Stress comes from all sides these days, in home and workplace.



Computer related stress - caused typically by crashing or

malfunctioning programs, slow downloads, irritating emails or

just sheer job repetition and figuring out how to do things online-

can build up and cause you to feel bad, and eventually even make

you ill.

Luckily gentle easy exercise is an excellent preventive and cure for

computer related stress and workplace anxieties.

Assuming you aren’t obese, pregnant or have any condition that could

be made worse by exercise, here are 10 tested and useful tips for

staying cooler and fitter at the PC.

1/ Exercise your eyes by looking away from your PC, and focussing on

distant objects. Dont look at any one object too long, a few seconds

will do.

2/ Exercise your breathing. Relax and breathe in and out deeply and

slowly for about 30 seconds. Close your eyes if you wish, but don't

fall asleep!

3/ Exercise your neck by turning your head gently to the left then to

the right a few times. Don't strain.

4/ Exercise your wrists by holding them in front of you and gently

rotating clockwise and anticlockwise a few times. Again, please

don't strain.

5/ Exercise your elbows. Move your arms to the front, rest the tips

of your fingers on your shoulders, and rotate your elbows in small

circles 10 times clockwise. Relax, then do the same, rotating your

elbows in an anticlockwise direction.

6/ Exercise your hands. Place them by your sides, palms downward

facing and at right angles to your arms. Make 10 SMALL circles with

each hand, clockwise and anticlockwise.

7/ Exercise your shoulders. With head and neck relaxed, squeeze your

shoulders upwards towards your ears. Relax. Now reach downward at

both sides for a few seconds, not bending and keeping your arms straight.

Relax.

8/ Exercise your back by standing and GENTLY flexing your body

forward and backward a couple of times. Don’t bend too far, and

STOP if you feel dizzy.

9/ Exercise your legs by walking away from your PC at least once an hour.

Try taking mini-breaks at your keyboard every 5 minutes or so.

10/ Exercise your whole body by healthy living away from the computer.

Sport, yoga, a good diet and meditation will all help raise your overall

stress resistance.

Bonus tip: if you feel embarrassed, start with eye, hand, wrist and neck exercises.

But remember that breaks are important too!

Gently and gradually exercise your PC stress away, and you'll achieve

better productivity, plus healthy more relaxed computing thru 2006 and beyond!