The 5 Best Mouse Pad Wrist Rests For Working, Gaming & More
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Spending long hours at a computer can be quite uncomfortable, especially when it comes to your wrists. So, if you’re someone who often experiences strain while working at your desk, the best mouse pad wrist rests can help. Made from materials like gel and memory foam, they offer soft support while placing your wrist in a neutral position.
According to Jordan Duncan, D.C., a Washington-based chiropractor at Silverdale Sport and Spine, “The goal of a mouse pad wrist rest is to keep your wrist in a more neutral orientation and limit excessive ranges of motion that can lead to repetitive strain injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome.” For that reason, wrist rests offer slight elevation to place your wrist in line with the mouse, and offer soft support to prevent nerve compression.
As far as options go, Darryl Higgins, a work ergonomics expert and founder of Athlete Desk recommends memory foam as an “ideal material” that can help “relieve chronic wrist discomfort.” Memory foam molds to the shape of your wrist for customized support, then slowly bounces back. One thing to note about memory foam is that it absorbs your body heat, so it may warm up after long hours of work — an attribute that may be a drawback for some people. A gel wrist rest, on the other hand, remains cool to the touch, and is a squishier material that bounces back more quickly than memory foam. Your choice will come down to a matter of texture and temperature preferences.
Beyond that, you may want to consider options that come with keyboard rests, or extra-wide rests that support your wrist while giving you more room to move. To help make finding the right wrist rest easy, here’s a quick guide to the best mouse pad wrists rests you can buy for work or play. Pro tip: They’re the perfect complement to the best ergonomic mice.