First I’m not a medical professional, and this is Not medical advice as everyone’s body is a little bit different. However this is an important for anyone that uses these and similar devices.
- Take breaks from your computer, TV, smart phone, tablet. For your eyes and the rest of your body it is good to take breaks from all of these. If you have other things to do you not using these devices you can do that (so it doesn’t always have to be an actual work break).
- Reduce the time that you use these devices.
- Don’t retype things that are already typed. Don’t rescan items already in electronic form. This will save you work and less stress on you and your body.
- When lifting anything heavy (including electronics) get help, avoid using backpacks(for my bike I use a bike rack with a bike trunk with Quick MTX Track), and when possible avoid the heavy lifting and transporting altogether,
- Take care of your body with exercise, enough sleep and rest, and eating properly, and everything else you need to do take care of your body. Exercising or even just getting out of your home to socialize with others will help your brain more than any video game such as http://www.lumosity.com/. Your brain is a physical part of your body so it needs to be taken care of well physically as well. Studying some, then Sleeping and eating breakfast will help you better on a test than staying up studying all night
- Exercising doesn’t necessarily have to mean going to the gym (although that can help) I bike or walk to most places I go instead of driving.
- Cleaning, gardening, raking, or grocery shopping can be exercise.
- If you drive to a place, parking farther away can help you get more exercise and maybe make it easier to have a parking spot.
- Use proper electrical equipment. Avoid extension chords. Avoid eating and drinking by computers, phones, tablets. Avoid getting water on equipment. Fiberoptic to the building instead of copper wires helps avoid damage by lightning.
- Turn TVs, smart phones, tablets, computers off at night if you have trouble sleeping and if possible avoid having them in the bedroom.
- Make sure you are using proper furniture with any of these devices. Avoiding falling from chairs, and avoiding equipment coming down on you. Having furniture that will let you have good posture. Proper Ergonomics.
- Take advantage of technology that reduces pain:
- If speech recognition is easier than typing or tapping on screen for you, I recommend using it. And use accessibility settings that help you, I sometimes have my computer read selected text out loud to me.
- If you like natural light better for reading then you can use an e-reader that uses e-ink such as certain Kindles or Nooks. (I personally don’t have these since I like to minimize the devices I use)
- I use washing and drying machines for laundry and do other things while it works. (the same can apply if you have a device like a dishwasher, or automatic bread maker which I don’t have due to my small apartment)
- I use a robot vacuum to vacuum while I’m gone. I still need to keep things off the floor and clean the vacuum itself.
- Use autosave feature and automatic backup so you don’t have to redo your work. Email, written drafts, and timed posts can help.
- Do other non-computer things, while your computer is doing large processing tasks.
- Use cloud, online storage, file sharing, web mail, and other services to avoid physically transporting media.
- You may want to also consider getting professional help with assisting you with your health : like an eye doctor to see if you need glasses, a general practice physician, an ergonomics professional / Ergonomist for the safety around your desk/device/work place, and even dentist for your teeth.
Additional resources
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ergonomics/