7 Ways You Can Improve Your Typing Posture

Most people spend a good chunk of their day typing away on a keyboard, whether for work, school, or personal use. But how often do you stop to think about your typing posture? If you don't have a proper typing posture, it can lead to long-term problems such as carpal tunnel syndrome and back problems.

In this article, we'll go over 7 ways you can improve your typing posture and keep your hands and wrists healthy in the long run.

7 Ways You Can Improve Your Typing Posture

◾ Check your chair and desk height. 

◾ Check your screen position.

◾ Be cautious of your body posture.

◾ Be mindful of your arm position.

◾ Be attentive to your wrist position.

◾ Take breaks and do some stretching.

◾ Try an alternative keyboard layout. 

Check Your Chair And Desk Height

It is ideal for keeping your feet on the ground when typing. Resist taking the Indian sit position or tucking one leg for better blood flow in your lower extremities. 

The goal is to keep your knees and legs at a 90- degree angle. Avoid crossing your leg over the other or crossing your ankles, as you will experience prickling and numbness and can hurt your joints if you stay in those positions for a long time.  

Adjust your chair height according to your body length and ensure your feet are flat on the ground; use a footrest if you need to. Consequently, you also have to adjust the height of your desk. 

A graphic illustration showing a man working on a desk with his feet on a footrest.

Check Your Screen Position

Your screen position will determine your neck position as well. The ideal screen position is to keep it on eye level. An eye-level screen position will also prevent you from having eye strain. Webmd recommends that the ideal space between you and the screen is about 25 inches. However, you can avoid eye strain better if you rest your eyes by looking away from your screen every 20 minutes for 20 seconds. You can also use a monitor riser or a laptop stand to improve the height of your screen. 

Proper distance and height of the screen

Be Cautious Of Your Body Posture

It would be good if you could keep a straight-back posture for the whole duration of your work. Your chair should support your back enough, and get an ergonomic lumbar pillow for better support if necessary. Try wearing a back support vest to avoid slouching. Remember that your knees should be almost the same height as your hips when sitting.

A person wearing a back support vest for posture correction

Learn touch-typing to avoid the hunt and peck method that will force you to hunch over. This is also a common problem when texting on your phones, thus the term "text neck." According to National Health Service (NHS) UK, a "text neck" signifies that a person has a tight chest and weak upper back. 

Slouching is also a posture that many tend to be comfortable with but can hurt your spine, cause nerve irritation, and worsen joint pain, according to Tri-State Clinic. Your spine function is affected by excessive strain when you slouch, and the pressure on the muscles, ligaments, and tendons can misalign your spine. 

Be Mindful Of Your Arm Position

It would be advantageous for your chair to have an adjustable armrest. The elbow of your angle should be between 90 to 100 degrees; you will strain your arms if you stretch out your elbows to reach your mouse or keyboard. 

Your elbows can get injured if you keep the wrong angle. According to Northwell Health Orthopedic Insitute, a computer or mouse elbow is similar to a tennis elbow; it is a Repetitive Strain Injury that affects the muscles and tendons and is mostly painful. 

A man with a painful elbow (tennis elbow)

Getting an external keyboard to adjust your reach to lessen stress on your elbows is advisable. Relax your shoulders when typing. If you are stressed, the tendency is for you to contact your muscles. In line with this, do breathing and stretching exercises to relieve stress.

Be Attentive To Your Wrist Position

Your wrist is the most at risk for RSI when typing. Avoid resting your wrists on the table when typing or using the mouse. This angle will put pressure on your carpal tunnel. The carpal tunnel is a narrow passage in the palm of your hand with muscles and tendons surrounding it. The repetitive strain could cause inflammation of the median nerve of your wrist, and this causes pain, tingling, and numbing. We wrote about it here.

Many suggest using a wrist pad to maintain the level of your keyboard with your hands but avoid keeping it rested on the pad while typing. Use the wrist pad only when resting; the same principle follows with the armrest. Your hands should hover over the keyboard when you are typing. Use an ergonomic mouse that will keep your wrist in a neutral position. 

An ergonomic mouse

Take Breaks And Do Some Stretching

We could not emphasize enough the importance of taking breaks and stretching. We understand that it is hard to lose that momentum when you are working, and it is easy to lose track of time when you are focused on finishing a task. However, your body will signal that you need to take a rest and do some stretching; listen to that signal before it forces you to stop. 

Woman on the left stretching her hand/ wrist, woman on the right doing a back stretch on a wall

A school of thought about a sedentary lifestyle is that "sitting is the new smoking" has caught the attention of many office workers. Sitting for long hours will harm your back and affect your blood pressure and bowel movement, and you will be at risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. According to Mayo Clinic, people who sit more than eight hours a day and have no physical activity have the same risk of dying as obese and people who smoke. Sitting for too long can also affect your cognitive function because of poor blood circulation to the brain. Inactivity also contributes to poor mental health, as happy hormones called endorphins are released when exercising. 

One way to address health problems from sitting too long is to stand while working. There are now standing desks in the market you can choose from, ranging from mechanically operated ones or digital ones. Using standing desks minimizes the risk of misalignment of your spine, as discussed earlier. It might not help you lose weight, but it can help maintain normal blood sugar after meals. You can find out more about the study here. 

A man working on a standing desk

Stretching can also help you improve your proper typing posture and increase your flexibility. Specific stretches can address your posture problems, such as child pose, forward fold, chest opener, and other stretching exercises. Set your alarm clock for stretching so you will not forget about it.

Try An Alternative Keyboard Layout

Keyboard layout affects your typing speed and accuracy and can also affect the pressure you put on your wrist/ hands. Transitioning from one keyboard layout to another can be difficult. However, our default QWERTY keyboard might not be as ergonomic as other keyboard layouts. 

A Colemak keyboard Photo source: colemak.com

In a study by Carplax, results show that the QWERTY layout was not as ergonomic as the Claymak layout. To learn more about this and the different layouts, check out our article on the different keyboard layouts you might want to try. 

Conclusion

Following the tips in this article can help improve your typing posture and reduce the risk of developing pain or injuries. Remember to keep your wrists in a neutral position, adjust monitor height to eye level, sit straight on a well-supported chair, keep your feet on the ground, take breaks and do some stretching exercises to improve blood circulation. 

We hope that these tips help you gain a proper typing posture. If you have questions, feel free to connect with us.