School can take a toll on your body, and with a new semester quickly approaching, you need to be prepared. Most college kids don’t realize the big difference studying and sleeping in comfort can make. Often times, school mattresses and desk chairs are hard, uncomfortable, and painful to sleep or study in. This creates a recipe for poor attention spans. You can fight all of these problems though with a few simple comfort products.

The Contour Flip Pillow is an excellent pillow for your twin size bed. It sports a 10-in-1 design that allows you multiple uses all year long. It can be positioned upward for a back rest while you read text books late into the night or it can be flipped for an elevated sleeping wedge. The wedge-shaped design also allows for heart burn relief at night after eating greasy cafeteria food. If you have a futon in your dorm room this year, then use our Flip Pillow for support when lounging against the arm rest. It can also be used to elevate your legs so your feet can rest after a long day of trekking across campus. The Flip Pillow is great option no how you use it, including for back, stomach, and side sleeping.

If you are returning to campus, you will probably remember your old, thin, and unsupportive dorm mattress. There were probably plenty of mornings you debated skipping class due to exhaustion from a bad night’s sleep. This year, change your sleeping arrangements by adding a mattress topper. Mattress toppers are a great way to build support and comfort into your ordinary mattress. Our Contour Cloud Memory Foam Mattress Topper is specially designed with three layers of foam to give you better back support. The first layer is memory foam and feels like a cloud. The second layer gives you added lumbar support and keeps you from tossing and turning all night. The third layer provides a firm base so your mattress topper never bottoms out. It has an ergonomic and orthopedic design, meaning it was designed to improve your sleeping quality, so you can perform better daily and help support your natural spine alignment. The Contour Cloud Memory Foam Mattress Topper will help you sleep better, so you no longer have to fight waking up each morning.

As a student, you can easily spend all night studying in the library or at your desk. Most dorm rooms come with a desk and chair set for students, but often the seat is wood or plastic and definitely uncomfortable; and libraries can be no better. However, you do not have to sacrifice an achy back for better grades anymore. Try out a Freedom Back Support Cushion in your desk chair. It is a full length back support cushion with an ergonomic design to help you study better and longer. It has a unique curve to promote natural and correct spinal alignment. It will attach to any chair using attached Velcro straps and is lightweight so you can carry it to the library or lecture hall. This seat back cushion will change the way you study, so be sure to bring one along on move-in day.

School might be approaching but that doesn’t mean you have to worry about classes yet. However, you should start planning to buy back to school supplies. These three products will change your life and your academic performance. By adding one or all three to your schedule, you can capitalize on your sleep and your study time to be the best student you are able to be.

Give your favorite student a great start to the new year with one of our exclusive comfort bundles.

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Proper Typing Positions: Are You Using Them?

A majority of office workers spend much of their day at a desk. Where they type, mouse click, and navigate their way through various computer functions. Or simply sit and give their arms a break. But after hours of this repetitive behavior, which is done on a continual basis, aches and pains can begin to take place. Especially when proper typing positions – such as ergonomics – aren’t taken into account. 

To remedy common keyboard ailments, regular typers should enlist the help of proven angles, such as arms and knees that are 90 degrees. Pads for one’s wrists (both at the keyboard and mouse) can also help reduce weight and tension on the muscles. Rear support also helps lift up the body and keep one sitting up straight, another ergonomics-friendly trait. And finally, elbows should not be able to “rest” – whether on one’s chair or desk. Because this act places pressure and weight on one’s pressure points and muscles, it reduces circulation to the arms and hands. Not only can this make one’s extremities colder, but it can increase pain while decreasing health. 

Considering a few small desk adjustments can help make life easier, it’s a wonder why every office worker doesn’t employ an ergonomic space. Where typing can be done in a position that better helps promote arm, hand, and vein health every time they sit down to work. 

To learn more about desk and keyboard positions, talk to your work manager. Some companies keep an ergonomic expert on hand, or even hire a specialist to come in and offer company-wide suggestions. You can also consider simple changes that can work to better improve your typing routine. It’s an affordable and effective way to increase back health while offering better blood and oxygen flow throughout the entire body. 

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Ergonomically Correct Tips for Using Tech

Earlier this week we talked about the dangers of using electronics incorrectly over time. How bad posture and craned muscles, pains and other ailments could worsen simply from texting or watching TV the “wrong” way. With just a little bit of bodily awareness, however, you can easily reverse those bad habits and replace them with something more ergonomically correct.

Computer Work

When at the computer, make sure your elbows sit at a 90-degree angle. This will not only help you type faster, but create a better resting position for your arms. Feet should also be flat on the floor, with the screen slightly below your line of sight. (Usually this calls for a sliding keyboard tray or a monitor stand.) Wrist wrests, natural keyboards, etc. can also be great additions for the long-term typer.

Texting

Generally with texting, the bigger the screen, the better. Hands weren’t meant to squeeze and cramp into one tiny location – instead, spread them out as much as possible. iPhones can be turned horizontal to allow for bigger keys, and many Android phones have a pencil-like feature where users drag their pointer finger from one key to the next. 

Also be sure to sit upright and avoid a bending neck when looking to read each text. 

Watching TV

Depending on how much TV you watch per day, it’s a habit that can create a number of issues. If you’re a long-term watcher, keep your posture in check whether on the couch or with the help of a recliner. Stretching or moving during commercial breaks can also eliminate decreased body activity – physically and internally.

Tablets and eReaders

These devices may make reading easier, but they can also do a number on your neck. Watch your leaning or hunching posture when using these devices to avoid literal pains in the neck. It’s also a good idea to lower the screen brightness to avoid eye issues such as spots or desensitized retinas. (Learn more by talking with your eye doctor about potential dangers.) 

To keep on track with all your technology, remember these body-friendly tips each time you log on.

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Why it’s Important to Stay Ergonomically Correct with Electronics

As the public becomes more and more reliant on electronic-based entertainment, the way we react to tech has taken significant changes. While it can be hard to get through the day without a working cell phone or computer, there can be even more, less noticeable changes taking place. (Yes, some things are more important than a lousy Wi-Fi connection.) For instance, the way we use said technology. Because texting, talking on the phone, typing, and more are all a part of everyday life, they’re habits that can affect just how we move. Texting while hunched over (the most common pose) can cause pains in the neck, typing too long can cause carpal tunnel, and talking on the phone (usually while cradling the phone) might make you lean in an uncomfortable position.

But because these are habits – and usually come with an aspect of fun or multitasking – we rarely realize what or how we’re doing it. And while this might not sound like a big deal, when repeated, bad posture can have some serious consequences. This is especially true for those who are on their phones every single day for hours at a time. Soon side effects will begin to show, whether or not we can identify the culprit.

Rather than suffering from squinting eyes or strained backs, however, a simple fix can be found with ergonomics. (Or, though less likely, abstention.) By reducing the number of hours we spend on the phone each day, future pains or conditions can be eliminated before they have the change to develop into something more severe. 

When at the office, talk to your boss about any struggles or concerns that base from electronics. And while at home, consider more old-fashioned hobbies to replace those that come with a screen. 

Stay tuned for our upcoming post on ergonomically correct tech tips you can follow at home!

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Is your Bed Ergonomically Sound?

For most, the idea of choosing a mattress is pretty much a no-brainer. So long as it’s comfortable, within the right price range, and fits the frame, it seems to be a good choice. Right? But there’s actually a whole new side to buying mattresses that are rarely considered – ergonomics. Just like setting up one’s office desk, driver’s seat, or cooking station, a bed can be made more ergonomically sound.

It’s frequency – after all, you sleep in it every night for multiple hours at a time – makes these adjustments even more prevalent. When purchasing or setting up a new bedroom set, consider the ergonomics a comfortable night’s sleep that will help prevent future aches and pains.

What Makes Sleeping Quarters Ergonomic?

Though it can be argued that once a person’s in the bed, few other measurements matter, that’s not to say they won’t have some type of effect. For instance, hosting a bed that is too short or too tall may not seem like a big deal. But after years of jumping or slouching onto the bed, a bodily pattern begins to emerge. This may or may not be painful, but sticking to an agronomical design is the only way to avoid symptoms altogether.

Other factors include the mattress itself – obviously it should be free from indentions, lumps, or sags – as well as reading or TV watching before sleep. If regularly used for entertainment purposes, be sure your bed offers ergonomic options. This can include reclining buttons or controls, pillows that properly support, or mattress placement. Be sure that the TV angle isn’t too severe, which can help avoid neck or vision straining.

Check with an ergonomics expert, or look to placement guides to find the best fit for your specific bedroom and mattress height/placement.

Though changing your bedroom to be more ergonomic may sound like a daunting task, knowledge is half the battle. Just being aware as to what makes a healthy location decision allows you to choose better adjustments along the way. Even when a new bedroom set and/or TV location isn’t in the works.

Now What?

Remember to keep these ergonomic tips in mind when purchasing a new pillow, lounging in the recliner, or reading before bed. Self awareness can allow for a better setup and back support without spending money or rearranging the house.

However, new supportive pillows are a happy medium. Consider them for a better ergonomic flow without breaking the bank.

And to learn more about back and bedroom health, be sure to check out our Back to Health website.

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