1. Place your laptop on a desk or a table. This should have sufficient room underneath for your feet and knees so that you can sit close to your laptop. Despite its name, the worst place to rest your laptop for prolonged periods of working is on your lap.
2. Use a chair that has a good lumbar support for your spine. The lower part of your spine (the lumbar region) is designed to naturally curve inwards. So if you don’t have a good lumbar support on your chair, you can use a small rolled up towel between the small of your back and the back rest just to support this area. Don’t overdo it and create a huge roll. All you are looking to do is to create a support that follows the natural curvature of the spine and this should be comfortable in use.
3. Your knees should be slightly lower than your hips. Use a footrest if you need to, otherwise place your
   feet flat on the floor.
4. Use a separate keyboard and mouse with your laptop if you can, or alternatively use a separate monitor. This is because with laptops, when the keyboard is in the ideal position, the screen position will generallybe too low….and when the screen is at the ideal position, then the keyboard will be too high.
5. The top of the screen should ideally be level with your eyes. This avoids you having to look down ontothe screen which would involve you bending your neck and placing strain through your cervical spineand neck muscles . Laptop stands can be helpful for this purpose, but if you don’t have one then you can use books under your laptop or a separate monitor to raise the screen to the correct position.
6. The keyboard and mouse should be placed directly in front of you within easy reach so that your working position is comfortable. A gap of about 4 to 6 inches (10-15 cm) between the front of your desk and the keyboard is usually about right and allows you space to rest your wrists when you take a break from typing. Your forearms and wrists should be straight. Your elbows should be down at your sides andbent at about a 90 degree angle (so that your arm forms an L-shape at the elbow joint)
7. If your chair is too low such that you are struggling to achieve the position in Tip 6 and if instead you findyou are having to reach up to the keyboard, then adjust your chair (if it is an adjustable office type) oralternatively use a cushion to raise your seating position to the correct height.

Further information (including a diagram of an ergonomic working position) can be found at https://www.hse.gov.uk/toolbox/workers/home.htm but finally, remember to take regular breaks from your work.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recommends a 5 minute break every hour. Get up, stretch and move around!