All that quality time in front of a computer screen to finish a project, beat a video game or surf the Internet may cause a host of health problems.

According to the study released by Chiba University in Japan, the more time a person works in front of a computer, the more likely he or she is to suffer a group of physical, mental and sleep-related ailments. Researchers said workers stuck in front of a computer most commonly complained of headache, eye strain, joint pain and stiff shoulders.

Mental symptoms such as lethargy, anxiety, insomnia and anxiety were most common among workers who spent more than five hours a day glued to their computer screen, researchers said.

Shengchao Yu, doctorate student in computer engineering, spends between eight and 10 hours per day in front of a monitor. He said he agreed with the results of the study.

“I definitely get eye strain from staring at the computer,” Yu said. I also get lower back pain. I don’t feel headaches, but maybe it’s because I’m still young.”

Yu also said he felt stress when working in front of his computer, but he wasn’t sure it was a direct result of his computer screen.

“As far as mental effects, I definitely feel better when I’m not in front of the computer. However, I’m not sure the computer monitor causes my anxiety. It might be my work itself that’s stressful. But I definitely feel exhausted after looking at the computer for an entire day,” Yu said.

Suzanne Zilber, staff psychologist for Student Counseling Service, said she believes factors other than staring at the computer monitor cause these health problems.

“There’s usually much more obvious factors at work than computer use,” she said. “The monitor itself probably isn’t causing these health problems.”

Getting the proper amount of exercise, exposure to direct sunlight, and sleeping the right amount are paramount to avoiding depression, she said, and those who spend lots of time in front of their computer probably neglect these things.

“Those who are stressed or depressed can become socially withdrawn and may spend more time with a computer than with people,” Zilber said. “Their depression probably doesn’t stem from the monitor.”

She said it was a vicious cycle that often begins with depression, causing more social isolation and more time in front of the computer — rather than a cycle where lots of time in front of the computer causes depression and anxiety.

In order to combat this stress, the study suggests prevention of mental disorders and sleep disorders requires the restriction of video display terminal use to less than five hours per day.

Luke Ryon, graduate student in electrical and computer engineering, doesn’t believe spending such a small amount of time in front of a monitor is always possible.

It would be nice to spend only five hours in front of a monitor, Ryon said, but “I can easily spend nine hours a day in front computer screen when several projects are due. It would be hard, if not impossible, to limit work to under five hours. It’s just not realistic.”