Can a chair affect your energy during the day?

Yes‚ the chair you sit on can have a big effect on your energy throughout the day‚ including your posture‚ muscles‚ comfort and physical fatigue․

Not getting enough sleep the night before‚ having too busy of a workday‚ or not drinking enough caffeine are the usual reasons people often attribute to their afternoon slump‚ but few consider the effects from the chair they sit on during the workday․ While sitting seems effortless‚ holding a body still in a seated posture for hours requires coordination of several muscles‚ especially when a chair is poorly designed or poorly adjusted․

Poorly designed or ill-fitting chairs can stress the body․ If a chair does not provide decent lumbar support‚ for example‚ the muscles in the lower back must contract constantly to hold the spine straight․ Likewise‚ if your armrests are too high‚ too low‚ or non-existent‚ your shoulders and upper back muscles may carry extra load all day․ All those little things add up if you are working at your desk for a number of hours‚ and you may be surprised at how tired you feel by the end of the day․

Discomfort can affect energy in other ways as well; if a chair is not well adapted to the body‚ one might have to change positions and postures frequently and constantly search for the best way of sitting․ These micro adjustments may require physical effort and focus which may gradually drain your physical and mental energy․ You may be using part of your attention to manage your discomfort rather than fully concentrating on your work․

Other physiological factors of fatigue may include poor posture․ Common sitting postures (such as slouching‚ leaning forward‚ or slumped sitting) can lead to tension on the neck‚ shoulders and back‚ resulting in fatigue over time․ This is one of the reasons why office workers feel tired even though they have spent the day sitting down with little movement․

An ergonomic chair supports the body in a natural position‚ without putting strain on various parts of the body through the adjustable components such as lumbar support‚ adjustable seat depth‚ adjustable reclining and adjustable height armrests‚ that adjust to the user of the chair․ Good support means relaxed muscles‚ less effort to maintain the right posture and less energy expended to counteract the effects of a poorly designed seat․

An example of this philosophy can be found in the NextChair Luxe‚ which employs a LumbarFlo™ dual axis lumbar support‚ headrest‚ sliding seat and 3D armrests‚ which allow the user to achieve an optimal seated position to help reduce fatigue through prolonged periods of work․ A shoe that is more supportive of the body can also provide an user with a more comfortable and more energized feeling throughout the day․