Apple gear is great for looks, but a few of its products are actually pretty hard on the body. If you want to avoid repetitive stress injuries, ditch the Apple accessories in favor of something a little more ergo. We don’t recommend hauling in all this gear at once -- expect strange looks from coworkers that see the incredibly bright blue light of the Philips goLITE or hear the sound of the Smartfish keyboard moving itself. Yup, some of this tech is kooky as all get-out, but since it helps us stay vigorous during a long day at the desk, we won’t complain.
$199.99
Philips.com
Ever wanted to beam blue light in your face with the intensity of a thousand blue suns? Probably not, but if you’ve ever experienced seasonal affective disorder (or just feel blue in the gloomy winters), you’re an ideal candidate. The goLITE is clinically proven to improve your mood and energy during those glum stretches. The goLITE has an alarm setting so you can set it to go off in bursts throughout your day, and the built-in battery ensures you can improve your mood even on the go.
$129.99
Kensington.com
Apple makes gorgeous mice with all the bells and whistles you could hope for -- but it comes at a price. They tend to sacrifice ergonomics for stunning design, which is fine until your wrist starts feeling cramped. Luckily, more comfortable options -- like Kensington’s SlimBlade Trackball -- provide a far more natural fit for your hand and wrist. Resting your hand on the trackball allows your hand to be in a more neutral position during long workdays, offering a great alternative if your mouse is giving you grief.
$149.99
SmartfishTechnologies.com
Smartfish dubs its ErgoMotion keyboard as the smartest keyboard ever. Why? Because throughout the day, the keyboard cycles through seven positions -- physically altering the shape of the keyboard -- in order to prevent repetitive stress injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome. Surprisingly, these transformations aren’t distracting, and the keyboard ultimately felt much more comfortable than the low profile of the new Apple keyboards. Mac compatibility is still a little iffy with a few buttons (like the left Control key) not working and a few other secondary keys being mixed up, but if you can tolerate these few shortcomings, your wrists will thank you.
$59.95
DynaflexPro.com
Even after you’ve switched over all your gear for more ergonomic alternatives, there’s still the undeniable fact that if you work a desk job, many of your muscles remain unused for a majority of the workday. Fortunately, you can get a quick and dirty workout at your desk by revving up the Powerball by Dynaflex. This bad boy has an internal gyro that spins at 15,000 RPMs, creating around 35 pounds of torque resistance for your wrists and forearms. It’s perfect for long stationary days, and well, zero gravity. That’s right, this thing is so effective astronauts have used it. And what’s cooler than that?
$99.95
Fitbit.com
We’re not sure about the black magic that powers the Fitbit Tracker, but we do know this thing is awesome. It monitors everything in your life, from your steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, and sleep quality at night (judged by how much you toss and turn). Wait, what? We know, it’s crazy. The tiny clip utilizes the same technology as the Nintendo Wii and remotely sends data to a wireless base station, which can then be uploaded to fitbit.com where you can set up collaborative fitness goals and peruse all the colorful charts you could dream of.
$159
Withings.com
Don’t let looks fool you—the Withings WiFi Body Scale is no ordinary scale. Sure, it’ll weigh you like an ordinary scale, but then it sends your measurements to your computer or the free iPhone app, where you can easily monitor your weight curve, lean mass, and more. Plus, this WiFi scale can manage up to eight people, so you’ll never have to compromise your data to let someone else try it out. Usually, staring down a scale fills us with at least a little dread, but this one’s cool enough to turn those tables and make us actually eager to step on it.
Your coworkers will definitely stop and stare if you bring these to work one day!
We’re not sure this thing qualifies as a chair. Utilizing the same oversized balance balls found in Pilates classes, the Gaiam Balance Ball Chair ($120; gaiam.com) is supposed to strengthen your back by forcing you to balance during the course of the day. As our balance is exceptionally bad, we think it looks more like a way to break our backs than strengthen them.
Call us crazy, but we like sitting down during the day. Apparently this isn’t the best option. Treadmill desks, like the ones found at Steelcase.com, have been gaining popularity in recent years, and at a one-mph crawl, they allow workers to travel nearly eight miles a day. Besides helping you shed some serious weight over the course of the year, these desks have practical benefits like preventing your muscles from being weakened by inactivity while you sit in the same position all day. You’ll pay for the privilege, though -- the Steelcase Walkstation model shown here
costs $4,400.
