How to Make a Laptop More Comfortable for Use

Human beings should not sit for prolonged periods. When we work on a laptop, it’s easy to let the hours pass quickly. We may forget about maintaining our postures. Sometimes, that leads to awkward positions for our bodies, causing discomfort.

Your laptop setup will define how relaxed you are working. The best way to work comfortably on laptops is to put minimal stress on the body. Posture plays a significant role, so consider the ergonomics relative to your desk, chair, and body. In addition, you should equip your station with the right laptop accessories and furniture.

Let’s explore how to work comfortably on a laptop and stay productive.

Invest in ergonomics

Many of us transitioned to work-from-home situations in the past few years. If you didn’t have a home office ready, you might have been working in bed, at a kitchen table, or even on the living room couch. Those situations aren’t ideal for working on a laptop, causing aches and pains.

Look at getting set up with a height-adjustable sit-stand desk to start. You can adjust an ergonomic desk like this to a sitting and standing position. It allows you to change your body’s position throughout the day and continue working. An ergonomic desk will keep you physically engaged and alert. It will help reduce those same aches and pains you may have encountered working not at a desk.

Next on the list is to get set up with a height-adjustable ergonomic chair. This desk-and-chair combo is your bare minimum for being comfortable while working on a laptop. You’ll be more excited to work at a desk when a comfy professional-grade office chair is waiting.

Raise your laptop screen higher

The best angle to raise your laptop screen is the height your eyes hit the top third of the screen. You can do so using a small height-adjustable laptop table or platform. You can gently lift the laptop to reposition it a little higher while putting the keyboard on an angle for typing.

An excellent laptop is the ASUS Zenbook Pro 16X OLED. This modern laptop comes with the precision engineered AAS Ultra mechanism. It allows users to raise the keyboard by up to 14.5mm. The extra 7° tilt creates an optimized experience for typing, which increases ergonomics and comfort.

Another approach is to work on adjusting your height-adjustable chair and desk. For most people, you can raise or lower your chair in a few seconds to achieve a more optimized laptop screen height. Despite making these adjustments, you still want to ensure you’re sitting correctly. Sit back against the lumbar support to protect the curve of your spine. Your ears should always be above your shoulders and never in front.

Work on your posture

Do you routinely fidget in your chair? Are you adjusting positions every 5-10 minutes to stay comfortable? You may need to work on your posture if that’s the case. We don’t realize it, but many of us put pounds of pressure on our spine, neck, and other areas as we work. It occurs due to poor body positioning. Imagine what that does over the day. It’s a lot!

Common complaints with laptops are neck strain, upper back strain, lower back strain, and sometimes in the shoulders. This discomfort comes from leaning to see the screen as you type.

Improving your posture can increase your endurance over time. Here’s the right way to do laptop posture:

• Be sure to maintain your elbows at a 90-degree level, tucked close to your body.
• Your wrists should be in a neutral position while you type.
• Have a chair that adequately supports a straight spine. It should retrain your posture to avoid any leaning or straining.
• You may opt to buy an ergonomic footrest to place underneath your desk. It elevates your body and repositions yourself.

Take the occasional break

It’s always helpful to get up, stretch, and walk around for at least five minutes every one to two hours. If your laptop work extends throughout the day, don’t forget these breaks. You will find you’re more energized. You can grab some coffee and bring it back to your laptop. The breaks allow you to take your eyes off the laptop screen, giving them a momentary rest.

By taking breaks, you also get up, releasing undue stress from your posture from sitting. It moves circulation through the body, avoiding the aches and pains that might normally befall someone later in the day.

Stop working on your laptop in bed

As tempting as it can be to bring your laptop to bed with you, rarely does it end well. Recently, there has been a trend of laptop bed tables, height-adjustable laptop tables, and the like. However, these items are not putting the proper emphasis on comfort. 

The thought of working in bed might sound cozy. Unfortunately, that is not the reality. Most of us are straining our necks downward to see, typing at an often-awkward angle. Although it might feel alright to start, you’re going to start feeling it an hour or so into your work. If you want to work comfortably on a laptop, do so at a proper desk.