The art of sitting properly in your home office
2020 has become the year, where millions of people started working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has become quite clear that working from home requires a great attention to detail in terms of how you are sitting, your overall office layout as well as how these are adjusted to serve your posture and frame. However, it is quite difficult to know the answers to these questions unless you have done a great deal of research into the topic. Luckily for the readers, I have done that in order to help people working from home in creating a very comfortable office layout that takes into account their measurements, posture and ergonomics.
Step 1: Measurements
There are a few online tools which allow you to enter your stature and then give you suggested measurements for the height of your desk and chair. Bear in mind that these are just indicators and could differ slightly based on your body frame. However, any chair height should ensure that your thighs are at 90–120 degrees to ensure proper circulation to your legs.
The links for the measurements are:
https://ergodesks.co.uk/blogs/news/what-height-should-my-desk-be
https://www.blitzresults.com/gb/ergonomic/
The second link also offers some advice on posture and layout for your home office as well as do’s and don’ts with regards to the position of your arms along with suggestions how to improve your daily movements, when sitting in front of a desk, which I found extremely helpful. Having the right measurements is part of the process but not the only component.
Step 2:Posture
Individual posture also must be taken into account and it is also a product of the process explained in step 1, as these two concepts are intertwined. Looking at our posture in front of the desk we should consider the position of our knees and hips. If you are sitting too low, there is extra pressure at the back of your legs, especially the gluteus maximus, and if you are sitting too high there will be additional pressure on the hip flexors. An additional ailment could be aggravating the piriformis muscles, which runs between the hips flexors all the way to the tail bone, which could make sitting extremely uncomfortable. That is why it is extremely important to take the right measurements as mentioned above, whilst also considering the way you sit in front of the desk.
The below image gives a visual aid to the general idea.
So what is the ideal angle for sitting properly? 90 degrees or more? A lot of literature has been written on this topic. I personally find the 90 degree angle too uncomfortable as it is putting extra pressure on the upper side of my legs. If however your hip is fully supported the angle for your thighs could go between 120 degrees or less but again that depends on your own preference and body. In any case your legs should be touching the floor firmly, your hips should be well aligned and supported, whilst your back is straight. This link points to a documents that goes into a lot more detail: https://www.physiomed.co.uk/uploads/guide/file/20/Physiomed_Sitting_Guide_-_Correct_Sitting_Posture_Digital.pdf
In addition, you should also take care of your back. A lot of modern chairs offer a flexible rotation of between 90–135 degrees, and some studies have shown that 135 degrees could be better for our discs.
Step 3: Getting the right chair
The next step is picking the right chair. Picking a good chair is an individual choice, however there are a few essential features one should be looking at:
- The seat should be comfortable and fully adjustable
- A proper ergonomic should have a movable lumbar support- not always necessary but it is a useful feature
- Pay close attention to the armrests as they should be fully adjustable. Ideally, you should be able to adjust their height, width, and depth, so as to give full support to your arms, when working in front of a desk.
- A very good feature for your chair would be to allow it to swivel the chair, so that it supports micro-movements during your working day.
This blog offers review of some of the most popular chairs https://blog.szynalski.com/2019/04/review-steelcase-leap/ ; Another good source is this Youtube channel;- BTOD(https://www.youtube.com/user/btodTV), where they review various different chairs and showcase their functionality, which is something you cannot tell by simply looking at an image. I personally have tried a few different models ranging from the Steelcase Leap V2, OrangeBox Spira Plus, Humanscale Freedom, Sedus Black Dot, RH 400, Herman Miller and a few others. In any case you should choose the right chair based on your needs and body frame.
In London, there are also a few options for getting a great deal on a chair suitable for your home office.
Corporatespec( https://corporatespec.com/ ) is a company that specializes in selling fulling refurbished office chairs. They offer a 28-day return policy and as standard offer a one-year warranty. A few friends of mine have used them based on my recommendation and they were incredibly happy with their choices in terms of quality and delivery.
If, however you prefer to buy a brand-new chair an exceptionally good option is https://www.back2.co.uk/ as it offers long-term warranty for the products, which in most cases is 10 years. They offer a lot of options and they have a physical location, where you can try a variety of chairs and get expert advice.
Please let me know if you have any questions in the comment section below, I would be more than happy to answer your additional queries.
