Comfort is essential. Whether you’re playing or doing focused work, you need to be comfortable, right? Believe it or not, it all starts with your keyboard. No, the question isn’t whether to upgrade to an ergonomic keyboard, because most of them end up being overrated. It’s also not about opting for a smaller form factor. The real question is whether to tilt it or not.
It depends. Common wisdom suggests that the keyboard should lie flat on your desk. There’s a lot of truth to this, but how you position your keyboard has everything to do with the position of your forearms. When you’re at work and sitting upright, your forearms tilt downward, which means typing on a flat keyboard feels more natural. Try it for yourself: unfold your keyboard legs, sit at your desk and try typing. You will notice that you will begin to bend your wrists to overcome the tilt.
So, if that’s true, why do gamers tilt their keyboards? Do all players tire their wrists? No. The flat keyboard rule only matters when you’re sitting up straight. Most gamers do not have perfect posture when playing and choose to recline their chair slightly. In this position, a positively tilted keyboard (the upper part tilted with the little feet extended) is perfect because your torso is leaned back, as are your shoulders. When this happens, the wrists naturally tilt upward. The inclination is therefore logical. Generally, if you’re relaxing with a video game, tilting your keyboard feels more natural. If you sit upright at a desk, flip this keyboard flat on the desk.
When should you try negative tilt?
As overrated as they may be, the best ergonomic keyboards like the Logitech Ergo K860 can also perform negative tilt – the position where the part of the space bar is tilted upwards. Should you try this? Again, this depends on your body position in relation to the desk. It could be argued that the negative tilt is the most natural wrist position. However, this will only help you if you sit up straight at your desk. Your hands will naturally descend and follow the angle of your wrists, which may be more comfortable for longer typing sessions.
However, for gaming or any other sitting position, the negative tilt will likely do more harm than good. You see, when you are lying in a chair, your hands will be placed a little higher than the keyboard, so you will need to extend your wrists upwards to overcome the angle of the keyboard. The same applies to office environments where your desk is a bit high. Negative tilt is worth a try, but it’s a more niche position, if you can call it that. The classic tilt and flat position of the keyboard will suit you in all situations, professional and otherwise.
