Neck and posture at your desk: habits and simple exercises

The best posture is the next one

For years people talked about a correct posture to hold all day. Today the idea you hear most is different: no posture is good if you do not move out of it for hours. Your neck and back cope badly with the same position for a long time, whatever it is.

So the goal is not to sit rigidly, but two things: that your workstation does not force your head forward, and that you change position often.

Set up your workstation

• Screen at eye level: the top edge roughly level with your gaze, and an arm's length away.
• Laptop: if you work on one for hours, raise it on a stand or a few books and use a separate keyboard. With a laptop flat on the desk, your head always ends up forward.
• Chair: feet flat on the floor and your back against the backrest, not perched on the edge.
• Phone: bring it up to eye level instead of dropping your head towards it.

Move often

Every 30 to 45 minutes, get up for a couple of minutes: fetch some water, stretch, take a few steps. If you struggle to remember, a discreet alarm on your phone or computer works better than willpower.

Five gentle exercises

Standing or sitting, with no kit, in five minutes. They should all feel comfortable: if one bothers you, skip it.

1. Chin tuck: looking straight ahead, draw your head back as if making a double chin, without tilting it. Hold for 2 or 3 seconds. 10 reps.
2. Shoulder circles: lift your shoulders, take them back and lower them, slowly. 10 backwards.
3. Doorway chest stretch: rest your forearm on the door frame with your elbow at shoulder height and lean your body forward until you feel the stretch in your chest. 20 to 30 seconds per side.
4. Shoulder blade squeeze: draw your shoulder blades back and down, as if tucking them into your back pockets. Hold for 2 or 3 seconds. 10 to 15 reps.
5. Upper back extension on your chair: sitting, with your hands behind your head, lean your upper back back over the backrest, without forcing it. 5 to 8 reps.

Once or twice a day is enough, and they fit well into your breaks.

And: strength in your upper back

The exercises above get you moving; for your upper back to cope better with hours of sitting, it also pays to strengthen it. Two or three times a week, any pulling exercise —dumbbell rows, band rows, pull-ups— does more for that area than any stretch.

Accessories: what they are for and what they are not

• A posture corrector works as a reminder: when you slouch, you feel the tension in the straps and you straighten up yourself. It does not force you into position. You start with short spells, 20 to 30 minutes, and you do not wear it all day. More in posture correctors: what they do and what they don't.
• The posture collar is used for short spells, 10 to 15 minutes, to get used to keeping your head in line with your shoulders. It is a posture accessory, not a medical collar.

Neither replaces moving and strengthening: they are an aid to help you remember.

When to get it checked