The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : When gremlin can get you up

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

When gremlin can get you up

Staff Reporter

Micro-exercise is a quick and easy way to avoid health problems.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: What would be your immediate reaction if your computer system suddenly becomes slow or hangs midway through work? IT expert and honorary director of the Centre for Bioinformatics, University of Kerala Achuthsankar S. Nair says that rather than swearing at it, you should be thanking your system for enabling you to grab a few quick minutes to practice micro-exercise to help keep your senses alert.

“People who work for long hours on computers experience some common health problems such as numbness and strain to eyes, wrists and back. Micro-exercise is a quick and easy way to avoid these issues. Say thanks to your system when it gets slow, so that you can use the break for this,” Mr. Nair said while delivering a lecture on the topic ‘ICT-challenges and health issues’ here on Monday.

The lecture was part of a series organised by the Kerala State Council for Science Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) as part of the National Technology Day celebrations.

“As in any other sedentary job, only certain areas in the brain and body function while working on a computer. However, it is vital for the human body to be engaged in various kinds of physical activities to stay fit,” he said.

Computer buffs beware

Computer Vision Syndrome leading to irritation, redness and dryness of eyes, headache and worsening eyesight are the most common health issues seen among regular computer users. Keeping the text size large while reading from the computer screen, using green letters on black background and looking away from the computer screen at regular intervals can help in reducing strain to eyes to a large extent, he said.

“Unlike television, in the case of computer there is a severe focus on a small area of a screen which is kept at a very short a distance from your eyes. If you remember to shut your eyes at regular intervals and practice eye exercises that will also help,” he said.

Mr. Nair also demonstrated simple exercises to increase blood flow to the neck, wrists, fingers and ankles. He said that there was no best posture for sitting as it is best to keep changing ones posture and adjusting the chair rather than always sitting in one comfortable position.

“Similarly, for mental alertness you can practice breathing exercises at work intervals. Only certain areas in the brain function while working on a computer. To keep your mind healthy, it is important to get engaged in various kinds of mental activities, especially creative activities,” Mr. Nair said.

Grandma was right

For example when a grandmother tells a story to a child, she is actually giving a script, from which the child creates a film in its mind through her imagination. But instead, if you replace this experience by showing the child a cartoon film, the entire creative exercise of mental filmmaking is stunted, Mr. Nair said. He added that computer game addiction was a major mental and emotional health issue seen among children today.

Imagining a scene, and trying to mentally recreate visual, audio, olfactory and somatic senses will also help in stimulating the brain cells, he said.

Talking about the health implication of mobile phone usage, Mr. Nair said that mobile phones could lead to health problems if not used carefully. “There is a lot of apprehension on whether mobile phones can cause cancer. The good news is that no research has so far produced any concrete evidence that mobile phone radiations can cause cancer. But the bad news is that there is also no study so far to prove that it does not cause cancer,” he said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala