Programmers Health Guide

Programming can be often stressful, even if you love it. When I am in my zone, I spend many hours in front of computer with little to no movement.

​ This may look productive, but in long term this can cause many health related issues. It incrementally adds bugs to your life. These bugs can be sometimes even fatal. ​ I want to share few health tips to stay fit as an programmer both physically and mentally, which will have atleast some impact on your health.

SITTING

Sitting is the new smoking - Anonymous ​

Sitting for long period

​ With short deadlines, bugs and client calls, we often forget to move away from our desk. ​ Sitting for long period with no activity can cause many health related issues to our body. Prolonged period of inactivity can lead to Diabetes, Cardiovascular Risk, Back issues, etc. This is a ticking health bomb waiting to explode.

According to recent WHO report , over 23% of adults are not sufficiently physically active.

What can we do:

• Take a short walk, disturb your fellow co-worker, get some fresh air, play some games atleast once every hour.

Bad Posture

​ When talking about sitting for long perion, it is easy to forget about Postures. Most of the people I know have bad postures including me. Poor postures can put pressure on your spine. With continued stress, it can lead to back pain, neck pain and sometimes even nerve related issues.

What can we do: ​

• Adjust monitor height, so that your eyes are aligned with the monitor.
• Adjust your chair height, so that your feet touches the ground with no effort.
• Buy Ergonomic chair.
• Start using standing desks whenever possible.
• Buy a fitness tracker. Most of fitness tracker comes with inactivity alert and can send you an nofitication when you are idle for long time.

EYES

​ With our continued exposure to monitors, we put a lot of strain on our eyes. When we are looking at the monitor, we blink less than usual. ​ Eye problems caused by computers are generally known as Computer Vision Syndrome. CVS includes Eye strain, Dry eyes, Eye irritation, etc caused by the digital displays. This inturn can affect your eye sight.

What can we do: ​

• 20-20-20 rule: For every 20 minutes, focus on an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

• Make sure you get plenty of sleep.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Wear glasses with blue light filter.
• Enable blue light filter on your monitor.

SLEEP

​ An adult requires an average of 7 to 9 hours of sleep. This makes sure that the body is properly rested.

Lack of sleep can lead to Obesity, Heart disease, High blood pressure, etc. It even affects your way of thinking. As a developer you don't want this to happen.

What can we do: ​

• Try to have atleast 7 hours of sleep daily.
• Also make sure you go to bed around same time regularly.
• Stop using phones atleast 2 hours before going to bed.
• You can also use fitness trackers to track your sleep cycles.

WATER

​ We drink water only when we get thirsty. But with our busy workflow and the work environment being Air conditioned we most often don't get thirsty and we often forget to drink water. ​ Water is one of the most required component for healthy functioning of our body. Our body is constantly losing water in the form of Sweat and Urine. Health authorities recommend a minimum of 2 litres of water intake every day.

What can we do: ​

• Try to drink water at regular interval even if you don't feel thirsty.
• You can find water reminder apps that gives you alert to drink water regularly

STRESS

​ In the field of programming, stress is our best friend. You may say you love programming, you don't get stressed. But that's not true. Every programmer faces burn out, every programmer gets stressed. ​ Stress can often lead to Sleep problems, Headache, Digestion issues, etc.

What can we do: ​

• Take a break. Have a chat with your friends. A small session with friend can relieve most of your stress [I assume you have friends :p]
• Take a day out.
• Follow Pomodoro Method: Take a 5 minute break after every 25 minutes of work

LET'S DO IT

​ Everyone is unique. The above solutions may not work for every one. Following all this can be little overwhelming and can be hard at times, but give it a try. Try your own variations of above solutions. It will definitely have positive effects on your physical and mental health.