Most of us spend a large percentage of our working day looking at a computer screen; and for many, leisure time too can be dominated by computer use and watching television. While there is growing awareness of the implications of this sedentary routine for our posture, eyes and back, what most of us don’t consider is the effect on our looks. What might be the physical consequences of long periods spent with our heads in our chins and holding tension in our faces?

From our twenties onwards the elasticity in our skin begins to decrease. Into our thirties and forties and jowls and the beginnings of a double chin might begin to appear. While some changes are of course inevitable – there is a limit to how much we can defy gravity – what can we do to slow down this process and what part does viewing a screen play upon these signs of aging?

In the Evening Standard Dr Michael Prager, a leading cosmetic doctor, terms the problem ‘computer face’: “All that frowning at your PC will give you wrinkles, and leaning forward to see better will worsen your posture and exacerbate any tendencies to jowliness,” he explains.

Of course there are many other factors that will influence how we age, but it seems to be common sense that the way we hold our head and the amount of tension we hold in our face and neck will have a bearing on the speed and way in which this happens.

According to the Alexander technique the correct position is “to imagine your head floating on top of your spine. It should be gently placed, resting in balance. As you walk or sit at the computer make sure your head sits in line with your shoulders, not in front of them. Your neck should not jut forward making you look like a turtle.”

There are several things you can do to try and minimise the impact on your face of viewing a screen for long periods, here are just some of the suggestions:

• Try to ensure that the top of your screen is at your eye level. This should facilitate a comfortable viewing position that allows you to find a natural posture but prevents you from letting your head drop into your chin. With a flat screen computer this can be achieved with the assistance of a monitor arm. The monitor arm allows the screen to be set to exactly the right height to suit each user.
• If your desktop computer, laptop or TV is affected by glare from sunlight or reflections from bright lights inside you can find yourself involuntarily squinting in order to compensate. Balance your screen brightness with your surroundings. The goal is to eliminate any contrast between the brightness of the screen and the area behind it.
• A great tip from Dr Prager is to use a mirror: “When people are stressed or thinking hard, they will often put on a grumpy face without even knowing what they are doing. When my clients put a mirror next to their desk they are often shocked by the angry, frowning face that stares back at them.”
• Make sure you can comfortably read text on your screen without squinting, straining or leaning forward. This is different for everyone (and depends on your vision) but a good rule of thumb is that your screen should be arm’s length away. Again monitor arms are a good solution as they allow the proximity of the screen to be adjusted (using the monitor arm) according to each individual’s needs.
• Take plenty of exercise, including yoga and facial exercises. The more we can keep our face and neck toned the more we are able to combat negative forces.
• “Laptops are even worse than desktops for inducing computer face” writes Alice Hart-Davis in the Evening Standard. To combat this a secondary keyboard and mouse should be used together with a laptop stand to raise the height of the screen to eye-level and prevent yourself hunching forward.

Like most things in life there doesn’t seem to be one simple fix for ‘computer face’, but at least with an awareness of how we sit and position our screens we might be able to slow down the process even if we can’t hold back time completely!