If we added all the hours that we have dedicated to seeing T.V. series (let’s not say to the programming of the multiple cable networks, free, public and other television models) in our years of life, We could have completed the degrees of Medicine and Aerospace Engineering with their corresponding masters, their Erasmus and their everything in that time
But there is something that scares more: we’ve done it out anyway on more or less soft sofas or hunched over in armchairs and with eyes glued to the receiver, sometimes with the laptop on crossed legs working in times of pandemic or snowstorm, that lately there is a planetary conspiracy so that we stay at home punished without going out.
Well, as you can imagine, it is not the best for your health. “The best posture to view TV is seated in a chair with the ass against the backrest, the back straight and the knees at 90 degrees. Keep in mind that the sofas are very low and that is harmful to the back, which is not upright. In addition, it is not advisable to sit for more than an hour ”, says José Ángel Real, physiotherapist and osteopath of Fisionorte, in Madrid.
So get up and walk at least five minutes for every hour. You can take advantage of stretching and doing push-ups to activate circulation. They will come in handy to rest your eyes and keep your eyes from getting dry.
Besides the back and the eyes, the neck suffers if we throw ourselves on the couch in any way (I no longer tell you if you watch television lying on the bed with your head on the pillow). The usual thing is that, when sitting on it, we leave the lower part of the back without support, which generates pain in the lumbar area and dorsal. And the cervicals (each of the seven vertebrae that make up the neck) tighten when we don’t put enough distance between ourselves and the TV.
“To prevent ailments from occurring it is important that we properly position the screen. Its height and angle should allow for a neutral neck and back position that does not strain the vertebrae and muscles. If possible, the screen should be placed at eye level and, if it is a television, which is larger, we must stand at a distance that we can see the entire screen without having to turn our heads “, says Pablo de la Serna, an expert in heat therapy at the health products company Angelini Pharma.
If your TV is 32 inches long, keep a distance of at least two meters, eight feet if it is 42 inches, and more than three meters if it is 46 inches.
De la Serna also recommends put a small pillow on the lower back to fill the space if there is one, and to have the feet well supported on the ground. Lighting is not trivial either: avoid strong light contrasts. It is preferable that it comes smooth from the back or from the side of the screen.
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