Many of us go to work, clock in and take a seat at our desks.
Some of us have the ability to take temporary breaks from our work tasks for a brief stretch or walk around the office building.
Unfortunately, many of us working the average 9-5 don’t have that option, especially if the nature of the work is very demanding. This means sitting in one position for about 6-8 hours. This also means having both long and short term effects of sitting that could prove harmful to one’s health, including:
If you’re already experiencing one or more of these problems, knowing how to sit properly while at work could help to either prevent future issues or provide relief.
Yes, we could start by talking about what kind of chair can be used to promote relief and comfortability, but a large part of sitting properly at one’s desk relies on the arrangement of the workstation. Before getting started with the work day, ask yourself these questions:
If you are unable to answer these questions confidently, you should seriously consider adjusting your workstation to meet these requirements. You can use a Ergonomic Desk and Chair Height Calculator to find your exact ergonomic office setup.
As for how you should sit properly at your desk, here is what you should do with different parts of you body:
To avoid spinal stress you should do your very best to sit upright, making sure that your upper back is straight and that your lower back curves to the shape of the chair. If your chair doesn’t provide proper spinal support, don’t be afraid to bring a pillow or an extra jacket to work! Getting the proper support for your back is important because sitting improperly could lead to lower back pains and sprains including kyphosis (other wise known as “hunchback syndrome”) and disc herniation.
Did you know that when your arms are extended or stretched forward, you have potential to lose strength in your upper back, resulting in shoulder and upper back pain? You can avoid this by keeping your arms at a 90 degree angle, in a comfortable resting position. This is where the armrest of your chair comes in handy. After all, that’s what it’s there for!
Sitting in one place comes with its own issues, but having your legs in certain positions (crossed) can seriously decrease the necessary amount of blood flow to run through your body. Have you ever sat down with your legs crossed, toes touching the floor and felt an uncomfortably tingly feeling in your legs? If so, consider positioning your upper legs at a 90 degree angle from your body. If you aren’t the tallest person in the world, getting a foot rest is the best way to go.
Positions like this can decrease blood flow to the legs and are not recommendedWe understand that sitting properly can prove to be somewhat difficult at first, but we’re sure you’ll feel the difference overtime!
Sit up straight and allow your shoulders and neck to relax into a natural position
Ensure your feet are flat on the ground just under your knees
Position your knees to be slightly lower than your hips (use a footstool if necessary)
Support your back properly by sitting deep into the office chair and adjust the office back and lumbar support to suit the curve of your spine
Keep your thighs parallel to the floor
Avoid crossing your legs as this can lead to posture-related problems
With the aid of your office chair’s arms, keep your forearms extended horizontally and your wrists straight
Keep your monitor approximately an arm's length away and ensure the top of the screen is level with your eyes. Monitor arms are exceptional for ensuring your monitor aligns perfectly with your eye level, promoting optimal viewing and posture.
Maintaining a correct sitting posture in an office chair is surprisingly hard. Many of us fall into the trap of slouching without meaning too. If we’re not practising mindfulness while sitting, it’s very easy to find ourselves hunched over towards the end of the workday.
It’s recommended that we change position every 30 minutes but this can lead us to slump leading to poor posture.
The best solution is to stand up and take a break for a couple of minutes. Whether you take a stroll down the corridor, grab a glass of water or take that time to use the bathroom. Whatever you do, do it often so you can keep your blood flowing properly and ‘reset’ your ‘good posture’ position when you sit back down again.
While you might be self-conscious about stretching in the office, it’s highly advisable. Our bodies are not made to sit continuously for 6-8 hours a day. We need to stretch. We need to move about. Setting a timer for every 30 minutes will help you remember to stand up and move. The more you do this, the more of a habit it will become - and you’ll feel much better for it.
Moving about more regularly also helps reduce the risk of a repetitive strain injury which can occur for office workers mainly in the wrists and hands.
Ensuring you have good posture is much easier when you have the right ergonomic office chair.
Ergonomic office chairs are scientifically built with posture, comfort, support and health in mind. A good chair will help with all four of these considerations and for long term office workers, an ergonomic chair is vital.
The ergonomics of a chair explained is quite a lengthy process, but here’s a summary of what makes an office chair, ergonomic.
- Enabling you to lower or raise the seat in accordance with your personal height. This allows you to keep your keep flat on the ground when sitting correctly
- Position how far forward you back you would like the seat. Again this is in accordance with your size, as each of us are different from one another
- Tailor the backrest height to follow the natural curve of your spine. For taller people, the backrest will want to be positioned much higher than a shorter person
- A swivel base enables you to turn to face different parts of your office desk. This helps decrease the likelihood of twisting in an unnatural position to reach for something such as a telephone
- This allows you to recline the backrest to help take some of the weight off your upper body
- Position your seat to a comfortable angle for your pelvis while also keeping your thighs horizontal to the ground for maximum comfort and positioning
- Adjust the height and width of your office chair arms to be aligned with your desk and keyboard
- Fully adjustable lumbar support to ensure the natural ‘s’ shape of our spine is fully supported
- Take the strain off upper back and shoulders by positioning the headrest correctly
Take a look at our Best Selling Ergonomic Office Chairs