Desk to Wellness: Ergonomics & Wellbeing

Eye doctors' 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for how long?

• 20 seconds
• 20 minutes
• 2 seconds
• 2 minutes

Answer: 20 seconds. A short look into the distance relaxes the eye muscles and eases screen strain.

You're setting up a new desk. Where should the top of your monitor sit?

• Well above your head
• At or slightly below eye level
• Level with the desk
• Down at knee level

Answer: At or slightly below eye level. That keeps your neck neutral instead of tilted up or hunched down.

Your desk is next to a big window and the screen keeps glaring. How should the monitor face the window?

• With the window right behind you
• It makes no difference
• At a right angle to the window
• Directly facing the window

Answer: At a right angle to the window. OSHA advises right angles to windows, so light neither bounces off the screen nor shines into your eyes.

Setting up a new workstation: how far should your eyes be from the screen?

• About an arm's length (50 to 100 cm)
• About 2 metres
• As close as feels sharp
• About 15 cm

Answer: About an arm's length (50 to 100 cm). OSHA's guidance is 20 to 40 inches (50 to 100 cm), roughly an arm's length.

Eight hours of typing a day. Your wrists should be…?

• Pressed on the desk edge
• Bent up towards the screen
• Straight, in line with your forearms
• Bent down below the keys

Answer: Straight, in line with your forearms. Straight wrists take the strain off the tendons and nerves that run through them.

A coder's thumb and fingers tingle at night. Carpal tunnel syndrome squeezes which nerve?

• Ulnar nerve
• Radial nerve
• Sciatic nerve
• Median nerve

Answer: Median nerve. The median nerve runs through the carpal tunnel in the wrist; pinch it and the thumb side tingles.

You're shifting archive boxes. The NIOSH lifting equation's ideal-conditions limit is about…?

• 23 kg
• 10 kg
• 40 kg
• 50 kg

Answer: 23 kg. NIOSH starts from 23 kg (51 lb), then cuts it for reach, height, twisting and how often you lift.

During long stretches of screen work, what happens to how often we blink?

• It roughly doubles
• It stays about the same
• It drops sharply, drying the eyes
• It stops for minutes at a time

Answer: It drops sharply, drying the eyes. The American Academy of Ophthalmology says we blink only about 5 to 7 times a minute at screens, well below normal. Blink on purpose and take breaks.

You need to lift a heavy box off the floor. Which technique is right?

• Bend at the waist with legs straight
• Bend your knees, keep the box close and don't twist
• Twist as you lift to save a step
• Hold it out at arm's length

Answer: Bend your knees, keep the box close and don't twist. Let your legs do the work and keep the heaviest side against your body. Turn by moving your feet, not by twisting your back.

How much sleep a night do health bodies such as the US CDC advise for adults?

• 5 or more hours
• 7 or more hours
• 10 or more hours
• 4 to 5 hours

Answer: 7 or more hours. Seven or more hours is the standard advice for adults up to 60. Regularly getting less is linked to poorer focus and health.

The WHO advises adults to get at least how many minutes of moderate activity, such as brisk walking, every week?

• 60
• 90
• 120
• 150

Answer: 150. That works out to about 30 minutes on five days. Even short walks between meetings count towards it.

Adjusting your office chair, how high should the seat be?

• High enough that your feet dangle
• So your whole foot rests flat on the floor or a footrest
• As low as it will go
• So your knees sit well above your hips

Answer: So your whole foot rests flat on the floor or a footrest. OSHA's guidance is that the entire sole of the foot rests on the floor, with the back of the knee slightly higher than the seat.

Where should your keyboard sit compared with your elbows?

• Well above elbow height
• On your lap
• At chest height
• About elbow height, forearms roughly level

Answer: About elbow height, forearms roughly level. Relaxed shoulders, elbows close to your sides and forearms about parallel to the floor keep strain off your neck and wrists.

Where should your mouse sit on the desk?

• Close to the keyboard, wrist straight
• At the far edge of the desk
• On a raised stand above the keyboard
• Wherever there is space

Answer: Close to the keyboard, wrist straight. Reaching sideways or forwards for the mouse all day loads the shoulder. Keep it close and at the same height as the keyboard.

You work on a laptop all day at your desk. What is the best ergonomic fix?

• Hunch closer to the screen
• Work from the sofa instead
• Tilt the screen right back
• Raise the laptop and add a separate keyboard and mouse

Answer: Raise the laptop and add a separate keyboard and mouse. A laptop's screen and keyboard are joined, so one is always in the wrong place. A stand plus external keyboard and mouse fixes both.