A programmer's guide to preventing sudden death - a programmer's health strategy

Health problems are particularly prominent in programmers' careers. However, most programmers only care about writing code and often ignore their own health problems. This may be because they are too absorbed in writing code, or because of too much pressure from their bosses. But these are not the best reasons for you to torture yourself. We programmers also need to maintain our health. Only by knowing how to maintain our health can we program better.

[[226842]]

What health problems do programmers have?

Here are 9 major occupational diseases of programmers. You can also find your seat. If you can't find a seat, then congratulations, you are a qualified programmer.

1. Wrist pain (repetitive strain injury)
2. Eye problems caused by staring at the moving print progress bar and the period after it
3. Back discomfort caused by poor posture, especially in the lower back and upper shoulders
4. Bowel and urinary tract problems (inability to urinate or defecate normally)
5. Dehydration from consuming too much caffeine and not drinking enough water
6. Sitting for too long can cause hemorrhoids or prostate problems in men (I’ll go into more detail later)
7. Lack of sunlight causes vitamin D deficiency
8. Sleep disorders caused by staying up late or drinking too much coffee
9. Lack of stretching leading to general stiffness and pain

Only when you know your symptoms can you prescribe the right medicine. It should be noted that some diseases will not last for a long time, but you must still pay attention to them, because they are like a time bomb that can explode at any time when you are not paying attention.

Wrist pain

I have periodic wrist pains due to frequent and long hours of coding. I was 22 years old and had just started coding professionally. But I have been doing Aikido lessons so that my wrists can heal.

You know, Aikido has great wrist exercises to make your wrists strong and flexible. They created these exercises to prevent injuries, and a lot of the original techniques involve twisting, pulling, and dislocating the arm and shoulder joints.

The following steps are what you must do when you sit down to write, and they will make your work more efficient.

1. First, warm up by stretching your hands forward and grabbing them in the air as quickly as possible 20 times. Then shake your hands, bend your wrists 10 times on one side, and then bend them 10 times in the other direction.
2. Do 5 to 10 reps at a moderate pace using whatever you are best at.
3. Continue with the movements, but shake your hands and arms, bending your wrists and then returning them to their original positions. These movements move the bones in your wrists, and they return to their original positions as you shake them.
4. Don't overdo it and hurt your wrists. Just do it in moderation and relax. That "no pain, no gain" will only hurt you.

Do this series of movements before typing code every time, and do it once when you stop, and do it every day. It won't take long, after a period of discomfort, your wrist will begin to adapt and return to normal, and you will feel much better.

Eye fatigue

My vision was better than 20/20 when I was younger, but decades of computer use have made it a little skewed, I used glasses to correct it, and I wear them whenever I need them, and without them the world around me is annoyingly blurry.

In the dark ages we were looking at CRT monitors and the annoying flickering had ruined some people's eyes. The problem now is that most LCD screens render fonts poorly. I think thanks to Apple's patents, most LCD screens can't render fonts properly. Although some people think that Apple's fonts look fuzzy, so it's hard to say whether it will be good for you.

It is recommended to spend two hours a day without looking at the computer. Either play guitar or go for a walk in the park. You don't have to do this for the entire two hours, but you should keep it at two hours in total.

This may also help relieve your headaches. Most of the time, we may think that it is caused by leaving the lights on while using the computer, but it is actually caused by poor posture, bad fonts, lack of water, and prolonged gaming with the computer.

It is not necessary to turn off all the lights in your room, but to choose a color scheme that suits your LCD screen and the indoor lighting. That is, to integrate the indoor lighting, LCD screen brightness and fonts, and the color scheme that makes you feel more comfortable.

But let's take a break first.

Back problems

Programmers tend to maintain one posture when writing code for a long time, and most programmers have a very bad sitting posture, which leads to a bent back, also known as "hunchback". If you don't have a girlfriend yet, this shortcoming will greatly reduce your blind date's impression of you.

