Do you spend all day hunched over your laptop? Do you experience neck and shoulder pain once the sun starts to leave us? Maybe you spend most of your days in a coffee shop or shared workspace. Or perhaps your laptop is your only home computer, and you usually use it on the couch, in bed, and at the kitchen table, depending on where the day takes you.
Due to the portability factor, laptops have become increasingly popular as they do not require an external monitor or external keyboard. Not to mention, you can even ditch that mouse pad of yours. While laptops are lightweight, affordable, and convenient, they can take a toll on your long-term health and comfort. Luckily, there are more and more portable laptop stands becoming available that are built with an ergonomic design to combat the long-lasting effects of hunching over your laptop. Understanding what are laptop stands used for and how to ergonomically use a laptop to improve your well being will only benefit you from here on out!
This guide is designed to explain what a portable ergonomic laptop stand is, and why you might want to start bringing one with you everywhere. With its easily foldable legs and adjustable viewing angle, this type of laptop table stand will allow you and the computer screen to meet at your natural eye level.
Ergonomic Devices
So what’s an ergonomic laptop stand—or an ergonomic object, period? Ergonomics is the process of designing the modern workplace and home around people’s physiological needs. For too long, workers have spent their days sitting in uncomfortable office chairs hunched over their keyboards, and now, more and more people use laptops in their homes for everything from playing video games to Skyping with family to streaming content. At this stage in technology adoption, everyone can benefit from an ergonomic workstation.
While laptops may seem easy and convenient, the long-term effects that surface from hunching inches over them can be quite negative. A flat-screen monitor can provide more support as the laptop screen meets at eye level. However, the lack of portability often deters people who work remotely, as opposed to in a traditional workspace.
The Long-Term Effects of Poor Posture
Think about all the hours you spend looking down at your laptop screen while emailing, gaming, or watching TV: your neck is in a downturned position, and your shoulders are likely hunched, too. Over time, this can lead to neck pain and back pain. Eventually, you may develop arthritis, headaches, and carpal tunnel as you sit in these far from ideal positions.
Without intervention, these can become painful chronic conditions.
Ergonomic design solutions seek to minimize the damage done by your day-to-day activities. They help you find the optimal alignment for your body as you complete your tasks, allowing for more comfort when you’re working and greater freedom of movement when you pack up for the day.
The Optimal Position for Computing
A height-adjustable, ergonomic laptop stand for desk settings seeks to correct the hunched-over posture that’s common when using a portable, travel laptop. To reduce the adverse long-term effects of laptop use, your screen should be:
- An arm’s length away - not inches away.
- Seated with the top of the screen level to your line of vision
- Placed with the brightest light source off to the side
Are you sitting with your laptop right now? How closely do these tips match your current posture? If you are reading this, we can guess that your current setup is most likely far from what could be an ergonomic workstation.
That’s right: even if you’re using your laptop at your desk, it’s unlikely that it’s in an optimal position. Is your laptop sitting on an elevated surface? And by elevated surface, we mean on a portable laptop riser with height adjustable legs? It might seem impossible to place your laptop in the correct position, but with an ergonomic laptop desk stand, you can more easily use your laptop for all your daily computer tasks without straining your neck, back, wrists, or eyes.
Ergonomic Laptop Stands
You can now purchase a durable and portable laptop stand aimed at reducing the ill effects of computing. Whether you most frequently use your computer on your laptop desk or at home in bed, there’s a laptop riser stand solution that’s right for you.
Creating the Perfect Desk Environment
It’s easy to use an ergonomic portable laptop stand to set up a comfortable, healthy desk environment. An adjustable laptop stand helps you position your screen where it should be: level with your line of vision. You can adjust the viewing angle to reduce screen glare and bring the whole stand an arm's length away.
Once you’ve placed your computer on a durable laptop riser stand at its ideal adjustable height, you may find that the keyboard is no longer in a comfortable position for long-term use. If you usually use your laptop at your desk, you may want to invest in a wireless keyboard and mouse to use alongside your laptop.
Portable Travel Laptop Stands
Most people use their laptops in more than one place: from watching movies in bed, to bringing an online recipe into the kitchen, to emailing on the couch, you want your laptop to go where you go.
Luckily, there are a laptop stands that provide the sturdy support you most require.
Portable ergonomic laptop stands are lightweight, easy-to-pack, and can adapt to a variety of environments. As you look to find the portable stand that’s right for you, consider: where do you most often use your laptop? If it’s usually in bed, you might want a tray table. If you use it on your standing desk, a seated desk, and on other flat surfaces, you might want to make sure to purchase an adjustable laptop stand so that your device is always at the right level and height.
When you change your laptop habits, you change your overall health. However you most often use your laptop, there’s a portable ergonomic laptop stand that’s right for you.
Mount-It! Has Your Back
At Mount-It! you can find a wide array of sturdy, yet portable laptop stands to avoid the pain and tension that often comes with laptop use. The team at Mount-It understands the long-term effects of poor work habits, and has designed a variety of portable, adjustable stands to add greater ease and comfort to your day.
Sources:
National Health Service (UK). Posture Tips for Laptop Users. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/posture-tips-for-laptop-users/
Spine Health. Best Laptop Setups. https://www.spine-health.com/blog/best-laptop-setups
Thought Co. How to Ergonomically Set Up Your Laptop as a Desktop. https://www.thoughtco.com/set-up-laptop-as-a-desktop-1206662
