make sure your computer screen is about an arm’s length away from you for optimal typing. Make sure your wrists have support and they’re not slouching.
If they get sore, don’t massage your wrists but massage down near the lower end of your forearm. That is the muscle that is often worn down via frequent computer use. Stretch your hands and wrists as well by pulling back on your fingers while having your palm extended up.
You may not become a yoga master but you can keep yourself limber and flexible even if you’re sitting down.
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