The effect of using a cycling workstation on mouse dexterity

Area of Science:

• Ergonomics and Human Factors
• Occupational Health
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Cycling workstations are increasingly adopted in office settings to promote physical activity.
• The impact of these workstations on fine motor skills, such as mouse dexterity, remains unclear.
• Understanding these effects is crucial for optimizing workplace productivity and employee well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of a cycling workstation on mouse dexterity.
• To determine if practice influences the performance changes associated with cycling workstations.
• To assess the impact on both accuracy and speed across different types of computer tasks.

Main Methods:

• Thirty-four healthy adults were divided into a sitting group and a cycling group.
• Participants completed standardized computer tasks (Tracking, Aiming, Steering) under seated and cycling conditions.
• Mouse accuracy (root mean square error, penalized path accuracy) and speed (movement time) were measured.

Main Results:

• Mouse accuracy was impaired during continuous tasks (Tracking, Steering) when using the cycling workstation compared to seated conditions.
• No significant deficits in speed were observed during the discrete Aiming task while cycling.
• No learning effects were found for any task in either group, indicating consistent performance differences.

Conclusions:

• Cycling workstations may negatively impact the accuracy of mouse use, particularly for continuous tasks.
• Mouse speed during discrete tasks is not affected by cycling workstation use.
• While promoting activity, cycling workstations might reduce productivity for tasks requiring high mouse precision.