Readers of Cointelegraph are likely to be among the increasing hordes of people who make their livings sitting behind a computer screen from four to nine hours a day.

This kind of living is all well and good — especially if you do it from home in your pajamas — but if done incorrectly, it can take a toll on both your body and eyesight.

There are a few key investments you can make in your office setup — all available for Bitcoin — that can improve your health and prevent painful problems later (or sooner) in life. I have tried everything I recommend below to surprisingly positive results.

Your Eyes

Ever get “eye strain” or a headache or “dry, itchy” eyes after staring for hours at a screen? You are not alone.

Digital screens emit UV light, and this light is on a spectrum. It's the blue end of the spectrum that strains your eyes and causes discomfort.

Several brands of “computer reading glasses” or “gaming glasses” have been developed to solve this problem. Their lenses contain a yellow tint and some kind of special coating that filters out most of the blue end of your screen's UV emissions.

And here's the weird thing: the glasses actually work.

I use the pair pictured above — US$35 from Duco. But I also experienced eye strain relief from a pair of US$13 Gamma Rays — less than half the cost. The Gamma Ray frames are a little flimsier, but they do the trick. There is a much more expensive (and patented) brand called Gunnar that serve the same purpose. Get 15% off any of them using PurseIO.

Your Body

The next line of defense against health problems and pain is the posture you choose to take during your hours behind the screen.

Many write that the proliferation of back pain in modern society is due to too much sitting. But back pain relief expert Esther Gokhale is building a small but rabid following on the premise that we're simply not sitting correctly.

Gokhale traveled to primitive cultures around the world and found that, even though many people sat for hours a day at needlework or pottery, they did not report any back pain. The difference? The way they sit.

Most modern furniture is absolute crap. It's designed to fit the modern posture, which is slouched. Which of the sitting diagrams below more accurately represents how you sit in front of your computer?

Office chairs can be modified to encourage pain-free sitting. So can car seats. Even your computer hardware can be tweaked to encourage a better posture (i.e., get a wireless keyboard and mouse so you don't have to hunch over your laptop).

Many excellent recommendations are made in Gokhale's book 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, which has been life-changing for me and several desk-dwellers I've given it to.

Going Forward

You may not be able to do much about your “programmer hands” (that baby soft feeling and pale color – eek!), but you can save your eyes and your body. Hours of sitting and staring at the computer is not inherently a bad thing, if you employ the right hacks.