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It's one of the many contradictions of nursing work. It hurts your health to be on your feet all the time. But if you sit down to work at the computer, that comes with its own set of harmful side effects. Just about every nurse uses a computer for duties like inputting records or accessing clinical data. And so many choice nursing jobs, like informatics nurses, involve lots of digital duties or handheld technology.
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But all these digital duties can wreak havoc on a nurse's health, from the harmful effects of working while seated to the negatives of blue light, eye strain and bad posture. And if you work long shifts or odd hours, you may rely on additional screen time for entertainment and distraction when you get home, which can compound the problems. Yeesh. The good news is, the same way you can protect your feet at work, you can take steps to minimize the damage of working on computers.
Here's how to minimize the pain and chronic conditions when you work on computers as a nurse:
Get up, stand up.
Though not officially recognized by the medical community, the decreased metabolism, blood flow, energy and even increased mortality rates involved in "sitting disease" are a thing. The more you sit while working at a computer, the worse your health, according to a recent study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology. Along with getting up to stretch and taking quick breaks to walk the steps or find a drink of water, "workers should make sure they have a chair that allows them to move in a range of healthy seated postures," Ken Tameling, general manager of global seating and surface materials for Steelcase told the Chicago Tribune.
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Use the proper position.
To avoid the stiff neck and eye strain associated with computer work, place your computer at eye level when you work. According to Tameling, it's also best to put the screen 18 to 30 inches from your body. "Your head should remain over your neck, versus hunched forward," he told the CT. If your work computer isn't right for your height and you can't exchange it, see if you can't at least score a monitor stand that will retrofit it for your dimensions.
Take steps to limit extra computer time at home.
As much welcome relaxation as technology provides when you get home, it also messes with your most critical coping tool: a good night's sleep. "Regular use of electronic devices negatively impacts how much sleep you get at night, how restorative that sleep is, and how well you function the next day," according to Tuck.
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Part of the issue is blue light, which the brain perceives as sunlight, so it signals the body to delay producing the melatonin that triggers your body to fall asleep and stay asleep. In addition, "electronic devices introduce a wonderful cacophony of beeps, chimes, and sounds into your environment," Tuck adds. "From texts to calls to Facebook notifications, almost everyone can recall a time when a noise from their phone jolted them awake. Considering one-fifth of Americans go to sleep with their phone ringers on, it's no surprise that 10 percent also report waking in the middle of the night a few times per week as well."
Here's how to break the technology no-sleep cycle:
Set limits.
Choose only the entertainment or communication electronics that you really enjoy. If you're in the habit of mindlessly scanning shopping sites while you watch your favorite programs on television, for example, turn off one of the screens. Also, consider setting some automatic shutoffs so you're not absorbing blue light or hearing harmful sound effects when you're not even paying attention to the screen!
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Time your viewing.
Tuck advises having all electronics shut off 60 minutes before bed.
Use a light filter.
Before switching on a handheld or the television, filter out the blue light with that device's native red-light filter. You can also download an app to filter it for you.
Limit your use of eReaders in the evening.
A 2015 study published in PNAS journal found that evening use of light-emitting eReaders has a bad effect on sleep and how alert you are in the morning. Part of this is because a smartphone or tablet is much closer to your eyes than a television or computer. Paper books are a better alternative since the study found they'll send you to sleep 10 minutes faster and give you more time with REM sleep.
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Cut back on binge-watching.
This will help minimize the effects of blue light and also the added negatives caused by the shows themselves. A 2017 study from the University of Leuven in Belgium indicated binge-watching increased daytime fatigue and insomnia, in part due to unsettling cliffhangers that make your body more alert just as it should be winding down. To break, or at least limit, the habit, consider setting a limit on episodes, downloading only the ones you've allotted for that day, and only watching shows that don't have a super-suspenseful plot in the hours before you'll be trying to get to sleep.
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