# Computer desk height



## JFC (23 Aug 2006)

Does any one know or could they measure the height of a computer desk please . Im making one at the moment and cant remember it . 
Before you say measure your own , i built my one myself so i made it how i wanted it :lol:


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## LyNx (23 Aug 2006)

740mm is the approx height but these days it's all about height adjustment.


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## cumbrian (23 Aug 2006)

I just had a look at the offerings on Staples' website, and they are indeed all 740mm high. I think the important thing is to allow for making/buying a monitor raiser, and the optimum height of that is down to the individual's height and seating position. Which reminds me, I must raise mine more as I keep getting a pain in the neck when using the computer - or maybe that's a Windows Feature. :wink:


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## RogerS (23 Aug 2006)

Jason

Much more complex than all that..you have to consider posture, seating height, desk height, keyboard height, monitor height etc etc.

This link explains all

Roger


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## Sean the amateur (23 Aug 2006)

If your neck is anything like that of most other people over 40 you will not want to raise your monitor. Lifting up your head to look at a monitor (extension of the neck) is a common cause of pain in the neck. javascript:emoticon('')
Crying or Very sad

To avoid pain, you need to lower your monitor so that you have to lower your eyes -- that is you want to flex your neck -- this is not painful. javascript:emoticon('')
Very Happy

My table is 760 mms, my keyboard is below that by 120mms, and my monitor is lowered by about 120mms as well. I have a section in the table that is hinged so that you can adjust the monitor to the height that suits you.
If you wish I could take a photo, but I am not sure how to post one.


Sean


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## RogerS (23 Aug 2006)

Sean the amateur":1wmeslqu said:


> If your neck is anything like that of most other people over 40 you will not want to raise your monitor. Lifting up your head to look at a monitor (extension of the neck) is a common cause of pain in the neck. javascript:emoticon('')
> Crying or Very sad
> 
> To avoid pain, you need to lower your monitor so that you have to lower your eyes -- that is you want to flex your neck -- this is not painful. javascript:emoticon('')
> ...



Doesn't that fly in the face of perceived wisdom, Sean? 

I'm by no means an expert but I thought that people didn't lower their eyes but sat hunched forward over the screen and keyboard...shoulders rounded forwards...in other words, bad posture?


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## woodbloke (23 Aug 2006)

Regardless of the individual design, I seem to recollect somewhere in the murky depths of my mind something about how much time H&S regs recommend in front of a screen before a break is taken - I know that if I spend too long typing I'm sorely tempted to go out the the 'shop and find the largest lump hammer I can and deposit it thro' the keyboard. I was told that the important thing is to have the keyboard at such a height that the forearms are horizontal, back straight and the fingers should be raised slightly above the keyboard. In addition I like to have a slightly 'down eyes' attitude when typing. I think its more important to have a set height for the computer desk and have a really good, adjustable typing chair - Rob


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## Sean the amateur (23 Aug 2006)

I don’t think so Roger. I think that when you read about ‘ergonomic’ furniture, you are reading what somebody copied from a book. And, I think that most ‘somebodies’ don’t know much about anatomy, and probably don’t know much about furniture. 

It is a verifiable fact that numerous ‘computer-users’ complain to doctors about work-related stresses and strains, and a painful neck is one of these complaints. 

So, how did this happen?

If you walked into an office 30 years ago and watched a secretary using a typewriter, you would notice the typewriter was placed on a special typing table which was about 120 mms lower than the desk (I think the height was 26 inches), and that the secretary looked at what she was typing not at the keyboard. 

When the computer replaced the typewriter, the typing table disappeared and the monitor was stuck on the desk because it was already there. No thought was given to re-designing the desk to accommodate this new technology. People just kept on using a desk that had evolved to suit people reading and writing. And, of course, the computer monitor comes with a base which lifts it up about 120 mms. The result of this was to position the monitor several inches higher than the typewriter platen and paper used to be. 

Try this experiment. Put a thick book under your computer’s monitor. This will require you to look up and extend your neck. This will cause you to have a pain in your neck. Now remove the book and notice how much more comfortable your neck is. If this doesn’t cause a pain in your neck then I owe you a pint of your favourite brew. 

My computer desk, which is several years old now, facilitates my looking down and is much easier on my neck than anything else I have ever used in 24 years of using computers. The monitor is a little more than one arm’s length away from eyes and I do not hunch up to look at it. I think that if you watch people using a computer, you will see that most people who hunch do so to get closer to the keyboard, because they never learned touch typing and they hunch to find the keys. 

Look at these links. There is a market for ‘down looking.’ 

http://www.versatables.com/pages/produc ... dv3630.php

and 

http://www.smartdesks.com/computer-desks-fiseries.asp


Sean 

PS Woodbloke also says that the eyes need to look down. Now try looking sown without flexing your neck. That's right. I knew you couldn't do it.


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## RogerS (23 Aug 2006)

You're right, Sean!

Interesting link


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## engineer one (23 Aug 2006)

jason, i have just built mine and set the top at 900 mm,
but then i have a bar stool type chair, which i must change soon
for something slightly lower.
i am using a tft monitor, and that helps, but they need tilting to 
give you the best picture.

i think a lot also depends on what you are doing at the computer.
i do a fair amount of cad work so i want the keyboard and mouse in
a different position than if i were writing all the time.

the other thing that makes a difference is the type of cpu that the client 
has, mine is over 440 in height, so how are you going to mount that?

sean seems to have covered much of it, but also seat type has to 
be taken into consideration.

good luck
paul :wink:


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## Lee Brubaker (23 Aug 2006)

I suspect that most people who develop a pain in the neck at a computer desk are those persons who wear bifocal glasses ....hence tip their heads back when looking at the monitor. I built a corner computer desk about 6 years ago and lowered the center section 102mm or as much as I could & still allow room for my legs when sitting at the desk. Being a corner desk there is plenty of room to move the monitor back far enough that I do not have to employ my bifocals to see the script clearly .... so no neck pain. If I had been really clever, I would have set the monitor screen almost flush by recessing the monitor down even further & tilted back as well.

Lee


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## Sean the amateur (24 Aug 2006)

Lee,

People who wear bifocals shold have a pair of glasses just for the computer, the focal point being set at the distance from the eye to the screen. Then there is no need to tilt the head. Many musicians have a set of glasses especially for reading music. The principle is the same.

Sean


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