Let’s get to the straight to the ‘bottom’ of choosing a good comfortable home office chair if you’ll excuse the pun! We have talked about choosing the right home office desk for your workspace and lifestyle and while the desk is important the one thing that we see overlooked so very often and not given enough thought to is the chair you’re going to be sitting in for hours on end.
All too often we see a cheap office chair being purchased, and yes, budget is obviously an important consideration but this is one area where you need the best you can possible afford.
Spending hours sitting in a chair that ends up giving you a painful back and a ‘numb bum’, is not conducive to a pleasant work day. It’s impossible to unleash the creative flow if all you can do is wiggle and squirm trying to get comfortable on a cheap office chair or something you have borrowed from the kitchen.
The human body was not designed to spend hours in a sitting position so when we are forced to do just that its vital that we are as comfortable as possible.
The human body was not designed to spend hours in a sitting position so when we are forced to do just that its vital that we are as comfortable as possible.
It’s all about ergonomics. Ergonomics simply put is the study, refinement and design of how the human body reacts with the things we use on a daily basis. Wikipedia defines ergonomics as ‘comfort design, functional design, and systems’ and goes on to describe it as ‘the practice of designing products, systems, or processes to take proper account of the interaction between them and the people who use them’
Now you may not have studied ergonomics or been aware of the scientific background behind the discipline but like most of us you will probably have heard of the growing trends in ergonomic office chair design.
There is no doubt that the most commonly reported health problems amongst people who are employed in long term office work sitting in a badly designed chair for hours on end are back and headache, aggravating pains in the neck and shoulder muscles, lower and upper back and spine challenges all of which can and will cause a drastic drop in concentration, efficiency, creativity and of course productivity.
Now you may not have studied ergonomics or been aware of the scientific background behind the discipline but like most of us you will probably have heard of the growing trends in ergonomic office chair design. Now, if you want a true ergonomic chair then you’re certainly not going cheap or budget level and you can expect to pay somewhere between $400 to $700. Now that may seem like a lot for a chair and maybe as much as your desk budget, but when we say this is a lifetime investment and it’s your body, health, well being and long term comfort we are talking about then it’s well worth it.
If your budget just won’t stretch that far then ‘semi’ ergonomic designs like the Amazon Basics range that offer great value and the mid priced highly acclaimed VIVA range of ergonomic office chairs will give you years of comfort
So let’s look at a check list of what we need to consider in a decent home office chair:
- Seat height adjustable and tilt tension
- Adjustable lumbar support
- Adjustable armrest
- Adjustable headrest
- Comfortable well padded breathable seat. (A must!)
- Material or mesh that avoids heat and moisture build up and is will actually wick moisture away from skin and clothes
- Good quality high durability castors.
The more comfortable you are the more productive and creative you’re likely to be.
[fsbProduct asin=’B00IIFW2L4′ align=’right’]Unless you really must have a decorative leather or leather look executive style chair to suit your existing home office furniture then it’s not a purchase we would recommend. The seams and stitching in leather and vinyl harbor dust and dirt and make your chair difficult to clean, particularly the seat. If it’s not going to clash with your other furnishings and décor you’d be better advised spending your money on truly ergonomic features that will give you long term comfort and keep your body in good shape.
The more comfortable you are the more productive and creative you’re likely to be.
Seat Height Adjustment
For optimum comfort adjust your seat height so that your feet are resting flat on the floor and your thighs are as parallel as possible to the ground. If the seats is to high it puts pressure on the very sensitive area behind the knee and if your chair is to low and you’ll be leaning back and putting pressure on your bottom or sitz bones, the ischial tuberosity or sitting bones and coccyx. It’s what’s called getting a ‘numb bum’!
(If you do suffer from coccyx pain, consider buying an orthopedic coccyx seat cushion)
Seat Back Lumbar Support
Because lack of adequate lumbar support when sitting for long periods is the primary cause of lower back pain its vital to have adjustable lumbar support on your office chair. If you suffer from lower back pain it will ruin your concentration. Height and if at all possible firmness lumbar control are a must.
Adjustable Armrests.
At a minimum, height adjustable armrests are an essential feature and allow for proper support of your arms w
hile working or resting and should be level with the work surface for total comfort. The correct office chair armrest height also helps to prevent hunching over of the shoulders which guess what? It also helps prevent yet more back and shoulder pain developing.
The Seat Cushion.
We can’t stress this one enough; a well padded, firm yet comfortable office chair seat cushion that’s actually breathable will pay dividends in terms of overall long term comfort while sitting working or just relaxing.
They may look comfortable but at the end of the day you’ll get the best results from a good ergonomic mesh backed chair with a breathable seat cushion.
It’s going to be a personal preference and taste and of course what’s going to match your décor as we have said previously but we can only stress that we would stay away from heavily padded chairs with lots of seams that attract dirt, dust and sweat. They may look comfortable but at the end of the day you’ll get the best results from a good ergonomic mesh backed chair with a breathable seat cushion.
So the art and science of choosing a good home office chair is down to personal taste and your budget or course so choose wisely remembering that in terms of comfort and health it’s probably the most important home office purchase you will make.