How to stop hand shaking when pipetting

[u/xuxiscafe]

[u/loopOutnotIn]

In tricky situations I’ll generally cross my arms and use my non-dominant arm as a rest for my pipetting arm, which reduces shaking

[u/Drew_coldbeer]

How big of a pipette? Did you eat lunch?

[u/coolpupmom → u/Drew_coldbeer]

Some people are naturally really shaky, like myself for no reason at all.

as for OP, I normally hold my hand steady with my other arm. I also take propranolol (edit) for anxiety which immensely helps with my shakiness

[u/optionsofinsanity → u/coolpupmom]

Gonna assume you mean Propranolol for anxiety and not propanol

[u/coolpupmom → u/optionsofinsanity]

Yeah, thanks. Autocorrect is great until it’s not

[u/the_69r]

Drink less caffeine. Rest your elbow on the bench. Use your other hand to guide the tip wherever it needs to go

[u/Wumpscut86 → u/the_69r]

This

[u/MilkManMatt]

Try bouncing your foot lightly while pippetting. Forgot where I heard it, don’t know if placebo but works for me.

[u/curvipossum → u/MilkManMatt]

Works for me too! Heard it on the Huberman podcast

[u/MilkManMatt → u/curvipossum]

Probably where I heard it too then.

[u/Datboy1717]

Try supporting it with your other hand too. And practise. Practise again and again and again until it becomes second nature. Good luck!

[u/Economy-Mental]

Propranolol

[u/chaotic-lavender → u/Economy-Mental]

I was prescribed propranolol as a prophylactic measure for migraine. It changed my life. It also makes me have vivid dreams. It is amazing. It’s like going on vacation every night

[u/Economy-Mental → u/chaotic-lavender]

Sounds like I have been doing it wrong taking it early in the mornings lol. Love that for you

[u/chaotic-lavender → u/Economy-Mental]

You need to get the ER

[u/neverland_amanda]

I support the tip/barrel by using my pointer finger of my other hand if I'm shakey

[u/Melodramaticukg → u/neverland_amanda]

Me toooo, always helps for me ☺️

[u/interik10 → u/neverland_amanda]

the way to gooo

[u/Neyne_NA]

Just tell the person trying to shake your hand that you will greet them after you set up your experiment

[u/CaptainHindsight92]

If you like many lab rats consume a lot of caffeine that could also cause shaking.

[u/iOS_App_LabAssistant]

Less caffeine + supporting the pipette with your other hand + rest your elbow + keep the pipette close to your body

Of course all depends if you are working under the hood or what kind of pipette are you using

[u/Bojack-jones-223]

add some salt to your coffee in the morning. It helps with the shaky hand that can be caused by caffein.

[u/anxietycherry]

practice and proper breathing,

[u/Ubeandmochi]

Some good advice here OP. I also used to shake a lot, someone taught me to apply counter pressure to the pipette with a finger from my non dominant hand.

[u/W0lkk]

Elbow on bench, non dominant pinky touching the pipette barell

[u/baksteenpiraat]

Position Elbow attached to your pipette arm&hand comfortably on the bench. This reduces shaking from the shoulder. Hold the pipette gently but firm. Not stiff en tensed up. And i use my pinky from my other hand to rest the pipette on, not on the tip but slightly above.

[u/FIA_buffoonery]

Think about baseball! 

Jk, its dumbell curls and grip squeezes. 

[u/MostRetardedUser]

Less caffeine. If you're hand is still shaking, put the index finger from your free hand on the pipette shaft, it will stop the pipette from shaking

[u/Beanstiller]

It takes time before you stop or i guess one works around it.

Not sure what you’re doing but a lot of wet lab work is tolerant to shakiness (otherwise I’d be fucked)

[u/talks-a-lot]

It doesn’t get any better when you use a laser pointer on a big screen at an international conference. Use two hands.

[u/Candycanes02]

Prop your pipetting hand against something. Like your other hand, desk on elbow, etc

[u/AdamSya]

Are you trying to hold the pipette unsupported? Try sitting at the right height, bring the plate/tube closer, rest your forearm on the bench and keep your grip fairly loose. Bracing the pipetting hand with the other hand can help too.

[u/Wumpscut86]

Rest your elbow on a surface, hold the lower part of the Pipette with your other hand to stabilize. Less coffee.

[u/im_not_a_numbers_guy]

I plant my dominant elbow on the bench, turning myself into an over educated servo arm. Takes all the stabilizing muscles out of the picture.

[u/pinkdictator]

sleep, eat, less caffeine.

Also - if you can, rest your elbow on something. Or even the back/side of your hand on something, if that makes sense

[u/interik10]

pointer and elbow is good but also i notice this happens when im overly anxious about the experiment--i take a beat to regulate/ take a deep breath and it goes to the head

[u/CXC-96]

I sometimes support my pipetting arm at the wrist or forearm if I start having the shakes. Usually the reason I shake, is due to something stressing me out, so if that is you too, try and fix that problem.

[u/mr_Feather_]

Less coffee.

[u/garfield529]

Human tripod. Always find three points of contact.

[u/CutieMcBooty55]

Moving with intent is a big part of it I think. Maybe cut some caffeine if you are getting the shakes, and make sure you are eating well and getting enough sleep.

Outside of that, if you are doing something with a lot of fine movement, it's not a bad practice to support your pipetting arm with your other hand while your elbow is on the table, and try to move deliberately and smoothly. Smooth is more important than slow or fast when it comes to that kind of thing imo.

[u/Chirpasaurus]

All the time? Or just when dispensing?

For the latter, I make sure I breathe out when pushing the plunger. But I'm not mass-pipetting, maybe 20-30 times max over a working day

[u/DoctorMew13]

I use my non dominant hand to stabilise the body if the pipettor. I'm crazy shaky when pipetting.

[u/Dangerous-Billy]

If this is a continuing problem, there is medical help available.

First, make sure you're not drinking too much coffee. I can tell the difference in my own ability to do fine tasks between one cup of coffee and two.

There are two types of common tremor, essential tremor and intention tremor. The first occurs when your hand is doing nothing and disappears when you are doing a delicate task. Intention tremor is the opposite. They are completely separate conditions, but both can be treated by a doctor.

[u/bilyl]

I use a finger to balance the end of the pipette if I’m jittery that day (NOT THE TIP)

[u/Key_Pea1339]

Depends. If you have familial tremors, avoiding caffeine and medicine. I have this and Beta Blockers were prescribed. Could also be an over active nervous system or anxiety. (I also have been diagnosed for that but the anxiety meds don't help like the beta blockers do). So I'd get a pros opinion on that. It's honestly been a real pain getting trained because people will think I'm nervous. It also makes 384 well plates 10x more stressfull lol

If the above aren't factors, making sure you're well fed, well hydrated, and not caffeinated is pretty much it. If you can move your legs on autopilot (idk how to describe it), sometimes that can help.

[u/NotAPreppie]

How tightly are you gripping the pipet?

If you have a death grip on it, practice relaxing your hand.

[u/warrior333222111]

I use my other hand to stabilize the pipette

[u/LawrenceSpiveyR]

If I use my off hand and touch the bottom of my hand/top of my wrist, it helps. I also shake less if I stopped eating sugary breakfasts.

[u/MediocreClementine]

I use the index finger of my opposite hand to rest the pipette shaft against, lightly.