Everyone knows that sitting for hours in the office is bad for the back, but we rarely do anything about it. Backcare Awareness Week, which runs from 6 to 12 October, is a good time to change your usual office chair for one that offers better ergonomic support. But there are a lot to choose from, so to help you out, here’s our pick. 1. Humanscale Freedom Office Chair, £999, John Lewis With a backrest that automatically adapts to your body shape and headrest that moves according to how far you recline, the Humanscale Freedom Office Chair offers the latest in ergonomic technology. Plus, the snug cushions mould to the shape of your body. At nearly a thousand pounds, it’s a lot to cough up for a chair, but worthwhile if you want one of the best on the market. 2. Herman Miller Aeron Office Chair, £925, John Lewis If you are a design buff, this is the one for you. The Museum of Modern Art in New York has an Aeron in its permanent collection, so its design credentials are well established.
But this chair is not just pretty to look at – its cushions are made from Pellicle, a high tech material which avoids heat build-ups, helping prevent muscular discomfort. 3. Comfort Operator Chair, £49, Office Furniture Online It’s not a thing of beauty, but the Comfort Operator Chair is good value for its specification. The three levers allow you to vary the height of the chair and tilt the back rest and seat. Also, the curved foam provides good ergonomic support. This is the reliable Volkswagen – rather than the flashy Ferrari – of the office chair world. Available with or without arms. 4. HÅG Capisco Saddle Chair, £291, Wellworking If you find yourself fidgeting in your usual seat, try the Saddle Chair. The unique design, modelled on a horse rider’s saddle, allows you to sit equally comfortably whether facing forward or turned to the side. Free movement does not have to cost the planet though – this product is made from recycled car bumpers. 5. Classic Balance Ball Chair, £80, amazon
You are sure to be greeted with a few raised eyebrows when you bring this into the office, but bemusement could soon turn into envy. Not only is the Classic Balance Ball Chair comfortable, but the act of balancing on it also gives you a powerful core-strengthening workout. 6. Herman Miller Sayl Office Chair, £383, Wellworking Effective spine and neck support needn’t result in a sweaty back. Inspired by the design principles of suspension bridges and modelled on a ship’s sail, the webbed chair back allows good air circulation, keeping you cool. Comes in four colours. 7. Markus Swivel Chair, £130, Ikea This is one of the cheapest executive style office chairs on the market. Offering easy height adjustment and a lockable tilt function – plus a headrest for good neck support – you get all the basics for a reasonable price. Also, this product comes with a 10 year guarantee, so it won’t risk your hard earned cash. 8. Back App Ergonomic Stool, £556, Back2
When you sit on the Back App your feet are placed on the footboard rather than the floor. This allows the chair to rotate around as you move, allowing a greater freedom of movement than that offered by conventional office chairs. At first this can make your lower back feel tired, but after a week or so this should go away. For wacky style with green credentials, go for the HÅG Capisco Saddle Chair. If you are on more of a budget, the Comfort Operator or the Markus Swivel Chairs are your best bet. Office chair technophiles with money to spend should consider the Humanscale Freedom. But for sheer workmanship and iconic design, the Aeron is my top pick. IndyBest product reviews are unbiased, independent advice you can trust. On some occasions, we earn revenue if you click the links and buy the products, but we never allow this to bias our coverage. The reviews are compiled through a mix of expert opinion and real-world testingHome > Home > Sit down and relax in our favorite office chairs
Anyone who works a typical 9-to-5 job knows that sitting is the bane of their existence. Our backs and overall body structure aren’t made to withstand hours sitting at a desk, but work often demands just that. Opting for the proper office chair, one designed to cradle you as you work and provide you with the ample comfort, is a practical and well-advised solution. More: Don’t just sit there, check out the best standing desks you can buy The best chairs go beyond what you’d expect. Many offer resounding ergonomic benefits, breathable mesh backing, and excellent lumbar support, while simultaneously granting you a swath of customization options spanning everything from colors to contours. None of them are going to be a cure-all for your workday woes — at least, not in the way a standing desk might be — but customized suspension and the appropriate aesthetics go far in the long haul. The Best: Herman Miller Embody So, what is it about the Embody we hold so revered?
It’s a fair question, sure, especially considering the Embody’s lofty price tag and accompanying shipping costs. Well, for starters, the chair offers a dynamic matrix of “pixels” that allow the seat and back to automatically conform to your body’s every movement, while the chair’s central spine and flexible ribs work to maintain proper posture regardless if you lean forward or recline. Said movement capabilities help promote better blood and oxygen flow, and if that wasn’t enough, the advanced tilt mechanism helps combat unwanted hip, neck, and lumbar strain. The chair even sizes to fit your body perfectly, comes in a swath of colors, and features a skin-like covering for increased airflow. Buy one now from: DXRacer Formula Series DOH/FH08/NW ItalModern Bungie High Back Office Chair Office Star Air GridAlthough it’s “just a desk job,” working in an office can wreak absolute havoc on our bodies. If you’re somebody who spends all day at a desk and computer (which I’m guessing applies to a majority of the Nerd Fitness Rebellion), you know exactly what I’m talking about.
