Ask HN: Optimal Head Position While Working with a Laptop
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Laptops are terrible for posture. For good posture with a laptop, you'll need a laptop riser and an external keyboard and mouse.
Adjust your chair or table height so that the tabletop is 1-3 inches below your elbows. Sitting in the chair, with your elbows at a 90-degree angle and your wrists straight, your fingers should droop to lightly touch the external keyboard keys.
Measure the height of your laptop screen. With your arm at your side and your head upright, measure the height distance between your elbow and your eyes.
Subtract the screen height from the elbow-eye distance. Then add 4 inches. This is the height you should set your laptop riser at - the number of inches your laptop should sit above the tabletop so that you can sit with good posture and look straight ahead at the screen.
You'll notice most laptop risers don't go nearly that high. There are a few adjustable ones out there that do (adjustable is good - the height formula above is an inexact estimate), or you can prop your riser up on top of a box or some books or reams of paper.
With everything properly adjusted, when you sit down with your shoulders relaxed and head upright, and look straight ahead, your laptop should be squarely in your field of view. Your eyes should be level with a spot a bit below the top of the screen (roughly a third of the screen height).
Adjust the tilt of the laptop screen so that it's comfortable to look at from this new position (the correct angle should be very close to 90 degrees).
Enjoy your improved posture and decreased neck and back pain!
Adjust your chair or table height so that the tabletop is 1-3 inches below your elbows. Sitting in the chair, with your elbows at a 90-degree angle and your wrists straight, your fingers should droop to lightly touch the external keyboard keys.
Measure the height of your laptop screen. With your arm at your side and your head upright, measure the height distance between your elbow and your eyes.
Subtract the screen height from the elbow-eye distance. Then add 4 inches. This is the height you should set your laptop riser at - the number of inches your laptop should sit above the tabletop so that you can sit with good posture and look straight ahead at the screen.
You'll notice most laptop risers don't go nearly that high. There are a few adjustable ones out there that do (adjustable is good - the height formula above is an inexact estimate), or you can prop your riser up on top of a box or some books or reams of paper.
With everything properly adjusted, when you sit down with your shoulders relaxed and head upright, and look straight ahead, your laptop should be squarely in your field of view. Your eyes should be level with a spot a bit below the top of the screen (roughly a third of the screen height).
Adjust the tilt of the laptop screen so that it's comfortable to look at from this new position (the correct angle should be very close to 90 degrees).
Enjoy your improved posture and decreased neck and back pain!
Do you work out? The optimal head position is probably to vary it over time, but for most people the first solution to try for problems like this is to start a decent workout.
What's the best head position while working with a laptop and how can I achieve it without huge efforts to make?