Most people think ergonomic is a factor of office work. It extends to home and across all gender and ages and actually all home activities. Optimal design and plan are paramount to ensure efficiency and avoid wasted energies from family members. It also provides safety and great since you can put in various home activities. This rages from resting, production, recreation activities, and general family upbringing affairs.
An adequately choreographed home set up will ensure comfort, safety and an easy to work environment. Since all members in their designated work or rest stations. This will require optimal illumination, well-regulated temperatures, correct heights for tables, chairs and sinks, kitchen tops and cabinets. Kindly follow these simple tips for optimal ergonomics in your home.
Kitchen ergonomics
Kitchen activities are sensitive and carry huge risks because of the temperatures used. It is there important to check on the following;
• Ensure that the kitchen cabinets are at optimal height, usually 80cm
• Check the height and depth of the cabinet toe kick to be optimal at 8cm x 6.5cm
• Make sure you have optimal distance between the oven, the refrigerator and the sink for efficient operations. There should be no clouding, and they should not be far apart
• Be sure to keep the floor dry all the time to avoid slipping and unnecessary accidents
Seating room ergonomics
• Set comfortable seats in the seating room which have adequate support
• Ensure that television is at a height in line with the site of viewers from the comfortably set places.
• Make sure sufficient light across the seating room. For the dark lit areas of the room, one can use portable lamps and desks if they have to work from there.
• Use adjustable height seats for all the tables dependent on the activity of the day.
• Keep the floors dry to avoid sliding
Bedroom ergonomics
• Have the right bed, mattress, and pillow
• Keep the bedside table at an optimal distance
• Ensure electronics and digital screens are kept a mile from the bed
• Use curtains and possibly the blackouts to keep your room tranquil
Ergonomics for children
Children, who are at their early development stages require a lot of support and guidance for good health and posture into their later lives. This requires not only the right equipment and apparatus but also a lot of coaching and training. Some tips for optimal child’s physical and spinal development and good posture habits are spelled here below:
• A well-positioned bed, level to the ground, with an optimal density mattress to ensure good sleep which is paramount to child growth and development.
• Have an ergonomic table with adjustable height and angle to cater for growth children through their different growth stages.
• Coach and train your children on technological products that are used to take breaks every 30 minutes and to have the right posture.
• Provide ergonomically designed backpacks especially for children who carry bags to school or other heavy loads. This helps to tone down pressure and stress as dual shoulder carriage is ensured.
• Use book traps in children bags that counter books from falling back, and provide vertical position and the weight closer to the back. This will ensure that the child is not straining to carry the load
While ergonomics is a part of our living in our homes, they come with a cost. Sometimes we do not have a sufficient budget to run them. It is advisable to improvise in such instances because health is a priority. For example, if you need to support your lumbar and you do not have a soft chair; you can use a pillow to help the back.
Such improvisations will cut across many expenses.