I found the most effective solution is to stretch your upper body and do push-ups. The stretch is simple, grab the door frame, and stretch your arms in the same direction or opposite directions. If you feel a little stiff, try the following tricks:

1. Grasp the door frame with one hand, palm facing toward your body, and push your chest forward past your shoulders.
2. Use your other hand to hold the door frame, cross your arms in front of you with your palms still facing inward, and then stretch your shoulders to stretch your back.
3. Grab the door frame with both hands, raise it above your head, lean back slightly, and stretch back and forth. (Just like doing push-ups while standing)

If you do the above and swing your arms and shake them at the same time, you'll feel better. Maybe adding some wrist stretches before you start working would be a good idea.

Another thing is to do real push-ups. I don't do this when I'm working because it makes you very tired and difficult to work. I usually do ten push-ups before going to bed. These ten push-ups are enough to work on the chest, back, shoulders and wrists. Don't do it too fast, but slowly, and pay attention to keeping your body balanced when doing it.

The most important thing is to get up and walk around often. If conditions permit, you can go to the parks around the company.

Dehydration

It's not a big deal, I feel guilty about it from time to time. I find myself drinking a lot of coffee during the day, so I think I should drink some water. Dehydration is hard to detect until it's too late.

My advice is to drink a glass of water with anything else you drink that is not pure water. Don't drink soda, it's just a bunch of fake sugars that make you fat and cause diabetes, and it doesn't give you water. Drink pure black coffee, it's really delicious, and remember to drink some water.

Bowel and urinary tract problems

OK, the next two questions are really inelegant, so I won’t go into what happened to me, but I will say this:

When you need to go to the toilet, go quickly and don't hesitate.

You have no idea how useful this tip is, I wish I had known this when I was younger. Because I was a workaholic who never took breaks, skipped bathroom breaks, and held it in for ages.

A bowel problem is when your body stops telling you that you need to poop and it just keeps pooping. This eventually leads to constipation, which is the end of your health.

It's less serious for the urethra, but you can still get infections and other things that surprise you.

If you're screwed, go get some fiber tablets, stay home and eat them, don't go out, because the consequences are embarrassing.

Then, when you feel it's time, pick yourself up and embrace God. I'm telling you, your great ideas will come naturally after you take a shit.

Hemorrhoids and prostate problems

Another thing that not using the bathroom can cause is hemorrhoids. I know it's gross, and I promise to only mention it once. However, many programmers have this problem and are ashamed to talk about it, and they don't know why. Let me tell you one by one, I have done all of the following things, but I have only had hemorrhoids once or twice:

1. Sitting for long periods of time.
2. Lift heavy objects without assistance.
3. Not going to relieve yourself when you should.
4. Forcing yourself to poop is not actually necessary.
5. Worst: Reading while sitting on the toilet.

The last one is the culprit. If you don't have to have a big C, don't keep soaking it. This is equivalent to putting the weight of your entire body and intestines on your rectum, which is already empty, and trying to squeeze it out. Gross! This will cause hemorrhoids because the blood pressure in your blood vessels is unnaturally high.

For the health of your butt, do the following:

1. Eat more fruits and vegetables, and at least some fiber tablets.
2. It's time to solve personal problems!
3. Do not apply pressure to the rectum under any circumstances.

Another problem is that if you sit all day, it can cause prostate problems. Just stand up and walk around. If you have blood in your urine or difficulty urinating, see a doctor, otherwise it will be more dangerous.

Irregular sleep patterns

Regarding the sleep problem of programmers, I would like to add a few more sleep tips here, which are a bit like self-hypnosis:

1. Turn off all lights and sound in your room.
2. Lie down with your hands in a comfortable position.
3. Take slow, deep breaths and visualize the air moving into and out of your body.
4. When you are able to notice your breathing, imagine that you are looking out the window at the vast space filled with stars.
5. Then, as you breathe, imagine yourself floating in the air, gradually entering a vast galaxy, with all the stars accompanying you.
6. Continue to imagine that your bed is floating as well, until it disappears.

If you have severe insomnia, please consult a doctor. But still try this trick, do it for one to two hours a day, and it will definitely make you fall asleep after practicing.

This is a health-preserving guide for programmers. It may be helpful to you to some extent. I wish you good health.