Compbrella Guide for Choosing the Best Ergonomic Office Chairs
Some of you may be doubting how essential an office chair is to your overall health and productivity. This guide will help you understand their advantages and how simply changing your regular office chair to an ergonomic one can improve your life. No matter what size you are or your specific needs, there’s a model out there for you.
What is an Ergonomic Office Chair?
An ergonomic chair is a chair specifically designed to align and support your body for maximum comfort and bodily health. Ergonomic chairs have several health benefits:
- Posture support that reduces stress on your neck and back by making you sit at a 90-degree angle.
- Comfortable seating that alleviates pressure on our bones from constant sitting. This pressure can be long-lasting and painful.
- Reduces neck and back pain that can lead to health complications like cervical spondylosis.
- Alleviates pressure on your hips allowing you to sit straight for longer and work more efficiently.
What functions can you find in the best Ergonomic Office Chairs these days?
Ergonomic chairs have several functions that give the user its benefits:
- Seat height adjustment: This feature allows you to lengthen or shorten the chair’s seat height so as to suit your body. Seats should place your knees above your hips while your legs rest comfortably on the floor.
- Seat pan adjustment: This feature allows you to adjust the depth of your seat to support blood flow to your legs. This can prevent deep vein thrombosis and other ailments related to blood flow.
- Backrest height and angle adjustment: These will give your back the support it needs to make you sit straight comfortably and alleviate pressure on your spine
- Headrest adjustment: This needs to support your head so as is to prevent a stiff neck.
- Quality casters: Your chair needs to support your weight and be sturdy enough to bounce back every time you stand up or sit down. Cheap casters will break and leave you struggling to find back support.
What to look for before choosing the Best Office Chair for you?
- Lumbar Support: Support for the lower back is a must-have. The best office chairs will have adjustable lumbar support so you can fit the chair to your lower back. This will prevent strain on your back.
- Adjustability: Height and arm adjustment are almost standard for all office chairs. What sets ergonomic chairs apart from the rest are the nearly dozen other adjustments you can make that will tailor the chair to your body. These include lumbar support, arm width and height, seat back width and height, seat and back angle, and tension control. All these combine to give you the most comfortable chair you can find.
- Wheel Base: You’re going to be rolling around the office a lot in your chair. Make sure the chair has wheels that suit the floors. For example, if your office is carpeted, it’s best to get a chair with wheels specifically designed for carpets. This will extend the life of the chair and therefore keep you comfortable and healthier for longer periods.
- Swivel Base: It seems silly, but some chairs actually don’t swivel 360° and instead limit you to just turning 90° left or right. Make sure your chair swivels a full circle or you may suffer from arm fatigue after extending your arms to grab something from your office mate or strain your neck looking over your shoulder at them
- Fabric: The fabric of the chair should be light and breathable so as not to absorb smells and become uncomfortable after hours of use. Many of the best ergonomic chairs use a mesh fabric that is light and springy. In addition, make sure the cushion of the chair is soft and comfortable, otherwise you’ll end up feeling the screws and skeleton of the chair and not the cushion.
Compbrella Pick for Top 3 Ergonomic Office Chairs
Best Overall: Furmax Office Chair, With its ergonomic design, including dual lumbar support, this chair provides an extremely comfortable experience for long periods. Its thick seat cushion and lightweight mesh will keep you bouncing around the office and its warranty will give you peace of mind knowing that any malfunctions will be taken care of.
Best Design: AmazonBasics, High-Back Executive Swivel Office Desk Chair, If style is important to you, you won’t to better than the AmazonBasics Executive chair. The bonded leather, fully adjustable settings, and nylon casters with 360° swivels will keep you comfortable while projecting an executive master of the universe energy to anyone who comes to meet you.
Best Value: Essentials Racing Style Leather Gaming Chair, This model may be a bit flashy, but it is absolutely a game changer if you’ve never had an ergonomic chair before. Featuring contoured segmented padding, an integrated padded headrest, and cushy armrests, this chair will keep you comfortable and ready to take on whatever challenges work gives you. It is fully adjustable and features 360-degree swivel so you’ll be cruising around the office space like a racer. And, since the chair supports 250 pounds and a lifetime warranty you know this chair is sturdy and will be with you for a long time.