Re: [gentoo-user] {OT} Computers and mental/emotional health

[Pandu Poluan <pandu@poluan.info>]

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On Oct 4, 2011 7:01 AM, "Matthew Marlowe" <matt@professionalsysadmin.com>
wrote:
>
> >
> >> Has anyone dealt with this successfully?  I'd love to
> >> know how you did it.
> >
>
> You're right to worry about this....and I suspect it's also aging
> related.  The older I get, the more sensitive I am to how many
> hours/day is healthy.
>
> I don't think there is a perfect solution, especially as more and more
> important things in life require an internet device of some kind.
> It's not uncommon for me to spend 2-3hrs researching something, up to
> 8hrs working, and then have 2 hrs of other emails/social/community
> stuff all in one day that involve computers.
> 12 hours/day in a roughly fixed position indoors is never ever going
> to be healthy.  Especially if it must be kept up for years and years
> as one gets older.
>
> So, I've gathered ideas from others and have come up with my own
> recommendations:
> a) avoid going to the computer if you can be doing something else and
> don't need to be there (once I'm at a computer, there is always
> something that can make me stay there so avoiding being there in first
> place is important)
> b) stand up and take brief walks for whatever at least once/hour while
working
> c) recent research suggests that taking vitamin d tablets starting in
> ones thirties can have a significant impact on relieving some of the
> sunlight/lack of being outdoor issues
> d) try to go to the gym or do some signficant exercise to start the
> day, this can possibly trick your metabolism to run faster all day
> long
> e) what many people do, I find, is simply have days where you don't
> touch the computer (briefly check cell phone but thats it)
> f) try to find something in your daily routine that will take you
> outdoors for at least an hour/day, preferably longer (can be harder
> for those of us who telecommute)
> g) try to build regular activities with your family/friends that
> involve outdoor recreation (build a home pool/take up swimming
> laps/etc)
>
> Nothing will completely remove the fact that modern life is
> increasingly unhealthy, but the above is at least a good start.

If I may add: try a cup of normal (i.e. non-decaf) coffee about 1 hour after
you start using the computer.

I recently read in the newspaper that 2-4 cups of caf coffee per day
significantly reduce the chance of getting a depression.

Rgds,

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