Whether it’s lower back pain, wrist pain, a really tight neck, or a lack of mobility, when we spend all day at a desk to pay the bills, our bodies often get stuck picking up the tab. What can we do to counteract this office life we have to live? Although I’ve done some crazy things like exercise around the world, most of my time is spent sitting at a desk for 10+ hours a day, connecting with readers, writing articles, and watching stupid cat videos on YouTube. I feel like I’ve cracked the code for staying limber despite sitting all day, and I want to share it with my fellow desk-dwellers! If you work a desk job, you probably spend more time at your desk than you do at anything else in your life. And yet, that time is often spent sitting in a chair that’s too low, with a desk that’s too high, and our necks bent down looking at a screen at an angle that makes us feel like Quasimodo. That can result in all sorts of nasty stuff, like eyestrain, shoulder pain, back pain, arm pain, wrist pain, and neck pain.
Desk jobs might not seem physically taxing, but they can certainly cause us some physical problems. If you’re going to level up your office life, it’s time to do a desk audit. So let’s start with setting your desk chair at the proper height so you can type without scrunching your shoulders up. I swear, 90% of desk/chair combos, in offices or in coffee shops have this ratio wrong. You want to sit in a chair at a height where you can sit with your shoulders relaxed and pulled back, you’re sitting up tall, and your forearms are parallel to the ground or or lower, meaning you don’t need to reach up to your keyboard, nor shrug your shoulders. I can tell when I work at a desk that’s the wrong height, and you probably can too: my shoulders shrug up, I get tense, and my neck bothers me for the next few days. So, set your desk at the right height for you! 1. PICK A GREAT CHAIR: You probably spend more than a third of your existence at a desk chair, so do what you can to make sure you’re setting in a chair that is not destroying your spine!
Last year, in an effort to fix my back issues, I bought a great desk chair (the Herman Miller chair). Honestly, it’s been fantastic, and my back feels great sitting in it for extended periods of time. But, I know it’s incredibly pricey. You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on a great chair (unless you can afford it) – you simply need a chair that has an adjustable height so you can set it so your feet are comfortably on the floor, a solid cushion to sit on, and good lower back support. If your company supplied you with a crappy office chair, ask for the money to buy a good one (“it’ll improve my productivity!”), and head to an office supply store and try out a bunch of chairs. If they won’t pay for it, consider making the upgrade yourself. A quick search on Amazon revealed this chair that has the best reviews ever – not bad for $150! 2. SET YOUR MONITOR AND DESKTOP PROPERLY: If you work with a laptop, you are spending most of your day hunched over a tiny keyboard and trackpad.
Even if you work with a desktop computer, it’s certainly possible the monitor is not high enough for you to be able to not have to tilt your head down to look at it. You want the height of your monitor to be such that you can look straight ahead and not have to adjust your neck angle to view the screen. After spending a few years hunched over a laptop, I fixed my posture by adjusting where my eyes have to look by drastically raising the height of my monitors. Just raising my viewing angle was enough to get me to stop slouching, I no longer shrug my shoulders for hours, and my spine/back/shoulders/neck no longer hate me! You don’t need anything fancy. I even just added some books to get the right height: You don’t need to spend a lot of money to change your setup, and I’ve found that the inexpensive solutions above were well worth the money invested. Feel free to prop your monitor up with whatever you have around. For laptop users, a separate keyboard and mouse can alleviate a lot of the “cramped” feelings and prevent you from ending up hunched over a laptop.
IF YOU WANT TO REALLY NERD OUT: check out this cool site from Ergotron (note: not a member of the Autobots). Simply put in your height and it can help you determine the height of your chair, keyboard, and monitor. Now, if you have Quad Desk, or a Dwight Schrute exercise ball, you will probably have a different set of problems on your hands. This should get you started with setting your desk up to win. But what about the rest of the day when you’re not sitting? Along with having a properly constructed office or cubicle, there are a few other things you can do to combat officitis: THE MOST IMPORTANT THING – don’t stay in the same position for hours upon hours! Studies suggest the best plan for prolonged spinal health is to consistently alter your work environment – move around, stand when possible, sit…just don’t sit in the same position for 8 straight hours! Set a timer every twenty minutes, and get up and do something! Take a lap around the office, do some shoulder rolls, neck rolls, or twists.
I use a program called “focus booster” that pings me every 20 minutes to get up and do something (take a lap around NF HQ – my apartment – or do a quick stretch). If you have your own office, or you work in a cubicle and don’t mind getting some funny looks, feel free to try some of the following: The Couch Stretch: because I’m on my ass all day, my hip flexors tend to get tight. So I make sure to do a two minute-couch stretch every single day to help open up my hips: The Thoracic Bridge Stretch (Hat tip to my buddy James Clear for finding this): Consider dropping down into a basic body weight Grok Squat: To answer your final question: you do not NEED a standing desk, even though the internet has a LOT to say about sitting all day. I often stand when doing basic tasks like checking email or chatting with Team NF, but I really struggle with writing creatively while standing, so I’m almost ALWAYS seated for article writing. If you ARE interested in a standing desk, we’ve actually already written a whole article about it on Nerd Fitness a few years back, but most of the ergonomic advice from the regular chair carries over.