I review laptops for a living here at Tom's Guide, but long before I was writing about them for work, I was carrying one to school every day—and I wish I knew then what I know now.
Back in the day, all I cared about was power, so I absolutely wrecked my neck and shoulders by lugging a hefty gaming laptop to class and hunching over it at my desk every night. I didn't even know the word "ergonomics" at the time, and I just assumed every student had achy wrists and a kinked neck from long hours on the laptop.
But I was wrong, and now that I'm on the other side of 40, I wanted to quickly run down some of the laptop accessories that have helped me eliminate aches and pains during long writing sessions.
Think of this as your back-to-school ergonomic computing starter pack—five accessories that you can throw in your bag alongside your laptop to ensure you can work comfortably for hours, whether you're on campus or studying back in your dorm.
A comfy ergonomic mouse
First and foremost, if you're going to be using a laptop as your primary computer for any length of time, it's worth the expense to invest in a good ergonomic mouse and keyboard.
Laptops conveniently colocate the trackpad alongside the keyboard deck so they're easy to fold up and carry around, but holding your hands close together in an awkward claw position over the laptop is going to wear out your muscles and cause cramping and pain over time.
To avoid that discomfort, I recommend you invest in a good portable Bluetooth mouse that has an ergonomic grip you find comfortable to hold for long periods. I personally like the Contour Unimouse because it's adjustable, so you can tilt the mouse up or down to make it taller or shorter, depending on your hand size.
You could also go with a more traditional flat or vertical mouse, a portable trackball, or whatever sort of input device seems like the best fit for your needs. If you want some more guidance, I suggest you take a look at our guides to the best mouse and best wireless mouse for some buying advice, as well as our hands-on reviews of what each one feels like to use.
A comfy ergonomic keyboard
Investing in a good ergonomic mouse and keyboard for your laptop is the one-two punch that, for my money, has the biggest impact on your health and comfort.
That's why I recommend you take some time thinking through what external keyboard would feel best for you and your situation, rather than just buying whatever cheap keyboard you find first on Amazon.
I've taken the liberty of linking to one of the best ergonomic wireless keyboards you can buy above, but I recommend you check out our rundown of the best keyboards and the best wireless keyboards for more ideas and buying advice.
Personally, I prefer to use a split ergonomic keyboard like the ZSA Moonlander when I'm traveling with a laptop because the split nature of the keyboard makes it both easy to customize to my needs and easy to fit around my laptop. Plus, the Moonlander (and many other keyboards) comes with a free carrying case that makes it a cinch to pack up the keyboard and take it on the go.
A great laptop stand
If you're going to work on a laptop at school, I seriously recommend you invest in a decent laptop stand to elevate it off your desk.
When paired with a good external keyboard and mouse, a laptop stand basically transforms your laptop into the ergonomic equivalent of a desktop. Just leaving one set up in your bedroom is going to save your neck and shoulders loads of pain and stress every time you sit down to work or watch a movie.
Plus, laptop stands can be incredibly affordable. There are literally hundreds of options to choose from at prices ranging from $10-$100, so you have a lot of room to choose.
If you want some more guidance and hands-on reports of what they're like to use, check out our guide to the best laptop stands on the market right now. For simplicity's sake, I've also linked our current top pick for the best laptop stand above. This Lamicall model is lightweight aluminum that's foldable, adjustable, and comes with built-in vents for keeping your laptop cool under pressure.
A portable hand massager
Maybe this is a little unconventional as back-to-school recommendations go, but if you're shopping for school this season, I seriously suggest you consider getting an affordable hand massager.
I say that because I'm on the other side of 40, and if I could go back and do it all over again, I'd take much better care of my hands and wrists. The kinds of over-the-counter hand massagers I've tested here at Tom's Guide are no match for professional care, but they're great for working out hands and wrists after a long day of writing papers.
The model I've linked above is one you can get on Amazon for a fairly reasonable price, and it's one of my favorites because it has a cutout at the top for your fingers to stretch out and get comfortable.
That cutout also gives you more freedom to seat the massager lower on your wrist than most I've tested, which means it can also give your wrist a nice heated massage if you position it appropriately. It's no cure for serious hand and wrist damage, but it certainly feels nice after a long day of typing on a laptop.
Splurge on AR glasses to avoid "tech neck"
Okay, this is a real splurge, and I don't expect everyone taking a laptop back to school this year to also pack a pair of pricey augmented reality glasses.
But the price of AR glasses is getting cheaper every year, and as the technology advances and gets more affordable, I'm increasingly of the mind that a good pair is one of the best laptop accessories you can buy.
See, you can plug a decent pair of AR glasses into your laptop and see a replica of what's on your laptop screen floating in front of your eyes. This has some benefits when it comes to feeling futuristic and keeping what you're working on private from peeking eyes, but for me, it has one benefit that outweighs all others: freedom.
Once you can look wherever you want and still see what you're working on, you're free to relax, stretch your neck, and work in whatever position is most ergonomic and comfortable for you. I love using a pair of Xreal glasses to write on my laptop while I'm lying on the couch, with my head comfortably supported and the rest of me completely at ease.
It's the most comfortable and least painful way I've ever found to work, and if I were giving younger me advice on going back to school, I'd absolutely recommend a pair of the best smart glasses you can afford.
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