Beginners Advice

Webmaster Health: Because Hospitals are Scary.

Web masters for to long have had a bad overall physcial stereotype, When people think webmaster they don’t think of Adonis no they think of a pale skinny white boy in a dark room with bug eyed glasses. The sad thing is though this isn’t the case for everyone, a lot of webmasters do practice pretty bad health habits and part of it is because of the type of work they do. Being healthy isnt just for people who care about their looks, the better health habits you have when your young means more time to spend the millions you made when your older. So here are a few tips to become not only a healthier person now but also so you don’t burn yourself out and can continue to master the web for many long years.

1.Cut Back on Soda/Coffee/Energy drinks.- too much caffeine can kill and cause health complications. Also If you are a recovering soda addict, it’d be a good idea to invest in some enamel building toothpaste or mouthwash cause soda does major damage to teeth.

2.Use LCD screens not Tubes-that flickering kills the eyes

3.Drink Juice/Water- Juice is a healthy substitute to caffeine drinks and even though your inside all day you can still suffer from dehydration, in fact most people suffer from chronic dehydration.

4.Use a wrist rest and shake out your wrist every 30 minutes or so- RSI injuries can make typing a lot harder so take measures to prevent them.

5.Eat 3 Full sit down meals- this gives your mind a break and keeps you eating right

6.Light your workspace properly - if possible use as much natural light as you can. The goal is to get the entire room evenly lit without it being glaringly bright.

7.Set a bed time- Sure you can get a lot done working all through the night but its no way to continually create quality work. Plus if your bed time is in line with your circadian rhythm you sleep better, I know when I’m in University I feel great sleeping 12-5 but during the summer I don’t stick to that routine and I feel like shit on 5 hours of sleep.

8.Exercise EVERY day- Most of the time webmastering is done sitting in a chair, so its very easy to get out of shape so every time you wake up just do a few push ups, sit-ups and stretch. You don’t have to kill yourself by doing a 3 mile run (you’ll love yourself if you do) but you’ll be amazed how better you feel from just doing a tiny bit of exercise every day.

9.Sit properly- Sitting all day can be very detrimental to your spine so if you can afford it buy an ergonomic chair that you find comfortable and keep your feet perpendicular to your spine.

10.Don’t Stress Yourself out- This may seem small but a lot of health problems are stress related and its too easy to get stressed out working on line. This can be done in two parts prepare for disaster (i.e. backup everything) and don’t focus on the problem when disaster does happen, focus on the solution. Or as the Dalai Lama says “If a problem can be solved there is no use worrying about it. If it can’t be solved, worrying will do no good. “

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor(yet) and all medical/dental advice in this post is given as my personal opinion. Personal health is a very important issue and you should consult your personal doctor with any questions or health issues you are experiencing.