Are Ergonomic Chairs Good for You? Features & Benefits of Ergonomic Chairs

Ergonomic chair benefits are underrated. People sit – a lot. Statistically, you’ll find claims of adults in the United States sitting between 6.5 to 15 hours a day. Even at 10 hours a day, you’re sitting for more than 50% of your waking hours.

The right ergonomic chair will help you avoid:

• Risks of bad posture
• Back pain
• Neck pain
• So much more

The advantages of ergonomics are plentiful, and we’re going to explore quite a few of them to discover if a new chair may be beneficial for you.

What are Ergonomic Chairs?

Before we discuss ergonomic chair features, it’s important to understand what “ergonomic” really means. When referring to ergonomics, this means a chair that conforms to the body and is highly adjustable.

Many of the benefits of ergonomic chairs are due to the option to adjust:

• Headrest
• Height
• Arms

Your body has a natural position that it can remain in with good posture. If your chair is too short or the arms aren’t the right height, it will impact this natural position. You may have to sit up closer to the edge of the chair, leading to less back support and even pain in your knees.

Ergonomic chairs are designed to naturally fit your body.

P.S. There are also a lot of ergonomic desk benefits, but we’re going to focus on chairs specifically in the rest of this article.

Ergonomic Chairs Key Features

We touched on many of the ergonomic chair features in the last section, but they include:

• Adjustable arms
• Adjustable height
• Neck adjustments (where applicable)
• Potential lumbar support

Your chair should promote good posture by adding support and conforming to your body’s natural dimensions. For example, a taller person with long arms will find themselves scrunched up in a normal chair with poor posture that leaves them with shoulder and neck pain.

Ergonomic chairs solve these issues by allowing you to adjust features that other chairs do not allow.

The Benefits of Ergonomic Chairs

While there are many benefits of ergonomic chairs, the following are some of the most important:

Benefit 1: Promotes Good Posture

According to one study, prolonged sitting can have drastic consequences for your health. In fact, the study found that poor posture from sitting led to a higher risk of death in all categories. Ergonomic chairs are designed to promote good posture.

And the right chair will:

• Reduce bodily strains
• Improve health

If you’re sitting for long periods, ergonomic chairs help align the body so that it doesn’t lead to unwanted stress on the joints.

Benefit 2: Prevents Back Pain

Back pain impacts people worldwide, and an ergonomic chair will help reduce back pain in many ways, including:

• Promoting proper spine alignment
• Offering lumbar support

The option to adjust the lumbar support is becoming more popular and will prevent slouching in the chair and aid in posture.

Benefit 3: Reduce Neck Pain

Achy backs are often followed by neck pain. Depending on the chair, you may have an adjustable neck support that helps alleviate strain on your neck.

Benefit 4: Improve Blood Circulation

Sitting has a negative impact on your blood circulation. If you sit for long hours, you can expect to experience:

• Depression
• Poor blood circulation
• Higher risk of heart disease
• Much more

One study even found that sitting for one hour per day led to higher risks in all of the categories above. Ergonomic chairs promote better circulation, especially in the lower extremities, when compared to traditional chairs.

Benefit 5: Boost Productivity

Aches, pains and general discomfort impact productivity. How often do you have to reposition in the chair or get up to stretch your legs? Sitting in a chair that cradles your body and is adjusted to meet your body’s dimensions will lead to higher productivity.

Instead of focusing on your pain or discomfort, you can focus on being productive.

Benefit 6: Eases Hip Pain

Hip pain can be a result of poor posture when you sit. When your seat’s height is improper, it often leads to greater strain on the knees and hips. Ergonomic chairs keep all of your joints in alignment so that your hips don’t hurt.

Benefit 7: Adjusts to Fit Your Height

If you can’t adjust your current chair’s height, there’s a good chance that you’re not properly aligned. Ergonomic chairs work so well because they’re designed to be adjustable. You can adjust the height of most elements, including overall chair height.

Benefit 8: Designed to Fit All Users

You're unique. Your arm length, back, height and everything about you is unique. Adjustable components of ergonomic chairs are designed to fit users of all sizes. People that are tall or short often struggle to find comfort in a normal chair.

However, the adjustable nature of ergonomic chairs allows you to adjust the chair to fit you.

Benefit 9: Puts Less Pressure on the Knees

As we discussed in point six, knee pain is common when you’re not properly aligned in your chair. Ergonomic chairs reduce pressure on the knees, leading to less knee pain overall.

Benefit 10: Promotes Maximum Comfort

There are many ergonomic advantages and disadvantages, but the most common advantage is comfort. When you’re in proper alignment and can adjust multiple areas of your chair, it will be far more comfortable.

People sit a lot.

If you need to sit for work or even when relaxing at home, you’ll find ergonomic chairs are far more comfortable than non-ergonomic models.

Are There Any Disadvantages of Ergonomic Chairs?

Are ergonomic chairs good for you? Yes. But are there any disadvantages? Not many. The one disadvantage that we can think of is price. You'll find that ergonomic anything will cost more than traditional furniture, but you benefit from fewer aches and pains as a result.

However, the higher price is worth the cost, especially if you sit for long hours every day.

Often, you’ll save money by reducing:

• Aches
• Pains
• Doctor visits

And you also benefit from greater productivity – a major perk.

Final Thoughts

It’s impossible to ignore the health benefits of ergonomic chairs. If you’re like most people that sit at a desk for the majority of your day, you definitely want to consider an ergonomic chair. Maintaining proper alignment in your neck, back, hips and more is crucial to reduce the risk of pain or discomfort from sitting too long.