A healthy programmer is a happy programmer.

We have to work very hard: harmful bosses (not all), tight deadlines, brainstorming, solving a variety of problems and, above all, working until late hours does not have the best effect on health. All of the above circumstances lead to depression, smoking, "sticking" of stress - in short, spoil health.

And our life ultimately depends on health - and this is the main reason for doing something about it. The second most important reason - depends on your career. Often, developers complain that their backs hurt - sometimes so much that they can't sit at the table. Many, due to the constant use of the keyboard and mouse, have wrist problems. All this can make work unpleasant, and at worst impossible. And it’s not just minor ailments: such work without concern for one’s own health can shorten life. It may sound too loud, but let's remember that the main cause of death in the world is cardiovascular disease. In addition, diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity are becoming more common. The programmer’s lifestyle contributes to these problems, but in most cases they can be prevented by exercise and proper nutrition. We look at the causes of these and other health problems, and then talk about how to eliminate these causes.
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Transferred to Alconost

Sitting is bad

Yes, it literally harms the health. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts asked a group of healthy young people to walk with crutches and walking sticks so that the muscles on their left leg would not stiffen. After two days of such an experiment, scientists performed a biopsy of the muscles of both legs. The DNA repair mechanism was disturbed in the left leg, the insulin response decreased, oxidative stress increased, and metabolic activity in individual muscle cells slowed down.

For programmers, this is almost a sentence, because writing code (and this is our work and our passion) means sitting at the computer. But the consequences of sedentary work can be avoided: it is enough to take a five-minute break for physical activity every hour. To improve metabolism, simply walk to the toilet.

We like to eat wrong

For the sake of achieving high goals, we can rush into unhealthy extremes. On the way from work, we'll drop by the auto cafe, we can have lunch with colleagues at the catering or take a lot of carbonated drinks and sweets to the office every day because there is no time for lunch. And most importantly, we decided that caffeine is almost the only way to remain energetic and, in general, the secret source of developers superpowers. As a result, we turn into smokers, coffee addicts and liters absorb soda. Thus, we fix extremely bad eating habits. But in order to correct these habits, you first need to realize them.

Everyone has different needs, so it is very important to choose a diet and balance it: someone loves fruit, someone is crazy about vegetables. One needs to lose weight, the other - to gain. In some cases, the causes of unhealthy nutrition are rooted in psychological and emotional stress. They need to be dealt with - with the help of a doctor or independently, mentally adjusting themselves to cope with stress and emotional pressure.

To improve nutrition, consult a nutritionist, make a diet and follow it strictly. In the daily diet should include as much as possible fruits and vegetables. Drink plenty of water and eat less carbohydrate-rich foods - it causes the body’s insulin resistance, which is medically called a pre-diabetic condition that can easily develop into type 2 diabetes . Reduce the intake of fatty foods, which increases cholesterol and triglycerides , which can lead to various diseases of the cardiovascular system.

Oh! Back hurts!

Usually a developer spends more than 40 hours a week sitting at a computer. And only a few of us know how to properly sit in a chair. Therefore, many because of the wrong position and poor ergonomics of the chair develop chronic back pain.
You can check the strength of the spinal muscles with the help of an exercise from the Kraus-Weber test.



If you can raise your torso from a prone position and hold it in that position for 10 seconds - congratulations, the test is passed. If not, you need to see a doctor.
First of all, it is important to find a fairly ergonomic chair that should be adjusted according to weight and adapted to different postures. A good chair can really improve your posture significantly and reduce back pain - however, you may already have a perfect chair. But you sit in it wrong. Proper fit depends on the physical parameters of the body. Adjust the height of the chair so that it properly supports the spine, evenly distribute the weight of the body and so that the legs are on the ground.

Pain in wrists

If you write code or like to play, you may experience pain in your wrists due to constant use of the keyboard and mouse - numbness and tingling in your wrists and hands. Creating masterpieces of computer systems, we rely on our own hands - this is our working tool, and when deadlines are tight, often this tool works without a rest until late.

There is very little space in the wrist: nerves, tendons, muscles, and blood vessels constrict, squeezing through several small moving bones. This causes friction, tension, stretching, and over time, slight damage to the inside of the soft tissue leads to regular deformation injuries . To get rid of wrist pain, it’s enough to do simple exercises daily. Read more - here .



Exercises on the wrist. The source of the image is sequencewiz.org.

Headache and eye strain

Programming is in many ways creativity, and headaches are one of the main reasons for the decrease in work efficiency. Most of the headaches are directly related to vision. The most common disease (more than 80% of people who spend more than 3 hours on a computer every day) suffer from computer vision syndrome . This is one of the main factors leading to headaches, and in the worst cases even to hallucinations.

It is important to wear the right lenses, because without them the eyes will strain more to focus, and this tires the muscles around the eyes, which can lead to headaches and even more vision problems.

The following list will help verify if you care enough about your vision:

• How close to the screen are you sitting? The monitor should be located at a distance of 0.5–1 m from the eyes - this is approximately the length of an outstretched arm, so it is quite easy to check here.
• How much brighter is the computer screen than the lighting in the room? The big difference between the brightness of the screen and the lighting of the room quickly tires eyes. If the room has natural light, the display brightness should be adjusted throughout the day. To do this, you can set f.lux - this application will automatically change the screen brightness and color temperature during the day (just specify your geographic coordinates).
  

f.lux in action

• Is the screen too bright? If you can see your face on the screen or a clear reflection of the background, it means that it is too bright. Glue a matte or anti-glare film on the screen or get a non-glare monitor - do not delay it for a long time.
  

Some recommendations, the daily implementation of which will help avoid computer vision syndrome:

• Blink your eyes more often . When working at a computer, we usually blink less often and even can concentrate so much that we forget to blink. Blinking keeps your eyes dry. Read more in this study .
  
• If you focus on one thing for a long time, your eyes get tired. Mash the muscles of the eyes can be, turning for a while look to the side. The following recommendation works fine here: after 20 minutes of work, look away from the computer and look at a distant object for at least 6 meters for 20 seconds.
  
• To reduce glare and reduce eye strain, wear anti-glare polarized lenses : they effectively relieve irritation, reduce dryness and fatigue.
  

To avoid a headache, consume less caffeine and fermented foods . If you have eliminated these factors, and the headache has remained, consult a doctor and check your eyes so that you can be prescribed a proper treatment.

Conclusion

Life is an incredibly valuable gift. And the duty of every person is to take care of this gift. Therefore, acquire good social habits and strive for a healthy lifestyle. Your life, your vision and your aspirations are much more and more important than achieving some goals, ditching your health and losing your passion.


About the translator

The article is translated in Alconost.

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