DR SHELLEY’S ODE TO DIGITAL DEVICES BY SHELLEY STOCKWELL-NICHOLAS, PhD
Dr. SHELLEY’S ODE TO DIGITAL DEVICES
BY SHELLEY STOCKWELL-NICHOLAS, PhD
Praise be digital devices! Your computer, smartphone, tablet and television claim a revered status as toy, entertainment, friend and educator. Ask Siri, Elexa or Google and they’ll agree.
Miraculous as it is that you can instantly zoom up a face-to-face meeting with someone– somewhere– sitting and looking back at you, there’s a downside to over-digitizing. Hunching in a static posture over time fatigues muscles, blur vision and be royal pain in the neck. And this could actually harm to the most awesome device you own… your sweet body.
So what to do? What to do?
Welcome to the latest buzz, ergonomics; the art of designing and arranging you and your devices to most efficiently interact. Here are seven helpful hints:
1. LOOK GOOD. Keep the top of your desktop screen around eyebrow level so you gaze slightly downward. Position your desktop keyboard so your forearms are a few inches above your waist and you will be kind to your wrists.
2. COMFORT IS KEY. Get a chair that is “just right” for good posture and comfort. An external keyboard and laptop stand can help. So will a height-adjustable table or chair.
3. MOVE YOUR EYES. Blink three times, close your eyes and rotate them very slowly in one direction. Great. Now, three more blinks and rotate your eyes slowly in the other direction. Then look far off into the distance and you will relax eye muscles. This feels so good!
4. MOVE YOUR BODY. Sitting still as a mushroom does not make you a fungi (fun-guy; get it?) So, get up and move every twenty minutes. Stretch, dance, walk, go outside, pull a weed, pet the dog…ANYTHING. There are even movement apps (like Stretch Break) on your computer if you just can’t tear yourself away. Movement releases tightness.
5. BREATHE FULLY. Take three deep full breaths. Inhale as a full inspiration and then exhale for relaxation. This gets energy moving andm when you get back to your devices, you are more relaxed and focused.
6. MEET THE HUMANS YOU KNOW. Who knows you might just have human-to-human fun… You might even reach out and touch them! Wouldn’t that be a treat! So put your phone in another room or turn them off when socializing.
7. KEEP SLEEP SACRED. Electronic devices emit blue light, which can interfere with melatonin production and disrupt sleep. So take a break from your electronic devices at least an hour before bedtime.
Local Personality, Shelley Stockwell-Nicholas, PhD is a hypnotherapist, mindfulness and NLP trainer, artist and the author of 25 books. She certifies practitioners through the International Hypnosis Federation. You can call her at 310 541-4844.